18 May 2008 - Disaster in the Far East

This morning, our Patriarch spent time in communication with both the Chinese Embassy and also the Burmese authorities, to express our support to the peoples of these two countries involved in the horrific recent disasters.

We pray that Almighty God, through the medium of human tenderness and compassion, will bring healing and hope to this most desparate of situations. Please include the peoples of Burma and China in your intentions this week.

 He also raised with the Burmese authorities the widespread concerns of many hundreds of thousands of people globally at the intransigence of the Generals in Burma in blocking any assistance offered from outside this most insular of nations.

'There is a medium of fear and suspicion rife within the government of Burma that seeks only to bring further harm and danger to the already impoversihed and wracked peoples of this beautiful country, and every effort must be brought to bear upon the dictatorship to allow free access for humanitarian relief where it is needed' he was quoted as saying this week on radio interviews.