DAVID ADAMS reports…
A group of Christian leaders from across the nation have joined in declaring Sunday a National Day of Prayer for Flood Victims following devastating floods in Queensland.
The move comes as the death toll from the floods stands at 16 with more than 50 people still missing. Among those who have died are 13-year-old Jordan Rice who was swept away with his mother after telling rescuers to take his 10-year-old brother Blake first.
More than 25,000 homes in Brisbane alone have been affected – at least 11,000 of them been completely submerged. Three quarters of the state has been declared a disaster zone.
In a statement issued this week, the leaders said it was important that Christians pray and give generously to appeals. Among those named on the statement are Warwick Marsh, of the Australian Christian Values Institute, Brian PIckering, coordinator of the Australian Prayer Network, Don Reddin, a Baptist pastor from Adelaide and host of the Reality Zone radio programme, Matt Prater, pastor of the New Hope Church in Brisbane and host of the History Maker radio show, and David McDonald, pastor of the Edge Church in Toowoomba.
“As a pastor at the coalface of this disaster, I feel overwhelmed but grateful for the compassion of the many churches who are helping out.”
– Pastor David McDonald
Pastor McDonald said he knew of whole families who had been swept away in the floods at Murphys Creek, east of Brisbane.
“As a pastor at the coalface of this disaster, I feel overwhelmed but grateful for the compassion of the many churches who are helping out,” he said, calling on people to support the National Day of Prayer.
Earlier this week, the Australian Prayer Network called on people to pray as soon as possible for those affected by the floods.
“I believe it is important for Christians to pray because in a situation such as is being faced in Queensland at present, only God can intervene and change the weather patterns to alleviate the pain and distress being experienced,” said Mr Pickering, the network’s co-ordinator.
“The prayer of God’s people is the means by which the hand of God is moved to ‘still the storm’ and release mercy and compassion amongst those who are suffering at the hands of this unprecedented rain event. If Christians do not pray, who will, and how will hope ever arise from the death, destruction, and sense of hopelessness these floods have brought?”
Among the 86 towns and cities devastated by the floods in recent weeks are Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Ipswich, and Toowoomba.
The floods peaked in Brisbane this week short of the 1974 flood level but still turned city streets into canals. While the waters have begun to recede, thousands of people are still unable to return home.
The clean-up and recovery operation is expected to take months. Insurance experts have reportedly indicated they expect insurance claims to top $1 billion. Health authorities, meanwhile, have warned they expect an increase in mosquito-borne diseases in the wake of the floods.
Queensland’s Premier, Anna Bligh, held an emotional press conference earlier this week, telling Queenslanders to remember who they were.
“We are Queenslanders. We’re the people that they breed tough north of the border. We’re the ones that they knock down and we get up again.”
Eight specialist counselling teams have been deployed to Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley to help support flood-affected residents.
The Australian Red Cross and the Salvation Army are among organisations which are responding to the floods, staffing evacuation centres and offering support for those most affected.
The Salvation Army, which has already received $1.5 million in donations, has requested that people donate cash instead of goods, saying that this allows them to more immediately provide aid. They have also announced that Woolworths has said it will match all donations made through Woolworths Supermarkets, Big W, Dick Smith stores until 20th January. On Wednesday, the Army released more than $500,000 to aid the relief and recovery effort.
Another group involved in aiding and supporting those affected by the floods is Global Care, the Christian Outreach Centre’s disaster relief arm. The organisation, which has just completed a two year stint in the Kinglake district of Victoria following the devastating bushfires there, has established an operations centre in Brisbane from where it will coordinate volunteers and resources involved in its “second stage” relief and recovery operation.
The Archbishop of Brisbane, Dr Phillip Aspinall, said this week that Anglican parishes across Queensland were helping in the relief effort.
Facebook page for the National Day of Prayer – www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=172415979467201&ref=mf.
TO DONATE:
Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal:
Phone 1800 219 028 or see www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html
The Salvation Army’s Flood Appeal:
Phone 137258 or see www.salvos.org.au
