Church of England clergy and members are helping victims of the devastating floods that have hit Worcestershire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.
Hundreds of thousands of homes are now without running water across the flooded counties, which have experienced their highest rainfall in 60 years.
The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard, assured residents across his diocese that local churches were there to help them.
"All our local churches are there to help. We have 'a branch in every High Street' with people ready to offer practical help, from temporary accommodation, food, clothes and hot drinks, to longer-term emotional support and community welfare," he said.
"The church is in the heart of every community and dedicated to its well-being. I trust all our 'local branches' to be out and about with practical messages of hope in these dark - and wet - times."
Bishop Pritchard added that the church would be there to help all flood victims long after the waters had receded.
"It will be good to see summer come sometime, with the floods receding and the sun prominent. However, very many homes and businesses will be severely affected for months to come. The church will stand with them," he said.
The Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Rev Dr Peter Selby, made a similar promise to help flood victims in the recovery process.
"The pictures of floods are awful to watch, and the experience of them must be terrible. It is rare for a disaster of this kind to affect so much of the country, and indeed so many of our parishes at once, and my prayers are with everyone in the affected places at this difficult time," he said.
"I know that many members of the clergy and their congregations have been offering all sorts of practical help throughout the weekend and I know this will continue for as long as it's needed. This is a time not for comment but for compassion, and my heart goes out to all those who are suffering so much."
The Clergy Emergency Response Team for Herefordshire, meanwhile, was called out for the first time ever as a result of severe weather in the county over the weekend. The team is made up of a modest number of clergy men and women who have been training for two years to be able to help in the event of a disaster in the area.
