God our Comforter, who walks with us through fire, flood and drought. We pray today and every day for those impacted by the ferocious bushfires this last spring and summer. We pray for those who have lost lives, family members, homes, businesses, towns and forests. We pray for those who have lost a sense of safety, those who have lost places of refuge and comfort, and those for whom familiar landscapes, which were once beautiful and calming, now evoke memories of fear and hurt. We pray for the difficult work of cleaning up the damaged done, which in many places is just beginning. And for the rebuilding still to come in the months and years ahead. We recognise the delays caused by COVID restrictions and the additional pain and trauma of having to deal with multiple crises at once, especially for those living in temporary accommodation. We pray that all of these people and communities might know that they are not alone and we have not forgotten them. We are conscious of the great harm caused by the bushfires. We think of the estimated 445 people who medical experts now tell us died from inhaling the smoke of the fires. We think of the 3,000 people admitted to our hospital with respiratory problems and the 1,700 who struggled to breathe because of asthma. And for all those who couldn't protect themselves or their children from the smoke. God, you have breathed life into all the creatures of the world. As we commemorate World Environment Day and the theme of biodiversity this year, we remember the billions of animals and insects burned to death by the fires, those who starved to death in burned landscapes afterwards, and those now struggling to survive in limited remaining habitat, some of which continues to be logged. We pray for endangered species whose lives are now even more precarious because of the impact of these fires, and those newly made endangered or extinct by them. We thank you for the sober and careful work of scientists who strive to measure the full impact of these fires on our land and its creatures. Holy God, we sometimes fear the future. We fear the approaching fire season and the ones following. We fear because we know this wasn't a one-off freak event. We knew something like this was coming. We'd been told of the risks. We acknowledge that as a society we have failed to eat the warnings of our scientists over decades that climate change would make our fires seasons more severe and longer lasting. We have failed to act in a timely manner to reduce our emissions, even though Australia is one of the most vulnerable countries in the developed world to climate change. In our sins of emission, we have failed not only ourselves, but our children and grandchildren, who now face a greater burden and more severe impacts of climate change because of our inaction. But, Lord, you are our God of grace and the hope of new beginnings. We thank you for the incredible ways that Bushfire communities pulled together and looked after each other during the fires. We thank you for the leading roles that our church communities and church people played in this. We thank you for the chaplains of the disaster recovery chaplaincy network and for our leaders who work to support those suffering. We thank you that in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have again seen our capacity to come together as a community, to put aside differences, to listen to our scientists and other experts, and to work together to address a common threat. We have been willing to make sacrifices to protect the vulnerable and a greater harm. Help us now to bring this same resolve to the challenge of climate change. We thank you that ultimately we know how to solve this problem. It's as simple and as hard as reducing the greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. We thank you for all the people around our country installing solar panels, reducing their car use, and eating less meat. We especially thank you for those who recognize that our faith calls us to action and who are working faithfully to care for creation and reduce their emissions. Give our governments grace and courage to act together for the common good. The time for division, denial, and politicking is over. Give us all the capacity to overcome differences and find common ground. Now is the time to act. For those suffering. For those who will suffer if we do not act now. You have given us power and agency, Lord. Let us use it. And so, Lord, we commit to these two things. To uphold in prayer and offer what support we can to those communities recovering from the bushfires. And to act together to create a safer climate future for ourselves, our neighbours, and all the creatures of this world that God has made and loves. Be with us in these actions, Lord, and in all we do. Give us not peace, but determination and the will to see change. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.