Wagga's many religious and ethnic groups came together on Wednesday night for multi-faith prayer service for those affected by the bushfires across the region and Australia.
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The service had about 250 attendees and was opened with a hymn by the Vanuatu Choir, which was made up of Pacific Islander workers who were in Batlow to pick fruit when they were displaced by the Dunns Road Bushfire.
The choir earned multiple rounds of applause for their rendition of Amazing Grace and they also closed out the service with a medley of gospel songs. Adrian and Monica McInnes, from Wagga, attended with their sons Ronan and Declan.
Monica said they came down to "pay their respects" and Adrian said it was "great to see so many people from the community come together, regardless of religion".
Hafiz Khedri was one of many people from Wagga's Muslim community who attended the prayer service.
"I came here to pray for the people who lost their lives, for the people who lost their homes and I wanted to pray for rain," she said.
Catholic priest Father Paddy Sykes's opening prayer covered the bushfires across Australia for the past few months and the fires that struck the South West Slopes region after Christmas.
"Fire has been raging around this great continent like a wild beast, consuming all in its path," he said.
"We have been saddened by the loss of human life, by the loss of homes, buildings, livelihoods, livestock, pets and infrastructure, by the challenges of evacuation by the devastation of native flora and fauna."
Wagga NSW MP Joe McGirr told the service he had been "shocked" by what he had seen while visiting bushfire struck areas in the Snowy Valleys.
Dr McGirr said the community needed to have a discussion on how to prevent the bushfires from happening again and how to better respond to disasters.
Federal Riverina MP and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, who has been visiting bushfire-affected areas across Australia, sent his apologies for not being able to attend the service.
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"We have seen the very best of human nature under these terrible circumstances ... I know our neighbours are in their hour of need and I want them to know that all levels of government have their backs," Mr McCormack said in a statement read to the service.
In the concluding prayer, Waseem Afzal from the Muslim Association of Riverina said it was "so heartwarming" to see the community in solidarity. "Prayer is a way of unloading our burdens ... Here I am, in the company of all of you, unloading my own heart and imploring the most merciful God to help all those affected by these bushfires," he said.