Welcome to the Avenues Prayer Room. We invite you to pause, reflect, pray and stay a while. Enjoy using the prayers on this page and come back frequently as they will get updated on a regular basis.
Join us to pray for the people of Christchurch
Our prayers are with the people of Christchurch as they cope with the after effects of the earthquakes and continuing aftershocks. Large aftershocks were felt on 23 December 2011 with more injuries and liquifaction. As a result of the 7.1 magnitude erthquake (4th Sept '10), the deadly 6.3 magnitude earthquake (22nd Feb '11), and the 6.0 magnitude aftershock (23 December '11) many buildings are reduced to piles of rubble. Lives have been lost. Homes have been lost. People are hurt and hurting. The rebuilding effort takes time. Those who have survived are struggling to come to terms with their new reality.
The prayers below are an attempt to connect in an interactive, tactile and visual way and pray for the people of Christchurch. We invite you, whether you are a regular Avenues friend in New Zealand and around the world, or visiting this website for the first time, to join us in prayer for the people of Christchurch.
Light a candle
Sit in the darkness and light a single candle. The light thrown from this small light creates a warm glow. Pray for the situation in Christchurch. Pray for the little lights to glow brightly. Give thanks for the rescue worker who came to Christchurch. Give thanks for the medical staff who work in the hospitals. Give thanks for the way neighbours are helping neighbours. Pray for the people of Christchurch that the little touches of kindness and warmth would keep them positive and hopeful
Baby Powder
Amongst the lives lost were babies. At times of great disaster it is the young and the weak and the vulnerable who suffer. Sprinkle the baby powder and as you shake it pray for the young babies and children in Christchurch. Pray for the families who have lost a child. Pray for the babies born prematurely due to the earthquake. Pray for parents as they try to make sense of what has happened and support their children as the aftershocks continue.
Pile of rubble
Find a brick, block or paver. Sit with it on your knee feeling its weight. Pray for those who have lost a family member or friend beneath the rubble. Pray for those who have lost their business or home beneath the rubble. Pray that out of the rubble, hope would be found. You might like to draw or write your prayer on your brick, block or paver and put it in a central place in your house; such as a breakfast bar or coffee table. Everytime you see your brick, pray a one sentence prayer for the people of Christchurch. Invite anyone who visits your house to hold the brick for a time and feel the burden those in Christchurch are suffering and join with you in prayer.
A Sip of Water
Water tankers are rolled into Christchurch. Tankers came from around the South Island. Take a sip of water. If you live in a place where running water is a given, then you will understand this huge loss for the people of Christchurch. Pray for the weak, the sick, the young, the elderly, the vulnerable.
Then and Now Churches
Avenues does not meet in a regular place or time. We don't have a building. Our connection exists in our relationships and when we meet together. We recognise this makes us an unusual church group. Many of our Christchurch friends and family belong to churches in Christchurch who do meet in buildings. The churches they meet in to fellowship and worship are destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Find a before and after web image of a Christchurch church building; The Anglican Christchurch Cathedral, Durham St Methodist, Oxford Terrace Baptist Church, The Catholic St Patrick's Basilica. Pray for those who belong to these churches. Pray they would find strength together as they regroup and meet for worship in other places. Pray they would support each other and their communities as they come to terms with this loss.
