New Zealand flooding and landslides: a statement and prayer

A statement and prayer from the Revd Tara Tautari, General Secretary, Te Hāhi Weteriana o Aotearoa / The Methodist Church of New Zealand.

Tēnā koutou katoa

Grace and peace to you.

As many communities across Aotearoa continue to be affected by severe flooding, our hearts are with all who are grieving loss of life, homes, whenua, and livelihoods. For many, the days ahead will be long and uncertain, marked by clean-up, waiting, and deep emotional strain.

Earlier this week I was in Te Tai Tokerau, in areas now badly affected by the flooding, and for a time we were ourselves cut off by rising waters. I am deeply grateful that the floodwaters have since receded where we were, but that experience has brought home, in a very immediate way, the fear, isolation, and vulnerability that so many are still living with.

I commend to you the prayer below, offered as a prayer of solace for use in worship, meetings, pastoral visits, or personal devotion. I invite you to share it freely within your congregations, faith communities, and networks, as a way of holding before God those who have been most impacted.

We also give thanks for the extraordinary care being shown across the country, for first responders, emergency services, volunteers, and neighbours; for marae and community spaces opening their doors; and for the quiet, faithful acts of manaakitanga that are sustaining people day by day.

I also want to share that ecumenical partners from across the world have been in touch, offering their prayers and expressing deep concern for the people and communities of Aotearoa. Their messages remind us that we are part of a wider body, that when one part suffers, all are moved to prayer. We are held not only locally, but globally, in a web of faith, solidarity, and care.

Please know that our prayers as a Connexion are with all who are suffering, all who are responding, and all who are walking alongside communities in this time. May we continue to uphold one another in compassion, solidarity, and hope.

Ngā manaakitanga

The Revd Tara Tautari
General Secretary, Te Hāhi Weteriana o Aotearoa

A Prayer for Communities in the Floodwaters

God of compassion and steadfast love, we come before you with heavy hearts.

We grieve with those who have lost loved ones, those whose homes are broken,

whose whenua is scarred,

whose livelihoods have been swept away.

Hold close the names, the faces, the stories

that are known to you, even when words fail us.

Be near to all who are afraid, displaced, or exhausted. Bring rest to bodies and peace to troubled spirits.

Wrap your presence around those who feel overwhelmed by loss, uncertainty, and grief.

We give thanks for those who have run toward danger when others could not

for first responders, emergency services, volunteers,

and all who have laboured long hours with courage and care. Strengthen them, protect them, and renew them.

We give thanks for marae that have opened their doors,

for communities who have shared shelter, kai, warmth, and dignity, for neighbours who have checked on neighbours,

for kindness that has risen like high ground in the storm.

May these acts of manaakitanga remind us that we do not stand alone.

God of land and sea, of rain and river,

teach us how to live with humility and wisdom

in relationship with creation and with one another. Guide leaders, planners, and decision-makers toward justice, care for the vulnerable,

and long-term healing of both people and place.

In the days ahead,

give patience where the road is long, hope where recovery feels distant,

and courage to rebuild lives rooted in dignity and care.

Hold Aotearoa in your mercy.

Let your peace settle where the waters have raged, and let your love carry us

today, and in the days to come.

Āmine.