Churches will pray and give this weekend as Queensland takes stock after more than a fortnight of flooding brought death and destruction.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has spoken of the steely determination that will be needed to cleanup and rebuild.

“We are Queenslanders. We are the people they breed tough north of the border. We’re the ones that they knock down, and we get up again. In the coming weeks and months we are going to prove that beyond any doubt.” Premier Bligh said.

Rural areas hardest hit

Churches throughout the Central and South East of the state have both been sustained damage and have been involved in the relief effort.

In the Rockhampton area, one of the first regions hit by flooding, at least three churches went underwater.

Presenter Matt Gees, from the Brisbane Christian radio station Vision FM, told the Mission News Network “A lot of the churches who would be helping out are affected themselves. We’ve had reports from central Queensland, in areas that are completely affected, of churches that are completely flooded. But yet they’re out there lending a helping hand in the community and making sure the volunteers are being looked after. The Salvation Army is part of the emergency response. They’re feeding those who have been affected. Christian organizations are showing their practical ministry side of their Christian faith. They don’t do it for any reward, but because God first loved them.”

Vision Radio also reported that in the Gladstone region, churches provided dozens of care packs for SES workers.

“Keith Buchanan from the Gladstone Church of Christ says the hygiene kits contain a towel, a washer, soup, toothpaste and a tooth brush plus insect repellent. SES Gladstone leader Doug Savage says the hygiene packs came at a very opportune time - now that the floodwaters are receding, the risk of disease to their members is increasing because they’re paddling around in the mud and the floodwaters.” the radio station reported

Brisbane inundated

In Brisbane, churches like St Andrew’s South Brisbane in the flood affected riverside area, have been checking on parishioners and offering assistance.

Others have been turned into evacuation stations, providing meals and other help.

But church leaders in Brisbane say the situation is worse in the Darling Downs, where there was loss of life in the ‘inland tsunami’ which swept through areas like Toowoomba and Grantham.

The Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid has opened a Queensland Flood Appeal and Dr Jensen is urging Christians to pray and offer practical help.

Rev. Mark Charleston has written prayers for use at Sunday Services. They can be downloaded in pdf here.

Photos: Flickr/flottenheimer