Post-disaster Prayers and Resources: Boston and Texas

April 19, 2013
 
Our hearts and prayers go out to those impacted by the tragic events in Boston and Texas. We have been in touch with our local Diocesan Disaster Coordinators in the affected areas, and stand ready to offer support as needed. 
 
In the meantime, many of us are seeking ways to help. Prayer is most needed at this time. Consider using the resources provided below in conversations with loved ones. Episcopal Relief & Development’s US Disaster Preparedness and Response Program has developed the following resources for parents and church leaders ministering to children and families in the first week after a disaster:
 
Working with Children After a Disaster: Tips for Parents and Teachers. This one-page handout suggests age-appropriate ways to help children process, discuss and pray about a disaster. It can be used as a bulletin insert or sent home with children in religious education classes this weekend.
 
Individual and Family Preparedness. This handout details ways for families and individuals to make their own disaster preparedness plan, including information and items that should go into a preparedness kit. 
 
For Educators: Curricula for Ministering to Children, Youth and Teens After a Disaster
This three-module resource provides age-appropriate lesson plans and activities for church school classes and youth group sessions immediately following a tragic event. While it focuses on communities directly impacted, religious educators can adapt the prayer experiences and discussion guides to help children and youth respond to tragic events in other communities.

We encourage parents and caregivers to be sensitive to the needs of children before exposing them to details about a devastating event. These and other resources on disaster response can be found online at https://www.episcopalrelief.org/resourcelibrary.  

 
 
Please pray for all those who have been impacted by this event, and for the first responders and authorities who put themselves in harm’s way to protect and help others.
 
O God, you have bound us together in common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen 
 
In Times of Conflict, page 824
The Book of Common Prayer