Church Stands by Flood Victims

Church of England clergy and members are helping victims of the devastating floods that have hit Worcestershire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

Hundreds of thousands of homes are now without running water across the flooded counties, which have experienced their highest rainfall in 60 years.

The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard, assured residents across his diocese that local churches were there to help them.

"All our local churches are there to help. We have 'a branch in every High Street' with people ready to offer practical help, from temporary accommodation, food, clothes and hot drinks, to longer-term emotional support and community welfare," he said.

"The church is in the heart of every community and dedicated to its well-being. I trust all our 'local branches' to be out and about with practical messages of hope in these dark - and wet - times."

Bishop Pritchard added that the church would be there to help all flood victims long after the waters had receded.

"It will be good to see summer come sometime, with the floods receding and the sun prominent. However, very many homes and businesses will be severely affected for months to come. The church will stand with them," he said.

The Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Rev Dr Peter Selby, made a similar promise to help flood victims in the recovery process.

"The pictures of floods are awful to watch, and the experience of them must be terrible. It is rare for a disaster of this kind to affect so much of the country, and indeed so many of our parishes at once, and my prayers are with everyone in the affected places at this difficult time," he said.

"I know that many members of the clergy and their congregations have been offering all sorts of practical help throughout the weekend and I know this will continue for as long as it's needed. This is a time not for comment but for compassion, and my heart goes out to all those who are suffering so much."

The Clergy Emergency Response Team for Herefordshire, meanwhile, was called out for the first time ever as a result of severe weather in the county over the weekend. The team is made up of a modest number of clergy men and women who have been training for two years to be able to help in the event of a disaster in the area.

The team members were enlisted to help out at the Hereford Leisure Centre, which has become a temporary residence for elderly evacuees brought from a nearby residential home.

The team offered comforting words to the evacuees as they served welcome cups of tea, "which may not sound too much of an emergency but it left other staff free to get on with organising beds for everyone," said Jackie Boys, Social Responsibility Officer for the Diocese of Hereford and coordinator of the clergy team.

Despite the devastation, however, there have still been some occasions to smile. While weddings have proved to be something of an additional challenge, vicars across Hereford are determined to continue their schedules so long as the brides and grooms are.

One vicar hitched a lift on a tractor to make sure she arrived in Shobdon Church on time for her wedding appointment, shared Anni Holden, Director of Communications for the Diocese of Hereford.

In Wentnor in Shropshire, guests were happy to wait in the local pub until the arrival of their Welsh guests, including the bride's mother. The wedding finally went ahead three hours late.

In Bishops Frome, a bride and groom had to fly by helicopter to their wedding reception, while in Colwall near Worcester, bride Charlotte Slocombe and groom Ben Andrew were forced to marry one hour behind schedule and without the bridegroom's parents and 50 of their guests.

"They were unable to get to the reception in Much Marcle and after a two hour stopover at the Malvern Hills Hotel sheltering from the torrential rain, a relay of 4x4s took the guests to the bride's parents home in Malvern," shared Ms Holden. "The reception was drink and nibbles from the local supermarket and 55 pizzas from a local takeaway at nine o'clock in the evening. Let's hope the couple are in a drier place for their honeymoon!"

Churches have also taken a toll, with Marden Church just north of Heresford flooded by the River Lugg, and nearby Bodenham Church also submerged by the waters, threatening a wedding scheduled for next weekend.

A baptism in the parish of Cradley also had to go ahead with more parishioners than guests after the floodwaters made it impossible for many to get to the church.

In Ludlow, a parish church-run charitable trust is bringing much-needed financial relief to flood victims. Over the weekend, nearly £2,000 was donated to the Ludlow Relief in Need, which has its roots in St Laurence's Church.

"We think we might face a few more challenges yet with more rain promised, but we appear to be rising to anything rained down upon us," said Ms Holden.