In order to help the gathered congregation pray in a meaningful way so that our prayers could be more than just so many words abstracted from reality I shared the images that have stayed with me as I have followed the news on Twitter. I hoped that by sharing these images the people sitting in the pews would feel a greater sense of connection with the people in Fort McMurray.

I encouraged them this way:

“…I want you to remember the mother who in the thirty minutes she had to pack up and leave grabbed her daughter’s prom dress…hoping that she would still be able to graduate from the local high school…I want you to remember the woman fleeing the city not in car but on horseback holding the reigns of two other horses behind her as she leads and guides them out of the city to safer ground…I want you to hold in your mind three firefighters leaning against the back of their firetruck taking a few moments of respite after battling the flames all day and evening…I want you to remember the man who stayed behind monitoring the water sprinklers he had set up to try to save his house against all hope as fire consumed his neighbourhood and this mother (in the video below) who tried to comfort her three children as they drove out of town with smoke and flames all around them.

Loving God, we are joined with the trials and sufferings of all. Be with those who endure the effects of the disastrous fires raging in Fort McMurray and surrounding communities. Protect those in the path of danger. Open the pathway of evacuation. Help loved ones to find one another in the chaos. Provide assistance to those who need help. Ease the fears of all and make your presence known in the stillness of your peace, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.  (Adapted from Lutheran Disaster Response, Upstate, NY).