Cornwall’s Solidarity with Grenfell Rings out Stronger than Ever
Paul Church near Mousehole in Cornwall will join St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and other London churches this Sunday with a 72 toll tribute to the 72 who died in Grenfell Tower Fire, three years ago on June 14, 2017.
The 500 year old church of St Pol de Leon in Paul, near the fishing village of Mousehole, and All Saints Higher Town in the city of Truro, will join 80 churches in the capital marking the third anniversary of the fire. Due to Covid-19, ceremonies to mark the anniversary are taking place online and the ringing at 6pm on Sunday, will be followed by a two-minute silence and vigil streamed on YouTube: youtube.com/grenfellunited. This will include a contribution from the sister community in Cornwall, the song of solidarity, ‘Grenfell From Today’ by Philip Stopford and Andrew Longfield, recorded by Truro Cathedral Choristers. http://bit.ly/GrenfellFromTodayð
Cornish banner for ‘Grenfell Street 💚’ and A Cornish Prayer for Grenfell
Cornwall’s bond with the Grenfell community has grown very close over the last three years, with nearly 500 survivors, bereaved and firefighters visiting for respite through the project Cornwall Hugs Grenfell. To mark the ongoing solidarity between the two communities the charity Cornwall Hugs will hang a new Cornish banner at Grenfell Street in Mousehole beneath the special street sign with iconic green heart, unveiled there last August by Grenfell families. The banner shows a Cornish flag decorated with 72 green hearts, one for each of the lives lost in the fire.
In addition, Cornish churches will join in a special ‘Cornish Prayer for Grenfell’ written by the Bishop of Truro, Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen to mark the third anniversary (see below).
‘We want to show that what happened at Grenfell matters to everyone in the UK. Our solidarity will ring out loud and clear, all the way from Cornwall,’ said Esmé Page, Founder, Cornwall Hugs.
Many Cornish faith groups supported the work of Cornwall Hugs Grenfell and The Bishop of Truro, the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen has written a prayer for churches to share in their online services to mark the anniversary which falls this year on a Sunday.
‘A Cornish Prayer for Grenfell’
Generous, hospitable God,
We pray for our friends in the Grenfell Community
as they grieve and remember.
We thank you that you comfort those who mourn
And the homeless find a home with you.
We thank you for blessing our two communities
with the joy of sisterhood and fellowship.
This third anniversary, give us, we pray,
Generous and hospitable hearts:
To find room in our prayers for those who grieve;
To stand again with those who suffer;
And to affirm once more our solidarity
with strangers who have become our friends.
For Jesus Christ’s sake.
Amen.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Esmé Page via esmepage@cornwallhugs.org 07803 594 285
IMAGES: Paul Church Tower, New Cornish Banner of Solidarity, Grenfell Street Sign Unveiling,‘Grenfell From Today’, as attached.
EDITOR’S NOTES:
Grenfell United: the bereaved families and survivors group, work together for their community and safe homes, justice and change. www.grenfellunited.org
Cornwall Hugs (#1177796) was founded by Esmé Page to offer respite to those affected by the Grenfell Tower Fire. Through the project ‘Cornwall Hugs Grenfell’ nearly 500 survivors, bereaved, displaced neighbours and firefighters, were welcomed in Cornwall for respite. The charity received 300+ pledges of holiday accommodation and is supported by over 250 businesses as well as by 1000’s of individuals, choirs and churches throughout Cornwall and beyond. cornwallhugsgrenfell.org
About Grenfell From Today
The song of solidarity ‘Grenfell From Today’ was written by Philip Stopford and Andrew Longfield for the charity Cornwall Hugs. It was recorded by the choristers of Truro Cathedral Choir, directed by Christopher Gray, for the first anniversary of the fire in 2018 and released with a video of survivors, shot on location in Cornwall and Kensington, directed by Paul Caddis. http://bit.ly/GrenfellFromTodayð. The video features a remembrance ceremony at sea on RNLI Penlee Lifeboat in 2018 with Grenfell guests.
The song ‘Grenfell From Today’ was released at the first anniversary of the fire and inspired a world-wide act of musical solidarity and remembrance. The sheet music was released freely and the song was sung by over 6,000 voices in hundreds of cathedral and community choirs from Auckland to Minneapolis, Buenos Aires to Moscow. It was released as single by Universal Music, reaching No 2 in iTunes Classic Songs. The single cover was designed by Jon Stubbington and all those involved gifted their time and skills to the project.
