Vice-President sends condolences after floods in Germany, Belgium and Austria

Recent rainfall events on July 15 brought terrible flooding to Germany with over 160 deaths, hundreds more injured or missing, homes lost and infrastructure destroyed.  Flooding also affected parts of Belgium and Austria. Barry Sloan, the Methodist Church in Britain Partnership Co-ordinator for Europe has been in touch with the leaders of the partner churches in the United Methodist Church - Germany,  the United Protestant Church of Belgium and the United Methodist Church in Austria. 

Letters expressing prayer and condolences were sent from the Vice-President of the British Methodist Conference to the head of each church. This letter was sent from the Vice-President of the British Methodist Conference to Bishop Harald Rückert,  the head of the United Methodist Church in Germany.

In reply, thanks were expressed for the gift of being part of the Methodist family and for the support shown through prayer. The UMC Germany is a member of “Diakonie-Katastrophenhilfe” an emergency relief-agency of all evangelical churches in Germany which is providing relief.  In  Belgium, President Pastor Steven H. Fuite, expressed how this was probably the largest natural disaster in Belgium in recent history and his thoughts still with the families of those who were missing. There was acknowledgement of the part of climate change in these events and the need to address the wider climate issues.

Please continue to pray for the leaders and churches in Germany, Belgium and Austria as they respond to this disaster.