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News
Tsunami Disaster Response Resources
General Board of Discipleship staff have prepared a number of articles, prayer resources, hymns, and other materials to help local churches respond to the earthquake and tsunami disaster.
A Service of Prayer for Those Harmed by the Earthquake and Tsunamis
This service of prayer was held in The Upper Room Chapel in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, December 29, 2004.
Upper Room Reflections: God Weeps
"My ears hear, but my mind cannot comprehend the death toll, the number of missing . . . What can I say? How can I respond? The grieving, devastated people live in places with different names; they are a people with different lives and faiths. But they are my sisters and brothers. They are children of the Most High, the God who must be weeping, too."
Caring Evangelism
In the wake of the tsunamis that caused such devastation, questions arise. What can I do? What can we do? When an overwhelming tragedy occurs half a world away, what type of response can individuals and churches offer?
A Service of Holy Communion in a Time of National or International Tragedy
This is a service appropriate for when the United States or some other nation has experienced a tragedy, whether a terrorist attack, a devastating earthquake or tidal wave, a nuclear accident, or some other incident that grips the national mind and heart.
When in Creation: A Hymn After the Tsunami and Earthquake Disaster
Tommy Shapard is a Baptist church musician in the state of Georgia and a graduate of Candler School of Theology. He composed this hymn following the earthquake and tsunami devastation of December 2004, making use of lines of Isaac Watts' 1715 hymn "I Sing the Mighty Power of God."
Meditation: Counting Sparrows
On the morning after Christmas, the strongest earthquake seen in forty years triggered huge waves, tsunamis , that engulfed islands and drowned untold thousands.
Tsunami Prayers and the Twelve Days of Christmas
The largest earthquake to hit the planet in forty years struck at 6:58 a.m. (local time) on December 26, 2004, off the western coast of Sumatra. At this writing, the estimated number of people killed stands at 37,000.
Two Hymns After a Tsunami
British Methodist pastor and hymn writer Andrew Pratt has penned two new hymns following the December 26, 2004, earthquake and tsunami that has now reportedly killed more than 33,000 people in eleven countries in southern and southeast Asia. These new hymns bring profound questions for deep consideration, and move us to consider all those who suffer in tragedy and loss.
O God, That Great Tsunami: A Hymn for Relief in the Recent Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster
Carolyn Winfrey Gillete has made available a new adaptation of her hymn, "The Storm Came to Honduras." The new adaptation, retitled "O God, That Great Tsunami," is by Peter Holden, a Methodist pastor from Australia and Indonesia, who also served a USA United Methodist congregation before retiring. The text has been set to the familiar PASSION CHORALE tune.
In Every Face We See the Pain
Andrew Pratt, British Methodist pastor and hymn writer, has previously given us two hymns in response to this disaster, both available on this website. This latest hymn calls us to reflect not only on the tragedy and horrific loss of human life, now numbering over 100,000, but on deeper questions of God, God's love, and God's presence in the horror and suffering.
A Tsunami Blessing
by the Rev. Steve Goodier, Senior Minister, Christ United Methodist Church, Salt Lake City, Utah.
When Innocence Is Fractured
British Methodist pastor and hymn writer Gareth Hill has composed this new hymn text to the familiar AURELIA tune in response to the recent tsunami in southern Asia and Indonesia.
Tsunami, Lord, a Harbor Wave
Retired United Methodist pastor Gene Hamilton has written this new text and made it available to the familiar ST ANNE tune.
Youth Will Use Super Bowl Sunday to Reach Out to Those in Need
For the past twelve years, America's youth have used Super Bowl Sunday as a day of giving and serving by collecting money to help hungry and hurting people in their communities. This year, to add to this already creative effort, many youth groups will also collect money to provide aid for the tsunami and earthquake victims in southern Asia.
Choral Tsunami Prayer
Church musician and composer Kenneth L. Morrison of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, has composed a Choral Tsunami Prayer.
(January 27, 2005, UMNS) New Hymns Respond to Need for Healing in Wake of Tsunami
Beyond the call for prayer, donations and manpower, some United Methodists say they have been moved to bring an offering of song to those who are suffering as a result of the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami.
The Quaking Ground, the Moving Earth
Although British Methodist pastor Andrew Pratt wrote this new text in response to the March 28, 2005, Indonesian earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, the text's "shaking ground" and "moving earth" can be taken as metaphors for any trial, tribulation, or hardship that comes our way.
Links
Asian Tsunamis: 3 UMCOR Church Bulletin Inserts (in Word and pdf formats)
Give to The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)
General Board of Global Ministries Press Release: "United Methodist Relief Agency Issues Emergency Appeal In Wake of Earthquake and Tidal Waves in Southeast Asia"
Coverage of the Crisis on www.umc.org
UNICEF
American Red Cross
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