Sunday 11th July was a very remarkable day for Britain as it marked the first Sabbath day after Thursday’s deadly terrorist bombings on the Central London transport system. The death toll now stands at around 50, but is expected to rise up to 80; as another 25 people are missing. Churches across London and the world were packed with mourners yesterday who offered sincere prayers for all the victims in the tragedy, to gather strength and pray for calm.
Vicar Rev Paul Hawkins at St. Pancras Parish Church, spoken of the diversity of culture and faith in London in his sermon. He urged the congregation not to stereotype Muslims for the terrorist attack and to live in peace and with respect.
St. Pancras Parish Church is closest to King’s Cross Tube Station, where most people were killed compared to the other attack sites. Behind the Church is also Tavistock Square, where the Number 30 bus was blown up, killing 13 people.
"This [the terrorist attack] will only make us more determined to live in peace and respect each other and we can all play our part in that," Rev Hawkins was quoted by the Associated Press.
"There are no Muslim terrorists. There are terrorists. There are criminals who claim to be Muslims," Rev Hawkins said.
On Saturday, senior major faith leaders gathered at Lambeth Palace - the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury - to issue a joint statement, declaring their commitment to overcome the evil of terrorism and to share the belief in God's compassionate love for all people.
The leaders were the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Free Churches Moderator, Dr David Coffey, the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, Sir Jonathan Sacks, and the Chair of the Council of Mosques & Imams, Sheikh Dr Zaki Badawi.
"We stand together now for a further purpose: to express our shared commitment to resisting and overcoming the evil of terrorism … It is an evil that cannot be justified and that we utterly condemn and reject," the statement read.
The leaders urged to "strengthen those things they hold in common and to resist all that seeks to drive us apart", particularly at this time when "many will be feeling anger, bewilderment and loss".
"Central to what we share as people of faith is a belief in God's compassionate love for us. It is a love that compels us to cherish not to disfigure our common humanity," they declared, "We commend and embrace the continuing efforts to build a Britain in which different communities- including faith communities- can flourish side by side on the basis of mutual respect and understanding."
The religious leaders who signed the statement made a joint appearance Sunday afternoon, appealing to Muslims, Christians and Jews to stand together.
They met "to proclaim our wish to resist any form of violence and to work for reconciliation and peace," Murphy O'Connor said.
"People do things in the name of Islam which are totally contrary to Islam," Badawi said.
Candles for the victims were lit at St. Paul's Cathedral. A statement on St. Paul's Cathedral said, "Nothing will compromise in any way the determination of the people of London to withstand the evils of terrorist activity."
Pope Benedict XIV’s weekly sermon in St. Peter's square at the Vatican yesterday told bombers who attacked London to stop their killings, while praying that God would touch their hearts and teach them to respect life.
In Calcutta, India, the former British colony, a hundred people held a prayer meeting for the victims in London.
"The meeting strongly condemns the barbaric attacks which have claimed so many lives," said Idris Ali, president of the All India Minority Forum which organised the event.
"This is an attack on civilised people, not on a particular country. We must be united to defeat global terrorism," he said.
During the last few days, churches in New York and Australia, and even mosques in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, have held special prayer meetings to mourn for the precious lives sacrificed in the London attacks.
Eunice K. Y. Or
Christian Today Correspondant