Holocaust Memorial Day Service
The Holocaust Memorial Day Service takes place at 10.30am on 27 January 2015 in Abbey Gardens.
A garden of reflection
A one and a half metre tall teardrop will be the centre piece of a new Peace Garden to open in Bury St Edmunds later this month.
The Memorial Garden Trust, a registered charity, has raised more than £11,000 for the project in the Abbey Gardens. Its location in the gardens is where, for a number of years, a service has taken place to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.
Holocaust Memorial Day takes place on 27 January each year. It’s a time for everyone to pause to remember the millions of people who have been murdered or whose lives have been changed beyond recognition during the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
Rob Lock from the trust said: “In addition to providing a more dignified setting for the annual holocaust service the Peace Garden is also designed to commemorate the murder of 57 Jews in our town on Palm Sunday, 19 March 1190.
“It is an event in our town’s history that the trust felt needed to be publicly acknowledged.
“The teardrop is a natural and universal symbol of pity and persecution, of human suffering and sorrow. It is made from polished stainless steel; its mirrored surface reflects back to us the role we all must play in opposing humanity’s inhumanity.”
The Peace Garden, which is being installed by Urban Forestry, also includes 57 cobble stones – one for each of the victims of the 1190 massacre. There will also be two stone benches as seating for quiet reflection. The trust was formed by local residents and is supported by St Edmundsbury Borough Council, St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and members of Suffolk’s Jewish Community.
St Edmundsbury Borough Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Heritage, Cllr Sarah Stamp said: “The teardrop memorial is a very poignant symbol. Although this is an area that forces us to think about the worst acts carried out by mankind, the trust has also raised the funds and created a cultural space that they should feel proud of.”
The Reverend Canon Matthew Vernon, who will lead the service, said: “Each year this service is a poignant reminder of the suffering which people have endured at the hands of others. Our prayers, readings and music, led by local school children and representatives of the Jewish community, remind us that we must all work together for peace and unity.”