Our meeting for reverence on 11 October was a lovely service with a fruit
and symbols of harvest sharing element, led by a Unitarian from Southampton.
Everyone
remembered to bring something to share!! The singing was all in fine
voice and the readings were taken from a mix of traditions ranging from
Christian to native American.
A visitor was brought to the meeting by some of our previous participants. This
promises a further enrichment of our gatherings, and we look forward to seeing
them again. One of us was away, but
despite that the number present was towards the top end of our attendance so the
signs are that we really are growing. What an optimistic time!
We have been reading various posts on social media about how younger people today with a religious outlook firstly won't commit long-term to anything and secondly are looking for signs that churches and religious groups are doing something meaningful to change the world, rather than just voicing their concerns.
When you are a very small group it is hard to discern the actions to take that will make a difference around you. In Ringwood we think we have spotted one. We are forming a group of all sorts of people who next January will do something new for Ringwood. This group will be standing up in the street on a cold winter's day saying that we here in Ringwood remember the millions of people killed in the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur. We honour the survivors of these regimes of hatred and challenge ourselves to use the lessons of their experience to inform our lives today.
27 January marks the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, and is now designated as Holocaust Memorial Day. HMD is a time when we seek to learn the lessons of the past and to recognise that genocide does not just take place on its own. Genocide is a steady process which can begin if discrimination, racism and hatred are not checked and prevented. We’re fortunate here in the UK; we are not at risk of genocide. However, discrimination has not ended, nor has the use of the language of hatred or exclusion. There is still much to do to create a safer future.
Perhaps the group of people in Ringwood who will stand together on 27 January will succeed only in reminding others about the ghastly possibilities in humanity - let's face it, we won't be able to mend it. But the biblical story in the book of Genesis - the story of Adam, Eve and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil - though a legend, reminds us that once you know about right and wrong, it changes everything for you. We know now about the Holocaust, and others may be reminded about it through us. So that will change something in the world.
If you want to join us in Ringwood in January email us at lucyunbox.ringwood@btinternet.com
