On 13 March 1996, 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton arrived at Dunblane Primary School and murdered sixteen children and their teacher. The Dunblane massacre as it became known, remains the deadliest mass shooting in British history.  He entered the school gym, in which a Primary One class were preparing for a PE lesson and started shooting.  Within four minutes he had killed sixteen children, as well as their teacher, Gwen Mayor, injuring fifteen others. He then turned the gun on himself. The children who died were all aged between five and six years old.

Two days after the shooting, a vigil and prayer session was held at Dunblane Cathedral which was attended by people of all faiths.  The following Sunday the Queen and Princess Anne, attended a memorial service at Dunblane Cathedral.

In trying to find hymns that offered an appropriate response, John Bell realised that there was precious little and so he wrote one.  The result is the hymn “There is a place prepared for little children”. I find these extracts very moving:

There is a place where hands which held ours tightly
now are released beyond all hurt and fear

There is a place where al the lost potential
yields its full promise, finds its true intent

There is a place where God will hear our questions
suffer our anger, share our speechless grief,
gently repair the innocence of loving
and of belief.

At 11:47am on Monday in Southport, three young girls were killed in a “ferocious” knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed summer dance and yoga class. Eight more children were injured, with five left in a critical condition. Two adults also suffered critical injuries in this truly horrendous incident. A 17 year old boy from Banks in Lancashire a few miles away has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, all in all a tragedy for so many people.

Few of us, if any, can fully comprehend what the parents of the Dunblane children went through or what the parents of the Southport children are going through. All we can do is hold them all in our prayers.

Lord of all compassion

We pray for all of those caught up in the tragedy in Southport.
For the children who have lost their lives
For those who are worried about people they love
For those who will see their loved ones no more
For all whose lives will never be the same again
Lord Have Mercy.

For those in need of the peace that passes all understanding
For all who turn to you in the midst of turmoil
For those who cry out to you in fear and in love
For all whose lives will never be the same again
Lord Have Mercy.

For those in confusion and those in despair
For those whose tears are yet to dry
For those in need of your unending love
Lord Have Mercy

Lord of all compassion

Father and unfailing friend,
be with all the people of Southport 
as they try to take up the threads of their lives again
facing the future with fresh courage and renewed hope;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Blessings
James

In the last year two members of our congregations who were over 100 years old have died. Eric Dawson from St Finnbarr’s died in September last year at the age of 100 and Barbara Rae in the St Andrew’s congregation died only a couple of weeks ago at the age of almost 104. Both were stalwart members of their congregations and contributed so much to both them and the communities in which they lived, they affected the lives of all those that met them.

At Barbara’s funeral, I was reflecting on how much has change she saw born as she was in the immediate aftermath of the Great War. When she was 19, Britain was was once again plunged into war and Barbara lived and served through the second world war, and all its after-effects – a life changing and life affirming experience for so many of that generation. Barbara’s war included the blitz of Liverpool were she worked but she was at the time still living with her parents in Birkenhead. A bomb badly damaged their family home in May 1941 and they had to move out, but they all survived. In one of life’s coincidences, in the 50s, Barbara and husband Willis moved to the same road, some 10 doors along.

Every week in the Church Times, there’s a short piece printed from the archives and I found the piece from 20^th June 1924 fascinating. It concerns an international advertising convention held in London in July. As a sign of how much times have changed since Eric and Barbara were children, it’s interesting to note that a programme of religious services and meetings had been arranged to satisfy the spiritual needs of delegates to the convention:

“On Sunday morning, July 13, it is proposed that the delegates shall choose between Westminster Abbey, where two thousand seats are to be reserved for them, and the Bishop of Durham will preach, and sitting under Fr. Knox in Westminster Cathedral. In the afternoon there is to be ‘a great inspirational meeting’, and in the evening a special service in St. Paul’s Cathedral, and others for Nonconformists. Such recognition of religion is, of course, to be welcomed, but we confess to feeling a little uneasy about the two days’ discussion on Church advertising. ‘The personal touch in Church advertising’, to mention the topic of one of the speakers, sounds suspiciously like a form of vulgarity which we devoutly hope will remain for ever in its native land across the Atlantic.”

Church Times Archive 20th June 1924

There are those in the church who believe that the best route to evangelism is through advertising, but the idea somehow sits rather uneasy with me. In my view, the best way to attract people to our faith is by example. If in acting out our Christian faith, we set an example that causes people with whom we have interactions to think – whatever it is that motivates them is something that I could do with a little of.

Leo Tolstoy wrote that:

“he became a Christian because he saw that the men and women round about him who believed in the faith, received from it a power that enabled them to face life and death with peace and joy”

On the other hand, Friedrich Nietzsche, the nineteenth century philosopher, wrote about Christians and Christianity. He praised Christianity as a religion but he never became a Christian. When asked why not, he said:

“For a group of people who claim to believe in Resurrection, none of them looks redeemed”. Oh dear!! 

In contrast Eric and Barbara clearly thought that a sign of Resurrection Joy is looking and acting redeemed and by so doing, bringing a sense of hope to others that’s tangible and irresistible. They were, to put it simply an inspiration to us all and an example for the rest of us to follow. May they both rest in peace.

Blessings
James