Grenfell banner

72 hearts for 72 lives lost from the Grenfell Street sign in Mousehole

It will be three years on Sunday, June 14th, that the Grenfell Tower Fire took the lives of 72 people. It comes at a time that will be especially hard for the survivors, when lockdown means they cannot gather or grieve together. The BAME community, which is significant in W11, has also been particularly hurt by the Covid-19 crisis.

How Cornwall Hugs Grenfell

Through the work of the charity Cornwall Hugs, the Cornish community has stood alongside the people of Grenfell, offering its beautiful county as a place of sanctuary. Over the past three years, the charity has facilitated respite holidays for almost 500 survivors, bereaved and firefighters through the generosity of Cornish accommodation and activity providers.

Three years on, the bonds remain strong and there has never been a more important time for all of us to show our care and support for a neighbour in need.

72 bells ring out across London and Cornwall for 72 lives lost

Three Cornish churches, All Saints Highertown, St Pol de Leon, near Mousehole, and St Peter’s Church, Newlyn, will be joining 80 churches in London, including St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, to ring their bells 72 times, each ring for a life lost.

There will be a Memorial Service, broadcast from Kensington at 11.00am on Sunday, that includes a message from Cornwall Hugs and a powerful blessing from Revd Jeremy Putman of All Saints Highertown.

Churches across London joining with Cornwall to stand in solidarity with the Grenfell community

Cornish Prayer for Grenfell

Bishop Philip invites people across the diocese to join in this Sunday in any way they can and has written 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

In London, Grenfell United’s Multi-Faith Online Vigil will be held in the evening and will include the Cornish song of solidarity, Grenfell From Today, written by Philip Stopford and Andrew Longfield. Recorded by Truro Cathedral Choir and filmed with survivors in Penwith, the words are particularly poignant for this time: ‘A new day, a new way, to create a world we’re worthy of …We must listen and learn to love …’  

Esmé Page, founder of Cornwall Hugs, says, Now more than ever, we want to show that what happened at Grenfell matters to everyone in the UK. Our solidarity will be ringing out loud and clear, all the way from Cornwall.

If you would like to join in with any of the services taking place this Sunday, here’s how:

11.00am – Memorial Service, this can be viewed live and afterwards here.

6.00pm – Grenfell United Multi-faith vigil will be live streamed here

If you are a church and it is safe to ring your bells (by complying with all Covid-19 restrictions and safety measures involved in returning to and reopening a closed church building), it would be wonderful if you could join in this beautiful act of solidarity across Cornwall.

It would be great if you could let us know if you do join in in any way as we would love to be able to share that with the Grenfell community. Please let us know via Facebook or email Esmé