Where is God in all these diasters?

Where is God in all these disasters?
by John Madeley

An earthquake in Indonesia, a tsunami affecting Samoa and Tonga, a
typhoon hitting Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia, devastating
flooding in South India, severe drought in Kenya and Ethiopia.
Hundreds of people dead, tens of thousands displaced. Suffering on a
massive scale. It all happened in a week in late September this year.

What is going on? Where is God in all these disasters? Why doesn’t God
intervene to stop them? These are fair questions. The meaning of
suffering is difficult for us to answer, but what we do know is that
God gives a free will. In that sense God is vulnerable to our choices.
If we chose to exercise that free will in a way that is damaging for
others, and for ourselves, God does not stop us.

God gives us freedom, to choose the right or the wrong path. If we
choose the wrong path, it will grieve God’s heart, but God does not
stop us, does not act like some giant policeman in the sky. God the
Son died on the cross 2000 years because people decided he should die.
They exercised their free will. God did not stop them. The world is
not God’s puppet theatre.

God guides us to use our free will in accordance with his will for us.
But if we ignore it, if we turn away from God, if we abuse natural
resources, then consequences may follow.

We should stop calling disasters “natural disasters”. Severe floods
and droughts, hurricanes. typhoons and cyclones are occurring at twice
the rate of 40 years ago. They are not as natural as they seem, they
are more related to the way we live than they appear. Disasters are
increasingly related to climate change, to emissions of carbon, to the
world’s heavy use of energy. And that includes our use of energy.

A few years ago, Christian Aid published a report entitled “Unnatural
Disasters”. It said that rich nations such as Britain were condemning
poor countries to an "ever increasing number of overwhelming
humanitarian catastrophes".

Climate-related disasters, which kill thousands of people and cost
millions in terms of providing aid to stricken populations, are
manmade and should no longer be termed natural disasters, it said.

But what about earthquakes? 98% of people who die in earthquakes die
not because of the earthquake itself, but because buildings collapse
on them. They are related to poverty. On tsunamis, we know from the
2004 tsunami that here nature's barriers were intact - mangroves
forests along coast lines for example - there was far less damage. New
tourist hotels, shrimp farms etc had caused many to be removed.

Where is God is these disasters? God is with those who suffer. And God
is with us, calling us to be more responsible stewards of the
beautiful wold he created.

What can we do? At the very least we can support the 10/10 Initiative
- cut our emissions of carbon, our use of electricity, gas, oil, by
10% by the end of 2010. Cutting our emissions is vital if our
children, our grandchildren are to have a future. It’s vital if
children women and men in poor countries are to have a present. Where
is God in all this? God is working in us.

Based on a sermon given at Caversham Heights Methodist Church on 4th October.

Tonga crowns king in lavish rite

George Tupou V has been crowned king of Tonga in the capital Nuku'alofa, marking the South Pacific state's first coronation in more than 40 years. He was anointed with oil and had a gold crown placed on his head in the Christian ceremony, performed in a church before 1,000 guests. The new monarch was called upon to rule "wisely, justly and truly".

Thousands of people had lined the route to the church and cheered when the new monarch emerged. Earlier, Prime Minister Fred Sevele defended the lavish festivities marking the coronation saying that "the great majority of Tongans" would make no apologies for them Officials say some 5.7m Tongan dollars (US$2.5m) have been spent on the event in a country where poverty is widespread.

The new king's father, the late King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, ascended to the throne in 1967 and died in 2006. The king talked to the BBC before his coronation.

Sitting on a golden throne on Friday in the capital's Centenary Free Wesleyan Church, George Tupou V was "anointed, blessed and consecrated" by the Archbishop of Polynesia, Jabez Bryce. The king wore silk knee breeches, a medal-decked jacket and a maroon-coloured cape trimmed with white ermine fur. His three-metre-long train was carried by child pages.

A 21-cannon salute and the tolling of church bells marked the coronation. Royal guests included Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito, Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and the UK's Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

The new king will rule over a semi-feudal political system where he and nobles decide the make-up of the cabinet and parliament. But he has said he supports reforms, scheduled for 2010, in which most seats in the country's parliament will become popularly elected. The promised reforms follow destructive riots in Nuku'alofa in 2006.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7536474.stm

Published: 2008/08/01 00:34:16 GMT

Coronation of King George Tupou V of Tonga

Hundreds of dignitaries are arriving in Tonga to see King George Tupou V enthroned in a Christian ceremony on Friday. The king, 60, was given roasted pig and kava, a mild narcotic drink, to mark his coronation in a traditional ceremony on Wednesday.

On Tonga's main island, Tongatapu, buildings and fences are decorated in bunting in the national colours, red and white. Hundreds of banners congratulating the king have been hung across roads.

Royals arrive

Thousands of visitors arrived in Tonga on Thursday, ahead of the main event on Friday. Villagers presented the king with dozens of roast pigs.

These visitors included overseas Tongans and hundreds of dignitaries, including other royals such as Britain's Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Crown Prince of Japan and Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand. There will also be many South Pacific royals.

Prime Minister Sevele defended the lavish nature of the celebrations, saying they were part of Tongan custom in Polynesia's last remaining monarchy. Officials also pointed out that guests were likely to spend large amounts of money during their stay.

Source: BBC News

The recently inducted President of the Methodist Conference, the Revd Stephen Poxon,
is among the special guests now in Tonga, where the Methodist Church is strong, for the King's coronation. We will be eagerly looking forward to reading about it all both in his blog and in the Methodist Recorder.

Prayers for President and Vice-President.

Our new President and Vice-President are now continuing to blog as their predecessors did and the President, the Revd Stephen Poxon, asks for our prayers for our Anglican friends who have had such difficult issues to deal with in the Lambeth Conference.

We will also need to pray for the President as he sets off to visit the Methodists in New Zealand and then goes on to Tonga for the coronation of their new king! He invites us to watch the Presidential blog for details of these interesting, exciting and (no doubt) inspiring overseas visits, which I will eagerly await.