Australia is in the midst of a devastating and unprecedented bushfire season. This comes at a time when much of our country is in drought and a hot summer. Over 10 million hectares has been burnt, lives have been lost, communities, livestock and native animals destroyed.
Here a a few ways that you can respond
Prayer
NSW & ACT Baptists Prayer Coordinator, Carolyn Altman has written a prayer for the Australian Bushfire Crisis and you are welcome to use this resource. Prayer for Australian Bushfire Crisis_January 2020.
Giving
At this stage, there are opportunities to give through 2 Baptist State associations
Baptist Union of Victoria
In addition to the significant threat to homes and lives, farmers in these bushfire stricken areas who are already experiencing extreme hardship due to the drought are now under additional pressure with livestock in grave danger. A couple of our churches (Lakes Entrance, Corryong) have already taken the initiative to provide free hay to farmers to feed their livestock.
To give to the BUV Bushfire Appeal click here
Baptist Churches NSW & ACT
Baptist Churches in the NSW region that have been impacted by the bushfire crisis include;
- Nowra Baptist Church
- Milton-Ulladulla Baptist Church
- Batemans Bay Baptist Church
- Moruya Baptist Church
- Bermagui Baptist Church
- Bega Baptist Church
- Pambula Baptist Church
- Wagga (and surrounds)
- Southern Highlights (and surrounds) (Bowral Baptist Church)
- Kiah Ridge (Campsite)
Thankfully, all of these churches are still standing but there are members of some of these congregations that have lost properties and homes. Some of the regions have been impacted harder than others and are without power, water, sewage etc and the conditions are still very unsafe. One thing that is front of mind is the ongoing recovery once the immediate needs are met, including both mental and physical.
Read more – Baptist Churches NSW/ACT Bushfire Relief and Recovery Campaign
For further events and resources see Common Grace