The Church in Oxfordshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire tells of open churches and warm welcomes for flood victims.

Rt Revd John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford said:

‘Those who haven’t been directly affected by the flooding in many parts of our diocese can only imagine how traumatic it must be to be to have your house invaded and polluted in this way. Our homes are supposed to be places of safety and security, and flooding is therefore a kind of violation.

‘My deepest sympathy extends to everyone in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire who is caught up in these very difficult circumstances.

‘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.

‘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.

‘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.’

In Hereford diocese, for the first time ever, the Clergy Emergency Response Team for Herefordshire was called out as a result of severe weather in the county over the weekend.

The small group of Clergy men and women have been training for two years to be available in the event of a disaster in the area.

‘I was called by the Emergency Planning Officer, Ian Baker, at 10.30 on Sunday night requesting help,’ said Jackie Boys, Social Responsibility Officer for the Diocese and the Co-ordinator of the Clergy Team. ‘They needed someone to help at Hereford Leisure Centre where a number of older people had been evacuated from a residential home. Others moved included private residents and some Lithuanian seasonal. I got hold of two people and Revd Clive Evans headed for the centre.’

The Leisure Centre had become a temporary resting place for residents from a home in Hampton Bishop, just south west of the city just below where the rivers Lugg and Frome meet. The Lugg broke its banks, and the elderly residents had to be rescued. Boats and tractors were used to speed the move to the Leisure Centre before all were further displaced to other homes in the county.

‘Clive was able to dispense words of comfort with a cup 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,” added Jackie. “The rest of the team are ready and waiting if we are needed again.’

The Clergy Emergency Response Team was set up in the wake of disaster in other parts of the country. These have included bomb blasts, aeroplane crashes, serious road accidents and other unforeseeable events which require response from the emergency services. Clergy are trained and vetted for the role so they are a help and not a hindrance in such events.

The Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Revd Dr Peter Selby, said:

‘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.

‘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.’

A parishioner from Broadway, Worcestershire tells the story of how one local community has been pulling together and the role the church has been playing:

‘In Broadway, St Michael's church was opened at about 10.30pm on Friday to travellers who were arriving. They’d been directed off the motorway and other main roads and were trying to find their ways across country. The church stayed open all night, manned by volunteers who gave out hot drinks, bread and soup. Makeshift beds were provided in between the pews for around 40 - 50 people. A Broadway restaurant, Russells, brought an enormous cauldron of watercress soup and lots of bread, and a rep. who'd found a bed at The Lygon Arms , brought a freezer bag of individual desserts destined for Waitrose!

‘Our brand-new curate, Revd Richard Harding and his wife, who had flood damage themselves, mucked in brilliantly and the vicar, The Revd Terry Mason, his wife and daughter (who herself lives in Tewkesbury and hasn't been able to reach her own home yet) were also here. We had all sorts of people - some en route to Bristol airport to go on holiday; some on their way home; an 85 year old, a baby in arms and a Jack Russell. Everyone was so grateful and people were so quiet, kind and considerate.

They arrived in shock and some of them completely lost - not even knowing where they were. They were amazed and thankful that the church was open.

‘Our next-door neighbours, who have a B&B, had a bulging houseful, but still took in extra bodies to sleep on floors and we've heard of many other instances of people in the village taking in stranded people and giving them beds for the night.’

Item from: The Church of England