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Worship Resources

The following resources are provided for use in worship services. Please feel welcome to submit additional resources for sharing here by emailing them to webadmin@victas.uca.org.au

General worship resources

• Carrying Rainbows of Hope (178 pages) Liturgical resources for use after times of disaster and personal tragedy
  
  
• 'Ministry in Disaster Settings: Lessons from the Edge' by Stephen Robinson available from UniChurch Books or http://www.emergencyministry.com.au/

Liturgy and Services

• Ash Wednesday Bushfire Liturgies (12 pages)
  Liturgical resources that were produced and used after the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires
  
  
• A Liturgy for a community in shock and grief (5 pages)
  
  
• Life after the fires - Liturgy  prepared by Rev Dorothy McRae-McMahon.
  
  
• In the grieving: After the fires - Liturgy prepared by Rev Dorothy McRae-McMahon.
  
  
• Liturgy on Epiphany 6 for bushfires services by Terry Trewavis.
  
  
• Black Saturday - a full service by Rev Ji Zhang
  
  
• Ecumenical Liturgy for the victims of the bushfires prepared by Michael Hansen, Director of Faith & Ministry, Lavalla Catholic College, Traralgon, Vic.
  and Sophy Morley, Diocesan Coordinator for Liturgy, Diocese of Sale, Victoria.
  
  
• Ecumenical Liturgy prepared by Rev Mark Dunn, with Dave Hall.
  

Prayers and Reflections

• Prayer Spaces a link to the hold::this space website that is run by Cheryl Lawrie for the alternative worship project.
  
  
• Outstretched a poem by Jenni Gordon
  
  
• Prayer for Australia in a Time of Drought and Bushfires - by Rabbi Ralph Genende
  
  
• The Fires - A Reflection by Michael Hansen, Director of Faith and Ministry, Lavalla Catholic College, Traralgon,
  Victoria
  
  
• God we come before you -  a prayer written by Rev  Anneke Oppewal
  
  
• Fire Prayer - by Brendan Byrne, based on the Psalms and picks up elements of lament, adoration, thanksgiving and petition, all centered around the fires and their aftermath.
  
  
• Shine On - by Jennie Gordon
  

Children, Youth and Families resources

• After the Fire - Whilst aimed at adults, you might like to consider how some of the liturgical material can be adapted for children through modification of the language, use of visual images and addition of more sensory experiences
  
  

• After the Fire - Supplementary Resource a supplementary resource that highlights some of thekey points from "After the Fire", put together by Chris Barnett.

• Enough - A link to the MorePraxis website, ideas for use as a tool to help youth, churches and community groups process and debrief from the bushfires.
  
  
• Help your children make sense of the natural disasters - an article by Michael Grose
  
  
• Information for Parents and Carers: Helping children and adolescents after a bushfire - a publication by the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
  
  
• Helping adolescents after a bushfire - a publication by the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
  
  
• Possible reactions of students after a natural disaster - a publication by the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
  

Music

• Singing from the Lectionary - In the wake of the Victorian bushfires and the climbing death toll, a list of songs of laments that will be useful for churches and faith communities grieving this week, and for others looking for songs to sing in the face of great distress.
  
  
• Hymns for Australia's Relief Efforts - A PDF of hymns from Limestone Presbyterian church in Delaware USA that is free for one-time use by churches supporting the ecumenical relief efforts.
• Bushfire Memorial Hymn by Shirley Erena Murray. To the tune of Nun Danket Alle Gott.
  

Images, Visuals and Rituals

• Outstretched a poem by Jenni Gordon
  
  
• Bushfire poetry - a collection of poems from various authors that deal with fires and their aftermath, collated by Rev Rod Horsfield.
  
  
• Some visual / ritual type ideas from Chris Rowntree include:
  
  • Placing dry eucalypt leaves in sand or ash instead of tapers
  • Making the sign of the cross on hands, or foreheads by dipping into small bowls of water
  • A bowl ash for marking with the sign of the cross
  • Using charred wood /charcoal to write names or prayers
    
    

Recovery and Pastoral Resources

• Psychological impact of the Victorian fires: how managers can help - a brochure by Davidson Trahaire Corpsych
• Making use of your EAP after a major incident - a brochure by Davidson Trahaire Corpsych
• After a Major Event: The Recovery Life Cycle - a brochure by Davidson Trahaire Corpsych