With the news of the fires in Greece, we ask for prayers for the communities, people and local services who are impacted. The chaplain of St Paul’s Athens, Fr Benjamin Drury reflects on the fires:

“On the one hand there is good news of neighbours and friends helping save others homes, but there are also volunteers who risk and sometimes lose their lives alongside the professional firefighters.

Sadly though for Greece this is no rare event but part of life every summer for months, living with the risk hearing of fires in other bits of the country: fires this year in the North, on Serifos, Kea and Evia islands.

Prayer is important, to know that when part of the body of Christ suffered, others of that body do not forget to pray for those afflicted; to remember both the sin of the world its selfishness that is at least in part to blame for these climate related fires and the selfless reaction in prayer and help offered by so many.

This picture is taken from my roof of the smoke cloud over central Athens, showing how close it is to us.”