Jenan Taylor
29 February 2024
Churches in western Victoria are working alongside local volunteers and emergency relief crews to provide accommodation, food, clothing and care to communities affected by dangerous bushfires.
Anglican and Uniting church representatives in Ararat, Stawell and Pomonal provided aid, while parishioners’ homes and church buildings remained intact throughout the extreme weather conditions.
About 40 houses were razed in Pomonal when dry lightning sparked bushfires in that part of the state in mid-February.
Hundreds of people then evacuated their homes and properties over the following weeks as multiple fires broke out across the region, including in the Grampians National Park and near Stawell.
Ararat Anglican parish priest the Reverend Martin Nadarajan said a few church members were among those who fled the fire but didn’t lose their homes.
Mr Nadarajan said the church was able to help them find temporary, private accommodation through its parishioner friend networks, and through a relief centre.
He said the church opened its op shop to provide free goods for others who were left with nothing but what they wore when they evacuated.
A chaplain for the local police, he also provided grief counselling for Pomonal residents, and pastoral care for emergency personnel at council relief centres in Ararat.
Read more: Churches prepare as ‘most dangerous fire day in years’ looms
But Mr Nadarajan said he believed the full impact of the fires was yet to be felt in the area.
He anticipated there would be a great deal of anxiety in the rebuilding stages, and long-term trauma for many people.
Mr Nadarajan said the aid delivery had become almost non-stop for him since the fiery conditions began, but it was part of what he was called to do.
He said he strived to be close at hand for the Ararat parish and community during the emergency because he needed to understand what they were experiencing.
“I need to breathe the air that my people are breathing. If they are breathing smoky air, I need to breathe that,” Mr Nadarajan said.
Holy Trinity Stawell council member Rosemary Perry said her small Anglican congregation contributed its monthly Devonshire teas funds to the town’s emergency relief and services centres.
Mrs Perry said the church’s biggest concern was the psychological wellbeing of Stawell’s elderly community including that of its own parishioners.
She said some were in their 90s, living on their own, and scared about media reports that they would have to evacuate if emergency crews lost control of the fires.
Many were also afraid that there were still trees and vegetation burning underground, and struggled to understand how they might not be in any immediate danger, Mrs Perry said.
She said parish council members visited many elderly residents every day to provide reassurance and company for those reasons.
Stawell and Pomonal Uniting church pastor Damien Tann said the church building in Pomonal became a welfare hub immediately after the fire.
Mr Tann said it was thought to have been destroyed when fire engulfed part of the town on February 13, but had remained intact while neighbouring buildings didn’t.
Read more: ‘Miraculous delivery’ for far north Queensland residents, church buildings
He said church and community volunteers were now working alongside each other in the building to receive and distribute donated items including clothing, bedding, food and toiletries.
Mr Tann said none of the congregants lost their homes, and they were still shocked but delighted that the church hadn’t burnt down.
“We are grateful to God for that and thankful to be able to use the building in other ways,” Mr Tann said.
He said since the fire Pomonal Uniting church members used the Stawell Neighbourhood House and a parishioner’s garage to continue worship services.
The Premier Jacinta Allan announced on 29 February that the blazes that caused the most concern during the peak fire period were contained.
Ms Allan said 22,000 hectares had burnt and there was a 165-kilometre fire front, but thanks to responders, no lives had been lost.
For more faith news, follow The Melbourne Anglican on Facebook, Instagram, or subscribe to our weekly emails.
