An Act of God

God of the sunburnt country,
Lord of flooding rains,
Sketcher of raging creeks,
Filler of swollen dams;
Sustenance of country communities,
Father of coastal cities,
Architect of mountain ranges
Painter of native wildflowers,
Australia cries out to you for relief.

Our land is drowned Lord,
The ground is flooded and saturated.
Our energies are spent Lord,
The people are exhausted; wet and disheartened.

Father, the “Acts of God” are what The Church does
In the aftermath of a natural disaster.
You were still God after “the tsunami” and “the cyclone”,
“the storm”, “the earthquake” and “the fires”.
You reign when it hails, and you rule when it bakes.

Remind us, God who is known in the world by the compassion of your family,
That the Act of God is our responsibility.
By your Holy Spirit lead your Church in Prayer;
Guide your Church in service with shovels and excavators;
Sustain your Church in encouragement with tea-cups and fresh blankets;
Protect your Church in all places that remain treacherous and unstable.

We pray for all state governors, state premiers, and state parliaments.
We pray for our Queen, our Governor General, our Prime Minister and our federal parliament.
We pray for all local councils, especially for mayors and shire presidents.
We pray for local churches, for priests, pastors and ministers, elders, deacons, and the individuals who make up congregations. We pray also for bishops, presidents, and those who have care for the wider Church.
We pray for the emergency services, for managers, officers and cadets. For Police, Fire, Ambulance, and the SES, both metropolitan and rural.
We pray for hospitals and medical staff; morgues, coroners, and mortuary staff.
We pray for schools, service clubs, sporting clubs, and all of those places where people find community.

We pray for all people who have lost.
Those who have lost loved members of their family or friendship groups;
Those who have lost treasured possessions, entire houses, complete histories, heirlooms and mementos;
Those who have lost hope, peace, confidence, heart;
Those who have lost faith.

Our land is drowned Lord,
The ground is flooded and saturated.
Our energies are spent Lord,
The people are exhausted; wet and disheartened.

But we know you are the God of Noah,
and we believe your promise never to destroy the Earth with a flood.
We are not destroyed, but we are distraught.

And we know you are the God of Lazarus,
and we believe that you weep with us even as you know the restoration that is to come.
We are distraught, but we are not destroyed.

Amen.