Bushfire chaplaincy in the thick of it
20.07.2009
Fr Greg Bourke was appointed Bushfire Recovery Chaplain by Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne.
Any disaster that warrants the declaration of a state of emergency has at least three distinct phases.
The first is the state of emergency itself. This is the period of weeks immediately after the disaster. In those first weeks, a closely governed plan is put into effect to cover the need for relief from the sudden disappearance of infrastructure.
In this first stage the Australian Defence Force provides protection, nutrition, housing and transport.
Also, emergency and relief centres are put in place and serviced by the Department of Human Services, Centrelink, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
The second stage is the recovery stage. We are in this stage at present. My role as Bushfire Recovery Chaplain derives its meaning and title from this stage. People who have dealt with other national and worldwide emergencies describe this stage in these or similar words: "In the face of the disaster, we saw the best of human nature. In the recovery stage, we shall see the worst of human nature."
In the midst of the disaster and immediately afterwards we witnessed great acts of heroism and generosity, and outpourings of compassion and solidarity. The Australian Defence Force has withdrawn and other services such as the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and Centrelink will also progressively fulfill their missions as emergency and relief agencies and withdraw. The long and often awful haul towards recovery now begins. Recovery generally means that things will get worse before they get better.
Some practical realities among a myriad of others are: plumbing cannot be connected because pipes melted in the fire; people cannot search through their own rubble because of asbestos; when it rains, mud and ash are tramped into the caravan that is the makeshift home to a family that has lost their 'beautiful' home; children get frustrated in close confines; the dead are mourned, but not yet buried; the injured need to be visited in hospitals in Melbourne even though family cars were burnt in the fires; spouses are divided whether to rebuild or relocate; neighbours who have homes feel embarrassed and guilty when they greet those who lost homes; clinical depression becomes more prevalent, drugs and alcohol are used inappropriately; and people blame other people for the disaster.
What is it that people wish to recover? Basically, beyond material replacement, it is to normalise their relationships, their working lives, the environment and their family and recreational routines. The recovery period will be a series of stepping stones that will be difficult to negotiate along the path to the 'normal' life that the displaced and dispossessed desire.
The third stage is reconstruction. This is about returning people to normal life in the community, not exactly as it was but in a way that is well constituted, creative and progressive. In some respects the infrastructure will be better but it will never be the same.
These stages are not neatly compartmentalised phases as they are described here, following each other on specific dates, but rather they merge into one another; it is an experience in progress.
With this in mind, I consider that my role as Bushfire Recovery Chaplain has three facets. The first is to offer support to the Catholic communities. The bushfires raged through five parishes: Kilmore (Wandong), Diamond Creek (Kinglake), Epping (Whittlesea), Yea-Alexandra (Flowerdale and Marysville) and Healesville. In addition, parishes such as Mt Evelyn (Warburton), Belgrave and Ferntree Gully were menaced by fire. We must not underestimate the anxiety felt by those who faced the flames; three weeks of constant worry and vigilance push some people too far. They too need help to recover.
First, I am attempting to support the priests and leadership teams of the affected parishes, including the schools, so that these people may be better placed to do what they want to do - care for their people.
The Chaplaincy, in conjunction with the Archbishop's Charitable Fund and other sources of funding, is shifting part-time pastoral associates to full time, providing extra secretarial support to priests in the affected areas, financing shop fronts and other centres to provide immediate community support. The Chaplaincy has also placed more than 100 volunteers from our parishes in 'Information Hubs' to help bushfire survivors. Eventually, the support will extend into other appropriate areas. The chaplaincy also has the services of Fr Kevin Goode OFM, who at present lives at Kinglake, and Jerome Santamaria, a seminarian on pastoral placement. As the weeks unfold more volunteers will be needed.
Second, the Chaplaincy has been feeding information and 'state of play' from the fringes of the parishes in the affected areas back to our Catholic agencies such as Centacare and the St Vincent de Paul Society, as also to the Archbishop's Charitable Fund. This helps us to identify any gaps in service delivery to better serve the people affected.
Third, the Chaplaincy is beginning to serve a similar role to that of the Department of Human Services, Centrelink and the other 34 official agencies that come into play when a state of emergency is declared.
This is an opportunity also for the Church to learn how we can be of service to the total community when there is a state of emergency and to take up an appropriate role both through parish structures and through Catholic agencies.
We have not seen such a disaster in our Archdiocese since perhaps the Spanish Flu epidemic after World War I. Archbishop Hart has made a tremendous effort to respond to this terrible tragedy and, if there is ever another disaster in the future, the Church will be better placed to respond.
Fr Greg Bourke is a priest of the Melbourne Archdiocese.
Source: Kairos Catholic Journal, March 22, 2009.
