Jaranwala Religious Violence - statements and prayers from partners in Pakistan
The Methodist Church in Britain has received the following updates and prayers from partners in Pakistan following the religious violence in Jaranwala on August 16th.
From the Church of Pakistan-
My dear Christian brothers and sisters around the world.
Peace of God and blessings to you all from the Diocese of Hyderabad, Church of Pakistan.
I myself, my entire Diocese and Christian community in Pakistan are deeply shocked, saddened and heartbroken on the incident of burning the churches, Holy Bibles and homes of poor Christian families in Jaranwala, Punjab, Pakistan by the extremist Islamic mob in the context of blasphemy’s allegations. Our hearts are in deep pain and crying with our affected Christian brothers, sisters, children and elders of Jaranwala who are extremely traumatized after this incident and are in a deep state of shock watching their burned churches, homes and belongings. They had to leave their homes in a rush to save their lives and many of those had to hide themselves in the crops throughout the day of incident and the following night with no food, water and any kind of protection.
The Diocese of Hyderabad, along with other churches, para-churches organizations and the entire civil society have condemned this insane and barbarian act against one of the most deprived and poor segments of Pakistani minorities and demanded justice for all the affected churches and families.
We humbly request our brothers and sisters in the west to remember all the affected families in their prayers as they have lost everything they had in their homes and living in make-shift shelters and relief camps.
We also request to pray for the church leadership especially clergy and catechists of Jaranwala as they mourn the burning of their churches and desecration of the Word of God and they are trying to recover from the affects of this shocking incidents.
Your continuous prayers and any moral and practical support can play a very vital role while making efforts to revive the affected churches and families spiritually, physically and socially.
In His service,
Rt. Rev. Kaleem John
Bishop of Hyderabad Diocese/
Deputy Moderator of the Church of Pakistan.