There are a few reasons why I thought we should invite emergency service workers to Holy Trinity for a “Service of Thanks”.
Since I moved to Picton to serve as minister, there have been a number of serious events where local emergency services were called to assist. Last year there were several hundred anti-mandate protesters who camped on Nelson Square, in front of Holy Trinity, for five weeks. There are also frequent serious accidents on State Highway 1. One accident in particular had a deep impact on the Picton community, when seven members of a family were killed after their van collided with a truck last year.
My heart went out to the first responders, and the emotional impact of these events on them personally.
Leaders from the Police, Fire Brigade, St John, Coastguard and Harbour Master came to share their stories. They spoke about the most challenging parts of their roles - having to break the worst possible news to families, or being the first to arrive at horrific scenes.
People tend to assume that emergency workers eventually get used to the traumatic sights they see, but one experienced paramedic assured us that they don’t. When the discussion turned to the van collision tragedy from last year, Fire Chief Wayne Wytenburg spoke for all the services. It was hard for everyone, but he felt the community came together amidst the devastation: “We were all blown away by the way the local community just wrapped us up.”
I recalled hearing the sirens from church that day. We just stopped the service and prayed for all those involved.
Marlborough Mayor Nadine Taylor shared afterwards that the service helped to remind her how amazing the local community is, and “how many good people there are out there, working hard to help others.”
We don’t intend to leave these newly built relationships with just a one-off service.
By connecting with leaders of the Emergency Services, as well as the Marlborough District Council and other local leaders, we want to offer partnership in preparing the community for future disasters. Just like the Emergency Service workers are daily dealing with matters of life and death, so we, the Church, are called as agents in God’s Kingdom to bring a hopeful perspective in all matters of life and death. Besides that, Holy Trinity parishioners have many skills, life experiences and practical facilities to offer.
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We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
There are a few reasons why I thought we should invite emergency service workers to Holy Trinity for a “Service of Thanks”.
Since I moved to Picton to serve as minister, there have been a number of serious events where local emergency services were called to assist. Last year there were several hundred anti-mandate protesters who camped on Nelson Square, in front of Holy Trinity, for five weeks. There are also frequent serious accidents on State Highway 1. One accident in particular had a deep impact on the Picton community, when seven members of a family were killed after their van collided with a truck last year.
My heart went out to the first responders, and the emotional impact of these events on them personally.
Leaders from the Police, Fire Brigade, St John, Coastguard and Harbour Master came to share their stories. They spoke about the most challenging parts of their roles - having to break the worst possible news to families, or being the first to arrive at horrific scenes.
People tend to assume that emergency workers eventually get used to the traumatic sights they see, but one experienced paramedic assured us that they don’t. When the discussion turned to the van collision tragedy from last year, Fire Chief Wayne Wytenburg spoke for all the services. It was hard for everyone, but he felt the community came together amidst the devastation: “We were all blown away by the way the local community just wrapped us up.”
I recalled hearing the sirens from church that day. We just stopped the service and prayed for all those involved.
Marlborough Mayor Nadine Taylor shared afterwards that the service helped to remind her how amazing the local community is, and “how many good people there are out there, working hard to help others.”
We don’t intend to leave these newly built relationships with just a one-off service.
By connecting with leaders of the Emergency Services, as well as the Marlborough District Council and other local leaders, we want to offer partnership in preparing the community for future disasters. Just like the Emergency Service workers are daily dealing with matters of life and death, so we, the Church, are called as agents in God’s Kingdom to bring a hopeful perspective in all matters of life and death. Besides that, Holy Trinity parishioners have many skills, life experiences and practical facilities to offer.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
