News
“It is with great concern that we receive the news of the destruction and suffering caused by flooding and landslides triggered by torrential monsoon rains in Western India, especially in the states of Maharashtra and Goa,” reads the letter of 26 July. “We are with you in our prayers and our thoughts as we mourn the hundreds of lives that have been lost over the last few days and the millions of people whose lives and livelihoods have been disrupted.”
The letter also offers a prayer that Christians and the broader communities in India and abroad will be the hands and feet of Christ, accompanying the suffering and providing assistance to those in need.
“May we also unite a ministry of presence through our prayers with our brothers and sisters in India in these difficult times,” reads the letter. “These extreme weather events, revealing a three-fold rise in widespread extreme rainfall events since 1950, in the region and the warming of the Arabian sea are all alarming evidence of catastrophes being caused by global warming and climate change.
In an expression of solidarity, the letter concludes: the WCC and the global ecumenical movement are committed to continuing to mobilise and advocate for a transformation of our societies to take responsibility globally and to bring about climate justice”.
