RELIGIOUS leaders in the Riverina have turned to the power of prayer to bring rain — and relief — to drought-stricken farmers.
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Ministers from Christian denominations hope the heavens will open in the coming weeks, providing rain that will be crucial to salvaging the season’s harvest.
Henty pastor Graham Klemke hoped a prayer meeting on Sunday would prompt some divine intervention.
The Culcairn Uniting Church will welcome community members from across the Riverina from 2pm to 3pm.
“No one can make it rain — God’s the only one who can make it rain,” Pastor Klemke said.
“We need to turn to Him because He’s the provider.
“We’ve just got to trust in Him.”
Pastor Klemke said even non-religious farmers could attend the prayer session to gather strength from community spirit.
“It’s not only praying, it’s also about helping farmers,” he said.
“A lot of them go through depression, a lot of them really get negative and down.
“And it doesn’t just affect them, it affects their families as well.”
Leaders from the Presbyterian, Catholic, Anglican, Pentecostal, Lutheran and Uniting Church faiths will take part in the prayer, travelling from churches in Henty, Holbrook, Walla, Brocklesby, Jindera and Gerogery.
The pastors — collectively known as the Billabong Ministers’ Association — held similar prayer meetings in 2005 and about 10 years earlier in response to droughts.
In the 1990s, it rained within a week of the meeting.
Culcairn Lutheran pastor Gary Kenney said the group wanted to offer a message of hope to farmers crippled by the effects of drought.
“It’s a lack of hope that leads to despair,” he said.
“Our aim is to bring that hope into people’s lives so they don’t give up.”
