Moderator's Prayer for Those Impacted by Cyclone Alfred
As Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, the Moderator Rev. Faaimata Havea Hiliau is calling us to prayer for the communities affected by Cyclone Alfred.
As Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, the Moderator Rev. Faaimata Havea Hiliau is calling us to prayer for the communities who will be affected by Cyclone Alfred.
Cyclone Alfred will make landfall sometime on Friday March 7 and the Moderator encourages all to pray for affected communities, first responders, emergency services, volunteers and our Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network whose Director Rev. Mark Layson is on the ground coordinating Chaplains to be deployed across 15 evacuation centres that have been set up across the region.
All flights out of Queensland have been cancelled. More than 120 schools in NSW have been closed, while evacuation centres are opening today. Tens of thousands of homes in the heavily-populated regions of south-east Queensland and northern NSW are believed to be at risk.
Alfred, classified as a Category 1 system on Monday, is intensifying off Queensland's coast and is expected to be one of the most destructive in the region in decades. If Alfred makes landfall as projected, it will be the first cyclone to directly impact Brisbane since Nancy in 1990.
Cyclone Alfred may make its appearance on the south-east Queensland coast while everyone is sleeping, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has warned.
The Moderator offers this prayer:
Loving God, we want to hold families and communities who may be impacted by Cyclone Alfred in your care.
May you watch over the communities and families. Be with our first responders, with our Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy team and be with the emergency services personnel and volunteers.
May we all do our part, not just in prayer, but in action to support those communities. This is our prayer, offered in the mighty name of God.
Amen
To hear The Moderator's message in full and to follow any updates from the DRCN visit the Uniting Church Synod of NSW and ACT Facebook page.
Moderators Disaster Appeal
For those who would like to offer assistance, the Moderator's Disaster Appeal is ready to recieve donations.
The Moderator's Disaster Appeal supports recovery of communities in disaster-affected areas across the state, and applies these funds where they are most needed to alleviate suffering of disaster affected families and resource the church to minister in ways that help individuals and communities recover effectively.