The World Council of Churches (WCC) General Secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia has expressed the compassion and solidarity of the member churches of the World Council of Churches with all the victims of Hurricane Katrina, which US officials fear has claimed thousands of lives in recent days.

Rev Kobia said, "The whole fellowship of the World Council of Churches unites in prayer for the people, leaders and churches of the United States as you come to grips with the tragedy brought to your shores by hurricane Katrina. We pray for those who mourn, who suffer, who search for meaning.

“We pray the time will come when even those who are now most troubled in spirit will rediscover the hope of resurrection. We pray for those who have perished and are already safe within God's eternal keeping. And we pledge our solidarity with those who have begun the task of rebuilding broken walls and restoring stricken lives. In particular, we hold in our prayers all the church relief agencies, workers and volunteers who are struggling to assist those in need.”

He concluded, “May the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good, that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21).

Christian aid organisations such as the Salvation Army, Baptist World Alliance (BWA), and Church World Service (CWS), are responding to the unprecedented catastrophic damage caused by the hurricane which affected hundreds of thousands of citizens across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama – the three states struck hardest.

“We ask for the prayers of all the people that we have wisdom, strength and the resources to meet the demands. People mean the most to us. Houses and other things can be replaced,” said Salvation Army commander Major Dalton Cunningham.

Rev John L. McCullough, executive director and CEO of CWS, said “With such catastrophic damage it will be a while before we know the full extent of lives lost and material destruction, but we can be sure that recovery will take a very, very long time.

“There is no question that the area’s faith leaders will shoulder a massive amount of responsibility in caring for those populations and helping them find resources at a time when the church leaders themselves may have suffered great personal losses,” he said.

BWAid Director Paul Montacute emphasised, “Money is what is most needed. All agencies are saying this, and we need to avoid the dumping of inappropriate goods that could in fact hinder the relief work.”

US President George W. Bush described Hurricane Katrina as the biggest natural disaster in the US history. In a statement, he said recovering from the impact of the hurricane will take years and that the Bush administration will launch a reconstruction campaign to overcome the tremendous damage caused by the hurricane.