AN upsurge in prayer life and community involvement may well be the silver lining in the dark clouds which have overshadowed Queensland and other parts of Australia these past weeks as flood waters destroyed the lives and dreams of many.
Last Tuesday, Archbishop John Bathersby together with other church leaders led an ecumenical service of prayer at St Stephen’s Cathedral for those affected by floods and for the work of all who have so unselfishly helped people affected by the floods.
The prayer service was one of many including an ecumenical service at St Luke’s Anglican Church in Toowoomba on January 14, several days after floods devastated the CBD in the Darling Downs city and communities throughout the Lockyer Valley.
Plans for other similar prayer gatherings are underway as the flood crisis spreads into parts of NSW and Victoria and even South Australia and Tasmania.
This Australia Day a gathering of around 1000 Christians from different denominations and cultures was to come together at Springvale Town Hall, Melbourne, at 10.30am to pray for the rebuilding efforts in the wake of the floods.
To these widespread prayers, no doubt many of us are adding our own as we count our blessings and pray for the generosity of spirit to support the less fortunate.
Australia, despite the depredations we have witnessed, is still a great country in which to live and, as we have seen, possesses vast numbers of extraordinarily generous and courageous people.
The Australia Day Awards, to be published in next week’s Catholic Leader will be further concrete evidence of this fact.
PAUL DOBBYN
Journalist
