Churches invited to pray for all affected by drought, heatwaves and wildfires
British churches have been using prayers written for times of extreme weather.
As five successive heatwaves hit the UK this summer, bringing drought, extreme heat and wildfires, local churches have been helping the people affected, both through practical support – and prayers.
The prayers they used are found in A Time for Creation, a newly expanded C of E service book (Church House Publishing).
There is a section headlined ‘Prayers in times of extreme weather’ and ‘A prayer for the farming community in a time of crisis’, as well as intercessions for those affected by extreme weather through drought, lack of clean water, storms, flood, wildfires and other events.
The Bishop of Lichfield, Dr Michael Ipgrave, Chair of the Church of England’s Liturgical Commission, has encouraged churches to draw from the prayers.
He said that this continues “a longstanding tradition going back to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer”, which even includes a Prayer for Rain.
“For centuries, the people of England have turned to prayer in times of extreme weather of all sorts,” he said. “The prayer book asks that we may receive ‘in our necessity such moderate rain and showers’ as we need. Our prayers invite us to ask, to wait and to know the glory and awesomeness of God when they are answered.”
Meanwhile, the new Festival of Creation was launched last month (September) by the C of E. It sets out the Christian understanding of the environmental crises facing the world, rooting care for creation in the biblical story of creation, redemption and renewal.
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May God grant you courage – message of solidarity with the people of Ukraine
The Bishop of Worcester, Hugh Nelson, who is the C of E’s Bishop to the Armed Forces, recently went to Kyiv to join Ukrainian church leaders, other religious leaders and government officials at the National Prayer Breakfast in Kyiv. Bishop Hugh also met with the leader of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphany.
Bishop Hugh brought a message from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally. She promised that the Anglican Church would continue to “stand in prayerful solidarity” with Ukraine, and she acknowledged the “immense sacrifices” which the Ukrainians are making “in defence of your country, its people and the values of freedom and human dignity”.
Archbishop Sarah also commended Ukraine’s constitutional commitments to freedom of religion and conscience. She rejected the language of “holy war” used to justify the attempts to occupy and subjugate Ukraine by the current regime in Moscow.
“We pray for those who have lost their lives, for those who mourn, for the wounded, the displaced, and all who live under the daily shadow of violence and fear. May the peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in the days ahead.”
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Don’t attack Ukrainian refugees
That is the clear message of leading clergy in Poland, who are deeply concerned at the increasing attacks on Ukrainians who have sought refuge in Poland.
The Archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Grzegorz Rys says: “Not a day goes by without the media reporting new acts of violence: against children and youth, against women and against migrants – particularly Ukrainians.”
Up to 3.4 million Ukrainians sought refuge in neighbouring Poland, a country of 37.7 million, in the months after Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
The cardinal is appalled at the current political and social relations in Poland, which he describes as being “rife with aggression, grievance, abuse of power and force”. Instead, he urges Poles to show concern “for the little ones rather than the great and powerful”.
Meanwhile, dozens of Roman Catholic clergy have signed an open letter which praises the sacrifice of Ukrainians in “defending their freedom” and calls for an end to the “hatred and contempt”.
“Words of contempt lead to threats and acts of violence — a person becomes an enemy just because they speak a different language, pray by a different rite, or were born on the other side of a border,” the letter from “Ordinary Sisters and Ordinary Priests” says. “We do not want a Poland in which a person is afraid to speak their own language, send their child to school, or work honestly.”
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Afghan Christians at risk of ‘eradication’
Christianity in Afghanistan “now hangs by a gossamer thread”, warns a recent report on persecution in that country.
The report, Crimes Against Humanity and Potential Genocide: the threat posed by the Taliban regime of total eradication of the Christian community in Afghanistan, was recently published by the Lindisfarne Centre for the Study of Christian Persecution. It is a Christian research centre that focuses on Christian minorities in the Islamic world.
The report warns that the Taliban’s legal framework provides “specific evidence of the intent to commit genocide”.
For Christians in Afghanistan simply have no right to exist as a religious community, according to the Afghan government. Anyone found to be a Christian is seen as merely as an apostate Muslim. The law calls for all such men to be executed, and for women to be in imprisoned, and given ten lashes every three days for the rest of her life.
Thus, these laws “provide specific evidence of intent to eradicate the Afghan Christian community”, the report states.
In the meantime, the Afghan government is busy hunting Christians down. The report found that the strategy “appears to be heavily focused on obtaining intelligence relating to networks of Afghan Christians. Clearly, that data is being collected for a purpose.”
And ordinary Afghan citizens are being encouraged to help the Taliban. A law has been passed “which specifically legitimises the killing of Afghan Christians and absolves those who carry out such acts from punishment.”
The report also lists credible accounts of the arrest, imprisonment, interrogation and torture of Afghan Christians.
The report’s authors are Dr Martin Parsons, the CEO of the Lindisfarne Centre, who holds a PhD in Christian and Islamic theology in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region; and Adrien Garnier, a research associate of the Lindisfarne Centre, who visited Afghanistan in 2025.
The report is critical of Western governments for failing to address the plight of Christians during the 20-year period of western military and political involvement (2001-21), including the failure to change the sentence of execution for apostasy in Afghan law.
Its recommendations include a plea that Western governments “should, in principle, accept that any genuine Afghan Christian meets the criteria for refugee status.”
More info at: christianpersecution.co.uk/lindisfarne-reports
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The UN and EU warn against rising religious persecution
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has spoken out against the rise in religious persecution worldwide
“Across the world, bloodshed based on religious affiliation runs rampant,” Mr Guterres said. “Festivals have been attacked, places of worship desecrated. And many believers, especially among religious minorities, face hostility online and off. Such acts are an assault on human rights and human dignity. They must end now.”
Instead, Mr Guterres stressed that the UN is committed to “building societies where all faiths can live and worship in peace.”
And so, he urged governments to “bring perpetrators to justice” and to counter “all forms of discrimination and hate speech.”
He appealed to religious leaders “to speak out against violence.” And he challenged digital technology companies to ensure their platforms were designed and moderated “to protect users from stigma and scapegoating”.
Meanwhile, the European Union Council has said that two-thirds of the world’s population is living under the threat of “serious abuses and violations” of religious rights. This is despite the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights promising religious freedom.
The EU is promoting “specific initiatives” to curb anti-religious discrimination in Europe, and is also funding projects to promote peaceful religious co-existence in Asia and Africa’s Sahel region.
The EU Council said: “Millions of people suffer daily from intolerance, discrimination, hatred, hostility and violence because of their actual or perceived religion or belief, or lack thereof.”
“We have a responsibility to keep working actively towards a world where freedom, respect, tolerance and peace for persons of all religions and beliefs are no longer an exception but the norm.”
In 2025, in France alone, there were a reported 843 anti-Christian acts and 1,646 anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim acts, including a fourfold increase in attacks on Christian clergy and Church representatives.
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Aid workers in need of more protection
One thousand aid workers have been killed in the past three years, caught up in various global conflicts.
So reports the Christian relief charity, World Vision. It is calling for stronger protection of humanitarian workers, independent investigations, accountability, and consequences for attacks on humanitarian workers, healthcare facilities, and other civilian infrastructure.
World Vision also wants the humanitarian consequences of drones and other emerging military technologies to be addressed.
World Vision says: “When aid workers are attacked or blocked from reaching people in need, children are left waiting for food, medicine, and protection that may never come. Too often those risking their lives to help are local people and members of the very communities caught in the conflict.”