The Jesuit parish of St Ignatius in Toowong, Brisbane, is helping coordinate some of the volunteers that have provided an inspirational response to the devastating floods in Australia.
Fr Greg Jacobs SJ, the assistant priest in the parish, said the disaster was bringing out the best side of people.
‘There has been a great sense of people coming together. It’s been amazing, particularly for those of us who didn’t go through the 1974 floods’, he said.
Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria have been devastated by flooding over the last month, with many parts of the country still bracing themselves. Brisbane was the biggest urban centre hit by the floods, with many houses in riverside suburbs swamped with water.
The floodwaters are currently receding in Brisbane, leaving a massive clean-up task for the community. None of the parish’s buildings were affected by the waters, although the floods were just down the hill from Holy Spirit Church in Auchenflower.
The parish offered the church hall in Toowong as a place for people to take shelter. However, generous parishioners provided rooms and beds for any families in need. Much of the accommodation will be ongoing while the clean-up takes place.
‘We had a family who had lost everything, and who won’t be able to get back in their house for at least six months’, said Fr Jacobs. ‘Another family offered them a granny flat out the back of their home for the next six months. It wasn’t even a member of the parish, just a lady who lived down the road from one of the parishioners.’
Volunteers from the parish and primary school community have been organising themselves to clean the mud and damaged items from the affected houses.
Fr Jacobs says he has been moved by how the cycle of generosity moves from place to place.
‘We had a collection before the flood hit Brisbane for the people affected by floods in Emerald, just north of here’, he said. ‘Then when we got hit, North Sydney had a collection and they’ve been very generous to us. I think a number of people around Australia are finding that. When you’re being generous, you get the generosity coming back to you.’
Along with the funds from North Sydney, the Province Office has also given the parish money to support in the relief efforts. The school and parish will be looking at building an ongoing network of volunteers, to continue any clean-up work needed as others go back to work. They are also hoping to support those who don’t have a parish network to hook into.
‘We do have a number of volunteers still around, and we’ve got some funds available to us at the moment. So we’re looking at how we can be with people as they look to the next stage of the recovery process’, said Fr Jacobs.
Parish priest Fr Peter Quin said the next week will be an important one for people.
‘We’re going to be trying to help people with new carpets and whitegoods’, he said. ‘Once the river has gone down, and once people start really cleaning out their place, that’s when we’ll know a bit more about what’s needed.’
Funds not used directly in the parish will be given to St Vincent de Paul and other agencies that will be providing long-term support to affected families.
Fr Jacobs said the people of Brisbane appreciated all of the support that was flowing in from around the country.
“There are a lot of people who can go and clean up a backyard. But there is also a lot of value to prayer, and letting people know they are in our thoughts. That can be an equally valuable gift to some people.’
Flood donations
St Vincent de Paul: http://www.vinnies.org.au/qldfloodappeal
Queensland Premier’s Appeal: http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html
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