23rd September 2026

Slash and burn is the term given to the illegal and cheap way to clear land for plantations of oil palm, in Indonesia, the world’s largest producer. These together with other causes have resulted in fires that have burned out of control for over for months across Indonesia’s Borneo and Sumatra islands.  More than 54,000 personnel and dozens of water bombing aircraft have been used, but the vast territory and challenging peatland conditions make it hard to put out the fires. Since January, at least 895,657 hectares of land – nearly six times the size of Greater London – have been burned. As the fires rage, schools have closed, and emergency rooms have been inundated with patients.  While people sleep they breathing in the smoke, eyes are left stinging and weeping, and dizziness occurs.  175,000 people in have suffered from respiratory illness since August, according to Indonesia's health ministry, with over 40,000 cases, ranging from coughs to bronchitis and more serious conditions like pneumonia, with devastating impacts on babies and toddlers.The impact on wildlife is also devastating. David Gaveau, a landscape ecologist who runs Nusantara Atlas, which tracks fires and deforestation in Asia warns of this year's this super El Niño, that could cause the fires to continue until November, when the rainy season is expected to start. But he is clear that “El Niño is an enabler. Of course the more powerful it is, the longer and the more intense the drought, and that’s not good news,” says Gaveau, “But you need a match. And we know what that is; it’s people.”

Loving God, we place into your care all who are suffering the devastation of smoke and fire across Indonesia and neighbouring islands. We notice the consequences of climate change and human action.  May all be careful and understanding of their actions. Draw near to all who are suffering: those who have lost loved ones, farms, livestock and livelihoods, all who are injured and whose respiritory systems have been compromised.  Be alongside all who are fearful and wait in uncertainty.  May the authorities focus on protecting the vulnerable from further harm, and we ask your protection for all engaged in extinguishing the fires. Bring rains, bring a new approach to farming. In Jesus name we pray.  Amen.

Ten year old Clara, from Southwold in Suffolk, UK, has swum in the sea every day for a year. In doing so she has raised more than £12,000 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) - twice Clara's original target.  Clara said, "Last year, I came and sat on the prom, very silent, and I walked up to my parents and said 'I've decided to swim in the sea every day for a year'. They hesitated for a bit and questioned 'is this real or is this fake?', and then they accepted it, but it took a bit of planning to completely figure it out." The money Clara has raised will go to the Southwold lifeboat station. Simon Hazelgrove, lifeboat operations manager, said: "I'm absolutely astonished. Myself, along with her father and many other people, thought she would never go through the winter. The fact that when there was snow on the ground she was rolling around in the waves... I mean I wouldn't do it. Pretty brutal." Last year the RNLI saved at least 273 lives around the UK coast, over 8,000 people were assisted through 9,082 lifeboat launches. There has been a lifeboat in Southwold since 1841.

Father in heaven,

praise be to you

I glorify your name.

May your will be done here on earth

just as it is in heaven.

I praise you, I thank you,

for all that sustains me in earthly life.

I praise you, I thank you,

for all that sustain me in eternal life.

I thank you that you forgive all my wrong doing

and that you give me the strength to forgive others.

I thank you that by the power of your Holy Sprit

you protect me from danger.

I thank you for Jesus Christ

for he is the Saviour of the world.

Yours Lord, is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,

now and forever, Amen.