GOOD NEWS FROM CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL, NZ

From stuff.co.nz:

TEARS OF JOY

The Dean of ChristChurch Cathedral cried when he was told early today there were no bodies buried in the rubble of the church.

The Very Reverend Peter Beck got a telephone call about 1am from the head of the Urban Search and Rescue task force, Ralph Moore, who told him the shattered cathedral had been checked and rechecked and there were no bodies in the rubble.

"I was expecting to get a call from him saying they had found a body and I and my colleagues were going to go down and say prayers at the side of the body.

"But of course I got this other news and I just burst into tears. I was speechless, It was unbelievable."

Thanks be to God! Earlier predictions estimated that as many as 22 people might have been inside when the tower of the cathedral collapsed.

The death toll was lifted by two to 165 today....

Eternal rest grand unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.

O merciful Father, you who taught us in your holy Word that you do not willingly afflict or grieve your children: Look with compassion upon the sorrows of your servants in Christchurch, New Zealand, for whom our prayers are offered. Remember them, O Lord, in mercy, nourish their souls with comfort and a sense of your goodness, lift up your countenance upon them, and give them peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

H/T to Andrew Gerns at The Lead.

PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE IN CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND (2)

From 3News NZ:

Before any bodies can be brought out, the cathedral must first be stabilised.

Sight-seers were known to have been in the steeple when it collapsed, crashing into an area where there were more tourists.

The victims remain trapped under piles of rubble right up to the windows.
“It's a very delicate task, because the building is quite unsafe, and we can't put these guys into a dangerous situation. I think they are going to be removing another part of the tower and they may have to take down part of the west wall if not altogether,” says Dean Peter Beck.

Bricks and mortar were still falling when 3 News arrived minutes after the quake, while dazed survivors comforted each other, Beck realised his cathedral had become a tomb.

He believes all the victims were tourists. Staff and volunteers have all been accounted for.

“I haven't cried yet but I think I'm on the verge of it it's just the enormity of the whole thing mate,” says Dean Beck.

From Christ Church Cathedral website:

A PRAYER IN TIME OF NEED

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 things we have built crumble about us,
we know too well how small we truly are
on this ever-changing, ever-moving,
fragile planet we call home.
Yet you have promised never to forget us.
Do not forget us now.

Today, so many people are afraid.
They still wait in fear of the next tremor.
They remember the cries of the injured amid the rubble.
They roam the streets in shock at what they see.
And they fill the dusty air with cries of grief
and the names of missing dead.

Comfort them, Lord, in this disaster.
Be their rock when the earth refuses to stand still,
and shelter them under your wings
when homes no longer exist.

Embrace in your arms those who died so suddenly this week.
Console the hearts of those who mourn,
and ease the pain of bodies on the brink of death.

Pierce, too, our hearts with compassion,
we who watch from afar,
find only misery upon misery.

Move us to act swiftly this day,
to give generously every day,
to work for justice always,
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.

For though the mountains leave their place
and the hills be tossed to the ground,
your love shall never leave us,
and your promise of peace will never be shaken.

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.

H/T to Brian R at Noble Wolf and Nicholas Knisely at The Lead.