The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, today joined the Prince of Wales in appealing for donations to a special fund to help farmers hit by the recent floods. Hundreds of farm animals were drowned in the floods and thousands of pounds worth of crop damage caused.

Speaking at General Synod in York, Dr Sentamu asked Church of England bishops, clergy and laity to make a donation to the ARC-Addington Fund, set up in 2001 and originally intended to help farmers affected by the foot and mouth crisis.

The Prince of Wales has already made a donation. The cash will be used to help farmers whose crops and livestocks have been damaged or destroyed by the floods.

The Bishop of Hereford, the Right Rev Anthony Priddis, who chairs the Church's panel of rural bishops, will be promoting the fund to farmers at the opening of the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate today.

Dr Sentamu said: “The hardship fund aims to give small amounts that other people are not able to give, but that are really needed to sustain the farm business. The full personal and financial impact of the floods will not be known for sometime.

“However the immediate impact of the floods has already caused significant misery for many farmers. There are already examples of 600 sheep drowned in one farm in South-East Staffordshire, 350 on another in Tamworth.

"In my own diocese in York in the village of Wilberfoss, 50 outdoor pigs drowned when the river came up so fast that the farmer could not move them."

Both big and small farmholders have been affected. In Herefordshire one farmer has lost his potato crop which covered 125 acres. In Shropshire a small holding farmer lost two-thirds of his potato crop over 30 acres.

Dr Sentamu said: "We know there is a desire to help out there; in a farm near Driffield in Yorkshire a farmer was faced with having to move his livestock of 650 sheep and 120 beef cattle to ensure they weren’t drowned. He had nowhere to put them.The word went out and he received offers of help from as far away as Scotland.”

The ARC-Addington Fund will provide a package of pastoral support and hardship payments, working with with Farming Help Partners, the Farm Crisis Network and the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution. Advice will be given in particular to farmers whose crops and livestock were uninsured. During the foot and mouth epidemic, the fund gave more than £10 million to farmers over 15 months.

Earlier, Dr Sentamu warned Synod members not to allow fear of terrorism to prejudice them against Muslims.

Speaking in his presidential address on Monday at the Synod, at York University, Dr Sentamu called for "discernment" between loyal Muslims and those who made Allah "vengeful, violent and merciless."

He said: "The language of fear has become the language of international relations. Worldwide, a new book on terrorism is published every six hours. Fear has begun to shape the minds and the decisions of those who take counsel for the nations.''

He continued: "Our fear of terrorism can lead us to false conclusions about all our Muslim neighbours. The challenge we face isn't about moderate Muslims versus so-called radical Muslims. The challenge is about Islam being used for quasi-political ends at whose heart is getting into paradise now by suicide bombing propelled by a hatred of the West and its way of life - attempting to avenge past hurts by piling them on present problems.''

In remaking God in their own image, terrorists were committing the "ultimate blasphemy", he said. He said the Church was having to address its own fears at present. "At the moment, the Church is in danger of being paralysed by fear of schism in the Anglican Communion, by much painful disagreement over the controversial issue of ordaining people, same-sex relationships and the blessing of such relationships.''

The Synod also welcomed proposals by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to hand them the power to choose their own bishops. Church leaders are to draw up details to take the proposals forwards .