Bushfire generosity a glimpse of a better world, says Archbishop Freier
by Mark Brolly
The generous response to the tragedy of Black Saturday was a glimpse of a world that was healed and restored, Archbishop Freier told a remembrance service at St Paul’s Cathedral marking the first anniversary of the bushfires on 7 February.
Dr Freier told a congregation that included bushfire survivors and relatives of who had perished, political and community leaders and representatives of emergency services that the anniversary was certain to stir things within the memory of all but urged them to “be confident that God’s love is a present love, not just an abstract idea”. “It’s a love that has a shape and a tangibility to it, one that we experience through others, their compassion, their concern, their empathy, a love that we show by our attendance today,” he said.
“We all learned something of that hidden capacity of empathy and that was undoubtedly part of the incredibly generous response to the bushfire appeal. And without doubt, that is why you have all come, well prepared for remembrance today…”
The Prime Minister, Mr Kevin Rudd, the Premier, Mr John Brumby, the Governor-General, Ms Quentin Bryce, and the Victorian Governor, Professor David de Kretser, were among those who participated in the service. Mr Rudd and Ms Bryce read passages from Scripture, Mr Brumby read a poem, Gift of Hope, by a member of the bereaved community, Ms Rhonda Abotomey, while Professor de Kretser was the first to light a candle for the communities affected by the fires.
The candelabrum, or “Tree of Lights”, used in the service was the same one used to mark the 10th anniversary of the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre. Archbishop Freier alluded to its use to commemorate Australia’s most devastating bushfires.
“What a contradictory symbol, yet in this controlled and restrained way, fire will be for us in that symbolic act a symbol of hope and light for the future,” he said.
The Federal and State Opposition Leaders, Mr Tony Abbott and Mr Ted Baillieu respectively, joined the bereaved and representatives of other Christian churches and of other faiths in lighting candles.
The remembrance service was held under the auspices of the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority.
Ms Christine Nixon, the authority’s chair, said people had seen and heard things in the past year that they hoped never to see or hear again. But through it all, “the Australian spirit has been there in spades”.
She said all concerned had learned that there was no formula for rebuilding or recovery “and certainly no formula to grieve”.
Ms Carol Matthews, whose son was killed in the bushfires and whose house was destroyed, said: “On that day, we lost our past, our present and our future.”
But she said those who survived the bushfires had been overwhelmed not only by the love and support of family, friends and colleagues but by the generosity of all Australians.
Archbishop Freier recalled conducting an ordination service at the cathedral on the day of the fires. A cool change arrived, easing the intense heat and wind.
“Little did we know the tragedy that was developing only a short distance away,” he said.
One of the newly ordained clergy was to spend her first weeks in ministry at a relief centre in Wallan. Archbishop recalled mattresses being laid out there, including some for children with teddy bears on them.
“It’s often in the small events that we can make some sense of the immense scale of something like what happened last year,” he said.
“When we tell our own stories, God often comes into a clearer focus, God’s love, even God’s power are no longer abstract ideas but in our experiences, something that we have a sense that we have entered into.”
The Dean, Bishop Mark Burton, welcomed the congregation, saying that they gathered in the long shadow of disaster, touched in varying degrees by the devastation wrought by the bushfires.
“Mingled with grief and bewilderment may well be deep feelings of anger, dismay and defiance, mixed through, perhaps, with thanksgiving,” he said. “All of this, and more, we bring to God…
“We know that life will go on, must go on – and in faith and hope we look to God.”