PRAYERS FOR PEOPLE OF OMAGH
Prayers for people of Omagh
Sir,
I am writing to offer the assurance of continued thoughts and prayers this Christmas to your readers and all the people of the Omagh district and elsewhere, who were so tragically affected by the terrorist bombing in August.
My wife comes from Omagh, and my mother-in-law lives in the town. Being on holiday in Donegal at the time of the bombing, we visited soon after the terrible events of that Saturday.
A few days later, at the request of the Archbishop of Canterbury we returned to Omagh to represent him and the Church of England at the moving memorial service held on August 22. It was a privilege to be part of such a solemn and holy occasion.
Like so many, we will never forget the stillness of that afternoon, nor the underlying determination that Omagh must somehow be the place where such acts of brutality and indiscriminate killing cease.
We have been touched by the correspondence we have had with Omagh people since that day, particularly injured young people, and have been moved by their honesty, their pain and yet their hope and determination to build a peaceful future.
We have prayed, and continue to do for those whose task is the ensuring of peace.
At this season we commemorate the birth of the Prince of Peace, yet One who was destined to be murdered by forces unable to grasp the truth of unconditional love.
May you at this holy season find stillness and hope in the Jesus child born in the manger, the innocent Jesus man indiscriminately killed; and the risen Jesus, Son of God who conquers all sorrow, death and destruction.
Yours,
Rt. Rev. Peter B. Price,
Bishop of Kingston Upon Thames
Sir,
I am writing to offer the assurance of continued thoughts and prayers this Christmas to your readers and all the people of the Omagh district and elsewhere, who were so tragically affected by the terrorist bombing in August.
My wife comes from Omagh, and my mother-in-law lives in the town. Being on holiday in Donegal at the time of the bombing, we visited soon after the terrible events of that Saturday.
A few days later, at the request of the Archbishop of Canterbury we returned to Omagh to represent him and the Church of England at the moving memorial service held on August 22. It was a privilege to be part of such a solemn and holy occasion.
Like so many, we will never forget the stillness of that afternoon, nor the underlying determination that Omagh must somehow be the place where such acts of brutality and indiscriminate killing cease.
We have been touched by the correspondence we have had with Omagh people since that day, particularly injured young people, and have been moved by their honesty, their pain and yet their hope and determination to build a peaceful future.
We have prayed, and continue to do for those whose task is the ensuring of peace.
At this season we commemorate the birth of the Prince of Peace, yet One who was destined to be murdered by forces unable to grasp the truth of unconditional love.
May you at this holy season find stillness and hope in the Jesus child born in the manger, the innocent Jesus man indiscriminately killed; and the risen Jesus, Son of God who conquers all sorrow, death and destruction.
Yours,
Rt. Rev. Peter B. Price,
Bishop of Kingston Upon Thames
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1305
Published Date: 23-Dec-98
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