Dear Friends,
“Yours are the heavens; the earth also is yours.” My thoughts have arisen from these words of Psalm 89 which were shared at Morning Prayer on Tuesday. While many have struggled with the heat in these past weeks, in this part of the world we have only experienced the losses from wildfires through media reports. Stourbridge is an area I used to travel to and through in our years in the Worcester Diocese, and Quarry Bank Road the home of a friend and member of the Worcester Mothers’ Union. Her home has been caught up in the fire, and she is safely removed to a local care home.
The loss of home and possessions is devastating, and these experiences so close to home should make us all stop and consider what and who is important in our lives. However, it is not only loss through fire, as we journey through life, it is also coming to terms with loss of independence, with the inability to physically manage the skills that have kept us active. The loss of home then follows for many in society to pay for 24 hour care.
As we welcome with thankfulness the first rain that we have seen in weeks, please continue to remember and pray for all who have fought the fires, all who have given assistance in any way; especially for the churches who serve those areas. Pray for the residents as they come to terms with all that they have lost. Also with thankfulness pray for all who serve through their work as Carers both in Homes and in the Community.
‘Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth”.
God, maker of heaven and earth,
you save us in the water of baptism
and by the suffering of your Son you set us free:
help us to put our trust in his victory
and to know that there is salvation only in
the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
In Christ, Daphne
Daphne Cook , Licensed Lay Minister