Tuesday 22 2011 was like September 4th 2010, only worse. The now familiar surreal scenes of neighbours heating water on camp stoves and comforting each other with their presence, BBQ communal meals taken without lighting in the gathering dusk. Munted houses and buildings and an astonishingly quick emergency response (practice makes perfect!). Help from all parts of the world- accepted on this occasion because people, alive or dead, were involved this time. So many precious heritage buildings gone for ever and good people with them.
Some lucky people have not lost power, water, sewerage, but most of us have struggled with varying lengths of time without these essentials. Normal life as we know it ceased completely. Christchurch is looking at a very long period of recovery, say 10 years! Wellwishers from outside the city have been kindly but sometimes annoying in their insistence on getting their good wishes through to us when we are literally struggling to survive. I know that sounds churlish, but it is true.
One pastor from the North Island told his congregation that he felt personally responsible for the earthquake as he had prayed for a "cleansing" of New Zealand!! How ridiculous, pompous and arrogant is that? A "look at me, I am so pious and influential with God". Send him down here to pull the dead from the ruins of our Cathedral and let him be humbled.The speed and ease of modern communication is both a blessing and an irritant. People have simply failed to understand how serious the situation here is and expect us to be up and running after a couple of days. Hence my replies of thanks have been rather short and blunt!
Some lucky people have not lost power, water, sewerage, but most of us have struggled with varying lengths of time without these essentials. Normal life as we know it ceased completely. Christchurch is looking at a very long period of recovery, say 10 years! Wellwishers from outside the city have been kindly but sometimes annoying in their insistence on getting their good wishes through to us when we are literally struggling to survive. I know that sounds churlish, but it is true.
One pastor from the North Island told his congregation that he felt personally responsible for the earthquake as he had prayed for a "cleansing" of New Zealand!! How ridiculous, pompous and arrogant is that? A "look at me, I am so pious and influential with God". Send him down here to pull the dead from the ruins of our Cathedral and let him be humbled.The speed and ease of modern communication is both a blessing and an irritant. People have simply failed to understand how serious the situation here is and expect us to be up and running after a couple of days. Hence my replies of thanks have been rather short and blunt!
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