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Queensland Flood Appeal
Dear church,
With the extensive and growing issues surrounding the Queensland floods it is good for us to think how we can respond to the crisis. Remember we serve a sovereign God who holds the world in his hands who, at the same time, loves this world and hears and responds to the prayers of his people.
With that in mind, the current situation is a reminder to pray. As we have prayed in the past for rain during drought, healing during illness and for God to intervene in seeminly hopeless situations, we are to pray that God might bring an end to the rain and the flooding that has occurred. Pray that there will be no more loss of life, that relief will reach those who most need it. And pray that even through this, that Jesus will be be made known, and that people will cry out to God in their time of need.
We will also have an opportunity to contribute financially to the crisis. For the next two Sundays (16th and 23rd of January) you can put money into an envelope marked "Queensland Flood Appeal." The money collected will be chanelled through the Presbyterian Church of Queensland. The Presbyterian churches are local in many areas affected by the flooding and will be able to provide assistance where most needed.
Also, we are planning a car wash for Saturday 22nd January to also raise funds. We will be asking for volunteers to assist with this on the coming Sunday and throughout eNews next week.
The following is an extract from Rev John Westendorp, a pastor from the Toowoomba Christian Reformed Church.
Thankfully there has been no loss of life nor is anyone missing from among our folk here at the Twmba CRC.
Some folk from the church were evacuated and I just heard that they are okay. A retirement village with some of our folk living there was pretty badly hit. I visited these folk this morning to see how they were coping and they are fine but it's a big job ripping up carpets so that the concrete underneath can dry out. It's surprising too how quickly flood damaged houses begin to stink...! Your prayers for these people is appreciated as they go through the heartbreaking job of cleaning up.
Just an additional perspective: While the flooding of Twmba CBD was spectacular (and certainly we have a lot of damage) the flooding of the Lockyer valley is much more serious with greater loss of life and infrastructure. We've been in touch with members and acquaintences in low-lying areas and we're thankful for the Lord's providential care and protection.
This morning as I drove to the retirement villiage the infrastructure damage became obvious with streets closed due road subsidance and bridges washed out. At present Twmba is still isolated with roads in all directions closed due either to flooding or land slips but crews are working hard to get them opened up to traffic. In shops I noticed that panic buying has commenced with many supermarket shelves already emptied... and long ques at petrol stations as the city braces for the possibility of being isolated for some time.