IT will go down in folklore as Salvation Saturday

It was the day an army of big-hearted volunteers shouldering brooms, mops and shovels began digging and sweeping Brisbane out of the mud. In a remarkable display of community spirit, more than 20,000 signed on for duty, ready to bend their backs to help fellow residents reclaim their homes and waterlogged possessions from the stinking sludge left behind by the worst floods in a generation. Politicians, pensioners, university students, garbos, chippies, teenagers, mums and dads from all walks of life joined forces in the street-by-street clean-up. They brought their own tools and an inexhaustible supply of goodwill. Some volunteers even came from interstate to help, hopping on the first available planes after watching the drama unfold during the past week.

 

The Daily Telegraph, January 16 2011

How you can Help

AMC is pleased to recommend the following opportunities for flood relief support:

• volunteer Chaplaincy

• financial support for flood victim Chaplaincy

• general Voluntary support.

The post traumatic stress will become more pronounced in coming weeks when the reality of the enormity of the loss sinks in. Mark Bateman is a highly regarded Integrated Leadership Group member who heads up Chaplaincy Australia. If you would like to give specifically to support Chaplaincy for flood victims or offer your services as a volunteer please click here.

You can also offer your services as a trained Chaplain or volunteer through our Cre8 conference links. Geoff Slade from our Brisbane Cre8 network writes as follows:

Russell Witham started and heads up Access Outreach Australia and leads three churches in Brisbane. The organization won a Brisbane Australia Day award and he won Brisbane Citizen of the year for this year. They at this time are focusing beyond the homeless to flood victims providing them with food assistance not only in Brisbane but in other nearby towns that have been ravaged by the floods.

 

Volunteer accommodation at this stage would be basic at one of their churches at Darra, a river suburb on the south side of the city. Food for volunteers should not be a problem for a couple of meals a day as they are making up and sending out loads of it. Any extra meals the volunteers may need to either take stock or make their own arrangements.

Beyond general volunteers those that are trained and recognised as Chaplains would be of significant value. If they have identification or validation and clothing that displays their role this would be important (something could be sorted this end if needs be).

If you would like to volunteer your services in this way please contact the AMC office (see contact details below).

Prayer Cover

On Wed 12 January hundred's of thousands of Christians around the nation were called to prayer by untold numbers of churches and organisations such as the Australian Prayer Network. The next day former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd stated very clearly on national Television that the only reason the floods in Brisbane did not exceed the 1974 peak levels was because the rain over the catchment areas had ceased.

These floods are not an "act of God" but part of living in a land where weather extremes predictably occur. In 1908 Dorothy MacKellar wrote her famous poem which in part reminds us of the risks of being an Australian:

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping plains,

Of ragged mountain ranges,

Of drought and flooding rains.
 

At times like these the church is called to stand in the gap for our nation through prayer and acts of service. Christians connect with their community in crisis as they share in the loss and bring the hope of Christ in a time of need.

We remember Jesus teaching that: "God causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matt 5:45), and that "life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15).

There has been a magnificent side to these floods as we have seen people rediscover mateship and community spirit. Neither the flood victims nor the media will be the same again. People have been rediscovering in crisis what life is about - not materialism, gambling, binge drinking and possessions, but relationships that last and are strengthened through suffering.

Many are coming to Christ in this time of need to discover our God who knows about pain and suffering first hand - through the Cross of suffering that he endured for our redemption.

Let us also remember in our prayers:

• that the wet season in the north of the nation has not yet commenced and that floods do not recur with soul destroying impact on those who are working their way through the clean up

• wisdom for our governments and councils as they develop revised planning permits and infrastructure protections that take into account the lessons of these floods.

Scots Church Melbourne extends to you a warm welcome to join a service of prayer for the people affected by floods in Queensland and Victoria. Scots is located on the Corner of Collins & Russell Streets and this service will involve both Church and Civic Leaders and will be open to everyone. It will be held next Monday, 24^th January at 1.00pm. The Lord Mayor of Melbourne, the Right Honourable Robert Doyle will attend and speak at the service.

We also support the call for a National Day of Prayer by the Australian Prayer Network, the National Alliance of Christian Leaders, the Fatherhood Foundation and the Centre for International Reconciliation and Peace.

Cause of the Floods

One explanation of the cause of the floods involves the volcanic eruptions of Mount Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland between April and October 2010, followed by the East Russian Mount Shiveluch eruption in October 2010, one of 29 active volcanoes on the Kamchatka peninsula close to the Pacific "ring of fire". These volcanic eruptions emitted pale ash into the upper atmosphere which in turn reflected a significant amount of northern sunlight back into space.

This heat reflection caused a cooling of the atmosphere which in turn contributed to the extent of the cold in the current European and North American winter. With this cooling the northern Atlantic and northern Pacific oceans were also cooled extending their cold currents further south undercutting tropical currents and causing warmer water to rise to the surface south of the equator. With warmer ocean temperatures evaporation increases drawing more water vapour into the atmosphere producing intense precipitation, especially in Australia and Brazil.

If correct this scenario makes a direct link between northern volcanic activity and increased rainfall in the southern hemisphere. This increase in ocean temperatures can only be exacerbated by increasing green house gasses in the atmosphere. As co-carers of God's creation this is of real concern from both a spiritual and practical perspective.

Please contact AMC if you have any further questions about the support options mentioned above.

Kind regards,

Peter

Office: (03) 9816-7114

Mobile: 0414 622-633
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