Post-Earthquake Christchurch – Help Required.

 

 

Today, I want to ask for your assistance. Many of you will know that Alan Jamieson is a very good friend of mine, and a couple of years back was a contributor to this blog. Some of you might not realise though that Alan is based in Christchurch, and while he and his family are okay, following the Feb 22 earthquake, being in Christchurch presents a whole lot of significant challenges at a number of levels; not least the emotional and spiritual toll an event like this takes. 

Alan, like other residents of Christchurch are having to “make do”. For Alan though, things are in some sense compounded (because of his role as the Senior Pastor of Spreydon Baptist, one of the biggest congregations in NZ, and is one with significant involvement in the community, and in the provision of community help and support within Christchurch. 

It is out of that context that I include in this post an edited excerpt from an e-mail Alan sent me (in some cases I’ve added to it to give a fuller picture): 

“…The impact of the earthquake down here is going to be huge. We are a city that people are describing as suffering a 9/11 (Chris Clarke world vision). [Remember we’re a much smaller context (total pop. only 4M) so the reverberations touch everybody] or bigger than Hurricane Katrina / New Orleans (Prime Minister John Key [initial estimates have been put at approx. USD$12B]). We are talking about one in three buildings in the CBD needing to be demolished and major repairs to many other buildings. Massive infrastructure work is also required in order to rebuild roads, sewerage systems, and water and electricity distribution networks. 

We have whole suburbs wiped out [sadly, this has often been the case (though not exclusively) in lower socio-economic areas] and areas that will never be rebuilt. As you’ll appreciate a range of occurrences flow from an earthquake, not least being liquefaction (causing flooding and land subsidence, sinking etc). 

Of course, coupled with this is the mounting human cost that flows from loss of homes and jobs, grief, and fear (aftershocks continue. Following the Sept 04, 2010 EQ aftershocks still continue with approx. 4,500 recorded to Feb, 2011. Aftershocks from the latest EQ, centred to the east of Christchurch, will only add to the discomfort and worry). Significant numbers of people are exiting the city and along with those remaining, all will be carrying stories and the effects of emotional and psychological trauma…”  

And here’s the request; it’s an important request, and we’d love for you to spread the word amongst your own contacts and networks. Help yourself to the content of this post. My e-mail contacts are above, as are Alan’s. You can also leave information by way of the comments option on this blog. 

“…I am keen to get in touch with any church leaders of reasonably large churches that have walked a similar road in a western urban context. I am hoping to learn from their experience and be better prepared as a church for the journey ahead.  Even finding two or three people from different contexts will be helpful; people from within the pastoral community who are aware of the issues and pressure and who will be willing to talk (e-mail / SKYPE etc) and offer advice…” 

For those wanting more information about the Christchurch EQ, one of the most useful sites is the Auckland-based New Zealand Herald newspaper site.

Please pass the request on among your networks. It would be a real source of hope and encouragement if we as an online community could connect Alan and his leadership team with the people with genuine experience and wisdom they need!

 

Comments

[steve]

Soul Kitchen by John Koenig has a chapter exploring how churches in New York responded to 9/11. Perhaps what is most helpful is that his research looked at any church close to the tragedy, not just the big churches close the tragedy.

While I like that Alan is asking for help, surely every pastor in Chch, whether in a church big or small, could do with a buddy and some resources,

steve

[Paul Fromont]

Of course you're right Steve. Alan isn't being exclusive... its just one person getting the ball moving by tapping into his relational network.

Thanks for the Koenig reference. I'm sure Alan and others reading this post and comments will appreciate your suggestion.

Just checked the title. I think its "Soul Banquets: How Meals Become Mission in the Local Congregation" by John Koenig
http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Banquets-Become-Mission-Congregation/dp/0819219266/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299074444&sr=1-3

Thanks again for both suggestions.

Paul.

[steve]

Thanks. I've added a post on my blog with a summary of the book.

http://www.emergentkiwi.org.nz/archive/when-meals-become-mission-learning-from-911/

steve

[Stephen Murray]

Hi everybody,I'm the husband of a survivor of the PGC building. I use to do creative writing and am currently putting down our experiences on our website google timetravellers museum in oxford etc and it should pop up. We have not exploited our experienes by having interviews and getting a spread in the latest womans magazines. I am in the thick of things in the CHB everyday working on getting this city back up off its butt. People need to know they are not alone. Its hell out there, I'm scared, we all are, but everyday I get to see people being human again, whem for so long I have been ashamed of the average persons lack of humanity. People are just so happy to alive and there is a real spirit out there. The internet is where the real news is these days, and reading peoples blogs like my one gives people that dont live here an idea what its like.
bless you all regards steve