...Earthquake Disaster Relief
Monday 6th February - Earthquake strikes Gaziantep, Turkiye and Northern Syria.
The information and images coming out of Turkey & Syria are deeply harrowing. Since the first reports were received on Monday, the full scale of the devastation and death toll has grown massively. There are unbearable accounts of church friends and families caught up in the disaster. Yet in the midst of such unimaginable suffering there are rescue stories that stir hope and acts of kindness that reveal our human capacity for care & compassion.
Our family of churches in the region have already mobilised 5 teams of volunteers to deliver vital aid and provide much needed care and support for the casualties, the homeless and the rescuers. Catalyst have released finances to equip these teams with generators, marquees, aid supplies, blankets and food. More supplies and teams are being prepared.
We can feel powerless in the face of such overwhelming need but there are a few things we can do;
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We can pray - individually and collectively.
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We can give - through churches and charities.
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We can love - by reaching out and listening.
Pray
Our God is attentive to our prayers. As we pray we lift our voices to confess before the sovereign king, that we are powerless to meet even our own needs, let alone the needs of the countless injured, homeless, grieving people in Turkiye and Syria right now. The posture of prayer in this moment reveals that while we commit to do whatever we can; we depend on God to do what only He can do.
Tomorrow (Friday 10
th February) there is an opportunity to join in prayer with fellow believers from around the world and across our network of church families. This will be hosted online via Zoom and will start at 19:00.
You can access this meeting from home using the meeting details below, we will also be joining the Zoom call for a gathered time of prayer in the Chapel.
Give
Your giving will support the immediate provision of aid, shelter and food. Looking further into the future, the people and places that have been destroyed by this earthquake will also need resources and finances to help rebuild their homes, businesses and communities. You have responded generously to global needs in the past and I know we will be generous in our giving again.
You can give online using the links below - giving to Catalyst can now be gift aided if you are a UK tax payer.
Through the Congregational Federation we also have links with a charity that has been working in Syria for a while - Christian Rebuild. They work with the longer term aim of rebuilding lives as they rebuild buildings and infrastructure left shattered by natural disasters and war.
We also have links to CRY, a Christian charity focused on building a better future for Children. They're working in the region to support children, who are extremely vulnerable at times like this.
Love
We can demonstrate our love for our brothers and sisters in Turkiye, Syria and the wider region by not 'growing tired in doing good' (
Galatians 6:9-10). When the news reports and global attention has moved on, we must continue to support them and speak out on their behalf. More immediately, we have friends who are facing these horrors first hand and we can offer them our faithful prayers, listening ears and comforting words.
Links to the organisations: