Watching images of the desperation coursing through Kabul while he sat in the peaceful Lake Macquarie suburb of Boolaroo, parish priest Father Greg Barker felt helpless.
I think it's heartbreaking, really, and I've shed some tears," Fr Greg said.
"I have wondered what I can do as one person."
But then the Catholic priest, who has been at the Boolaroo-Warners Bay Parish for only six weeks, resolved to do something that offered a flicker of hope.
Over three evenings at 6 o'clock, as darkness descended, he would light a Paschal candle, which is used in services to mark the milestones of a life's journey - baptisms, weddings, funerals. And he would place that candle on the front steps of Our Lady Help of Christians Church at Boolaroo.
"I want people to see at least there's at least one light when we're feeling dark," Fr Greg said. "And it's a great sign of hope."
On Thursday night, Fr Greg lit the candle for the women and girls of Afghanistan: "I think we should stand in solidarity with them. Their lives are going to be changed now, not for the better."
On Friday night, he would be lighting it for the servicemen and women who had been in operations in Afghanistan. As a former RAAF chaplain, who served in Iraq in 2004, Fr Greg felt a deep connection to those in uniform, and he worried how some would cope with the unravelling in Afghanistan.
"I hope the veterans feel the prayer for support, that their work wasn't wasted, that they're not alone," he explained.
On Saturday night, he would light the candle for Christians and people of other faiths in Afghanistan, "who will now be in dire circumstances as the militants sweep through", as he wrote in an email to his "Parish Family".
That a Catholic priest would light a candle for those in a predominantly Muslim country was not so much about religion as it was about humanity.
"We're human together, we're people together," he said, adding that he hoped even one candle's light could somehow be reflected across the world to the people of Afghanistan.
"I just hope that they feel there are people thinking of them. There are people who are concerned for them, there are people who are prepared to speak for them."
And Fr Greg hopes his candle is not alone. He has invited others to light a candle and place it out the front of their homes.
"If we light a lot of candles, that's a lot of light, a lot of positivity, and a lot of prayer, and a lot of encouragement and support," Fr Greg said.
And, he said, it might just diminish that feeling of helplessness.
"It will be one action I've been able to do that will make a small difference, but it will make a difference nonetheless," Fr Greg said.
"So I think through my heart, I'll feel a little more empowered because of that one thing, and if others join in, maybe they'll feel the same.
"One light may not dispel a lot of darkness, but it's better than no light."
