For the Victims of the Tsunami, 26th December 2004

Statement From Cliff Reed, General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches

(December 29, 2004)

'In my distress I called to the Lord…

You cast me into the depths,
into the heart of the ocean,
and the flood closed round me;
all your surging waves swept over me…

The water about me rose to my neck,
for the deep was closing over me;
seaweed twined about my head…

I was sinking into a void
whose bars would hold me fast for ever.'
(Jonah 2: 2-6)

We join in the world's sorrow at the still unfolding tragedy around the Indian Ocean 's shores.
For those who died in the onrush of the waves, we pray that their souls find rest after the terror of their last moments.
For the bereaved, we ask comfort, though none can be enough.
For the injured and sick, and for those struggling to care for them, we ask strength and courage amidst the despair.
For those whose livelihoods were swept away – the fishermen, the traders, the farmers, the hoteliers – we ask the generosity of the world, not least our own.

In their distress they call upon the Lord, by whatever name they know the Holy One – and so do we.
Answer them, we pray. Bring them up from the pit into which they have been swept.
Amen.

-- Cliff Reed
Holy Innocents' Day 2004
General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches

>>Liturgical Resources for Reflection on the Indian Ocean Tsunami

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