A Prayer for victims and survivors of the Earthquake in Turkey - February 2023

Lord, at times such as this, when we realize that the ground beneath our feet is not as solid as we had imagined, we plead for your mercy.

 

As the life crumbles about the people in Turkey, help us realise how small we all truly are on this ever-changing, ever-moving, fragile planet we call home. Give us the strength to hear, to care, to act.

 

Today, so many people are hurt and afraid. They wait in fear of the next tremor. Of the next collapse. They hear the cries of the injured amid the rubble. They roam the streets in shock at what they see, looking for their loved ones.

 

Yet, you are the God who hears the cries of your people. And you have promised never to forget us. So, comfort them, Lord, in this disaster. Be their rock when the earth refuses to stand still and shelter them when their homes no longer exist.

 

Embrace in your arms those who have died. Console the hearts of those who mourn and ease their pain. Pour your healing balm on the injured.

 

Pierce, too, our hearts with compassion, we who watch from afar, safe in our homes. Move us to act swiftly, to give generously, to help.

 

Give us grace to pray unceasingly for those without hope. And once the shaking has ceased, the images of destruction have stopped filling the news, and our thoughts return to life's daily rumblings, let us not forget that we are all your children, and they our brothers and sisters.

 

We are all the work of your hands, and our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Blessed be the name of the Lord, now and forever.

 

Amen.