Methodist Church sends funds to Pakistan following suicide bomb attack

Pakistani Christian women pray for victims of suicide attack on a church in Peshawar, during a protest near the Parliament in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, September 23, 2013. (AP)

The Methodist Church in Britain has sent the Diocese of Peshawar in Pakistan £5000 following the suicide bomb attack on a church last month.

The money has been made available by the World Mission Fund to help the victims of the attack on All Saints Church on September 22, killing 81 people and leaving 120 injured.

The bomb attack was one of the worst attacks on Pakistan's minority Christian group.

The Methodist Church's solidarity grant will be used to provide victims in the Diocese of Peshawar with physical and psychological support.

Steve Pearce, Partnership Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific, who will be in Pakistan from the 14 to 20 October.

He said: "Christians and Muslims live in harmony in many communities in Pakistan, but atrocities like the bomb blasts at All Saints Church in Peshawar raise a level of fear among the Christians, who form less than two per cent of the population.

"It is important that the Christian community knows that we are remembering them in prayer and that we have made the effort to send money to help those who are injured and those who have lost their family breadwinner.

"This grant has been made possible by the generosity of the Methodist people who have donated to the World Mission Fund."

News
18 church leaders arrested in China as part of crackdown
18 church leaders arrested in China as part of crackdown

Christians in China have long faced harassment from the authorities.

Less than half of American adults say religion is important - study
Less than half of American adults say religion is important - study

Despite less than half of Americans ranking religion as an important part of their daily life, America is still more devout when it comes to religion than its economic peers, such as the United Kingdom or Germany, new data from Gallup shows.

Report shows huge contribution of faith communities to Welsh society
Report shows huge contribution of faith communities to Welsh society

The Evangelical Alliance has produced a report showing the impact that faith communities are having in Wales.

Church historian highlights challenges and opportunities for evangelicalism in a changing world
Church historian highlights challenges and opportunities for evangelicalism in a changing world

A leading church historian has warned that the public image of evangelicals is being distorted by US politics, even as the movement experiences rapid growth and renewed vitality across the Global South.