Holocaust Commemoration at Rodborough Tabernacle URC

ON SUNDAY, January 29, the Revd Eric Massey, minister of Rodborough Tabernacle URC welcomed almost 200 people to a multi-faith commemoration of the Holocaust and other genocides and atrocities.

The event was both uplifting and moving, as many of the congregation attested afterwards over coffee and tea.

The overwhelming response was one of hope in these dark days.

The Bishop of Gloucester, the Right Revd Rachel Treweek, gave a very moving address on this year's Holocaust Memorial Day's theme, How can life go on?

Two female members of the Islamic community read from the Qur'an before Imam Hassan said a few words about peace and justice.

Before that, screens had shown statistics of the atrocities in the 20th and 21st centuries, after which the chair of Stroud District Council, Norman Kay, read the Kaddish, a prayer of mourning, and members of the Baha'i faith also did a reading and a prayer.

There was a brief Buddhist meditation.

What also produced a very warm response was a performance of two songs given by the Rosary Catholic Primary School choir, as well as the solo sung by Tricia Bailey, a member of the Mariners church in Gloucester, and the very poignant poem read by Neesa Copple and written by a refugee from Somalia, who had crossed the Mediterranean to get to Europe.

Towards the end, we heard the reading of some words by Clive Lewis from the American, Helen Keller, who overcame deafness and blindness to become an author and a speaker.

The congregation sang Help us accept each other and For the healing of the nations.

The commemoration's combination of words and music led to a very inspiring morning at “the Tab”, as Rodborough Tabernacle is known, and many people asked if a similar event would take place again next year. We very much hope it will.

At the end Eric Massey thanked all participants,who represented the rich diversity of our society.