Guidelines, Support and Resources Following the Bondi Tragedy
Resources to support congregations and faith leaders.
In my role as National Disaster Recovery Officer have been contacted by several people since Sunday’s horrific attack on the Jewish communities celebrating Chanukah by the Beach.
Their queries have been varied but two things stood out:
- People (particularly leaders) concerned about their vulnerability and wanting to know how they might better prepare to support their people in the face of violent attack, should that take place, and;
- People who were looking for resources to support their congregations (by way of liturgical or other resources for their gathering next week).
The Shepherd Project material
Over the past year I have been part of a team working on developing resources for faith leaders to plan for and respond to violent attacks on houses of worship. Labelled “The Shepherd Project” this work was supported by the NSW Government through the “Safe Places for Worshipping Communities” grant from Multicultural NSW.
Resources created are:
The Leaders’ Resource Manual – A comprehensive manual which helps leaders understand the issues they would face in helping their people respond to a violent attack and assist in recovery. This includes response sheets and very important resources.
The Planning Workbook – This works with the Leaders’ Resource Manual and contains a planning framework and worksheets to assist faith leaders to form a comprehensive response plan, ahead of a possible attack on their people.
Videos – Seven short videos which give a brief overview of important aspects of planning and recovery.
These are very comprehensive resources and are best used with some guidance or workshopping, but they do stand alone as well. They can be downloaded from the webpage.
The page also has a link to email me and the team to arrange for a workshop for your leadership or bring one to one guidance in the use of the materials. I will be able to respond to these after the Christmas break.
Other Resources
Another excellent resource available from the Assembly website is “Carrying Rainbows of Hope” which includes examples of liturgies after tragedies and articles on how to write them. It can be found here.
Supporting congregations this Sunday
Some very good prayers have been written in the past week. I have added these here as a resource which could be helpful as they are – or for adaptation for congregational worship.
- Our President, Rev. Charissa Suli, wrote the following message and prayer.
- The Moderator of the Synod of NSW and the ACT, Rev. Faaimata Havea Hiliau wrote a pastoral statement available here.
- The Moderator-Elect of the Synod of NSW and ACT, Rev. Pablo Nunez wrote a pastoral reflection and prayer here.
Prayers
In the Wake of Violence and Hate
God,
In the wake of violence and hate,
May compassion flow;
May love be preached in word and action;
May hate be rejected;
May we temper our outrage with the Fruit of your presence as Spirit;
May we remember your call love neighbour and enemy;
May we reject evil, whilst at the same time having the wisdom to not add to it;
May we know you to be at work for good, even in the midst of heartache and suffering.
Centre us in your presence,
That we might be sacred ground for hope, peace, love and healing,
Even amidst trouble and strife.
As Christ, speak as Word we might know what to do and say,
And thereby do justly,
Love with mercy and kindness,
And walk humbly with you,
Immanuel - God with us.
In the wake of violence and hate we pray.
Amen.
Rev. Jon Humphries
I add the following offering in the context of the coming of Christ this season…
God with us. Emmanuel
You came to be with us in all things. In joy, in pain, in life, in death, in resurrection.
Be with those who know great grief and confusion.
Dwell close to those who – through acts of hatred and bloodshed – now mourn the loss of loved ones, the loss of hope, the loss of safety.
Dwell amongst our brothers and sisters in Bondi, as you dwell among all who hurt across the world. Meet them in their prayers, in their conversations and in their sighs too deep for words.
God Emmanuel. Have mercy on us
God who binds the wounds of the broken-hearted
Be close to those who suffer injury of body, of mind, of soul. Heal and bless those who carry the pain of injury, of trauma of shattered worldviews and broken lives.
God who heals. Have mercy on us
Prince of Peace
We pray for peace. In Israel, in Gaza, in every strife-torn land and here. Not just the cessation of conflict but as your deep and abiding gift. We yearn for when you will wipe away all tears from their eyes. Our eyes. When there will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away
God of peace. Bring us your peace.
Photo Supplied by Wilson Drayton