Once a year we remember those who suffered, and continue to suffer, as a result of the Jewish holocaust. Holocaust Memorial Day 2018 falls on Saturday 27 January.
In the UK and around the world, 27 January has become known as Holocaust Memorial Day, a day when we remember all those countless numbers of people who have been affected by genocide. Why 27 January? This is the date when, in 1945, Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the concentration camps, was liberated from the Nazis. Six million Jews were known to have been murdered by them, but the actual number could far exceed this. However, Holocaust Memorial Day is even more than remembering with sorrow the countless numbers of Jews as well as gypsies, gays and mentally and physically handicapped people who were killed by the Nazis. It is when we remember also all the genocides that have taken place since the second World War. On this day we call and pray for an end to racial violence.
To mark 27 January, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust chooses a different theme each year, relevant to the Holocaust and subsequent genocide. This year the theme is The Power of Words. In these days of “fake news”, it is important to acknowledge the potency of words, both for evil and for good. It is important to remember those who have perished and to flag up a warning for the future, so that such atrocities will no longer disfigure humanity.
The national event to mark the Holocaust Memorial Day will be held in London, but all around the country thousands of events will be held locally – in town halls, schools, churches. See the interactive map for an activity near you on the website of The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.
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The Power of Words 175.88 kB<
Resource produced by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust exploring the the theme "The Power of Words"
Where does Jesus begin his ministry? Where John the Baptist left off – preaching a message of repentance, of change, to welcome the new Kingdom of God. There is a simplicity about this message, which is not compromised by anything – today’s Gospel has these simple words from Jesus, and then the story of his calling disciples to follow him and share in the work of spreading the Good News. Repentance has something of a bad press – we tend to think of it as an old-fashioned concept. But every age needs to hear this call: to look and look again at what we do and say and assume, and see again that there are such things as right and wrong, and that sometimes we need an about turn. To follow Jesus, and to accept the Kingship of God, demands that we make a radical choice, which may well change our lives.
