Grenfell Tower Memorial Service

In the early hours

of the 14th of June -

exactly six months ago -

the worst fire to be

seen in the United Kingdom since

the Second World War broke out.

It happened at Grenfell

Tower, just six miles

away from this cathedral.

And this morning a National Memorial

Service will pay tribute to

those who died, to

those who survived and

the local community response.

Welcome to our coverage this morning

from St Paul's Cathedral, the venue

of many state occasions, moments of

national commemoration. This morning

for a service that will look and

feel very different to those that

usually take place here. It will

reflect the diverse community living

in and around the Grenfell Tower,

and it is rooted in the desire of

that community that this six-month

anniversary is marked and to be

marked in a manner commensurate with

the scale of the loss of life in the

fire that night. Inside this great

building, the seats beneath the dome

have to be reserved for those who

have come here with the most acute

sense of loss. Those bereaved on the

night of the fire, the survivors.

Those who live with the reality of

loveD ones that are no more and of

homes that have gone. We know 71

lives were lost that night. From a

stillborn baby to a grandmother in

her 80s, people of many cultures and

religions and countries of origin,

and that is reflected in those

sitting at the front of the

congregation, the relatives and

friends and neighbours who will

remember those who were lost that

night. Members of the Royal family

will attend, the Prince of Wales,

the Duchess of Cornwall, and the

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and

Prince Harry, who will attend the

service and will arrive shortly

before it begins. My colleague Tina

Daheley is on the steps of the

Cathedral and will speak to some of

those attending.

I am joined by Mohammed who lived in

the tower his entire life and

managed to escape with his family.

What does it mean to be here with

your family?

The Grenfell Tower fire

was a national tragedy and it is

only fitting we have such a memorial

to pay tribute to those who lost

their lives due to a gross injustice

and a crime committed against them.

It is only fitting we remember them

at an iconic national landmark and

we share this moment with the

British public, who were there for

us in our hour of need.

You are with

your family and you have a

two-year-old and five-year old. How

did they feel about today?

Emotions

are probably going to sink in when

the service starts. Myself, just

coming in and seeing people from all

around, it is getting me emotional

already. The bereaved, it is

bringing a lot of emotions back to

the surface.

How would you describe

the people who make up the Grenfell

community?

It was a friendly,

neighbourly, diverse community and

people got on well with each other.

We had a great amount of tolerance,

there was no hatred. We were united

in humanity and that is reflected in

the response of the British public.

We had people helping, coming from

all over the country and all over

the community and despite their

differences, religion, worldviews,

they came to help. I believe it

touched everyone's heart, what

happened.

Thank you. Mohammed, one

of the survivors speaking I imagine

for many when he talks about how

emotional this service is going to

be. He has come from the hotel room

where he now lives with his family.

There are many other survivors

living in emergency accommodation at

this time. Joining members of the

Grenfell community, the singer Adele

has arrived. And the actress. And

Marcus Mumford, who played in a

charity football match. And Adele

who has raised money from her

concerts.

We will be hearing some of the

stories in the run-up to the service

and indeed during the service

itself, where one of the bereaved

will be giving a reading. We can

hear more now about how the service

came about. Dr Graham Tomlin, you

were instrumental in making this

happen. They wanted a National

Service at Saint Pauls.

Can you tell

us why? There are a number of

reasons. Because it is a religious

building and faith is an important

part of the community in North

Kensington. This is a place where

worship is offered is significant.

There are many local events, taking

place, but I think the families and

those who were bereaved, the

survivors come wanted it to be a

national event. In a way, Grenfell

Tower did not just affect the

community but people across the

country and across the world and

they wanted an event where the whole

nation could support the community.

How will it reflect the multiple

faiths and cultures of the

residents?

We have worked closely

with many ethnicity, faiths. There

are different elements. Music from

different traditions will be part of

the service, faith leaders at the

front of the service will be sat

together, making a joint declaration

to the community and we hope

everyone in the community will feel

it is their service and belongs to

them.

Thank you for talking to us.

In April I met a young girl, just 12

years old, she made a big impact at

a debating competition.

Firdaws was 12 years old.

She died in the fire.

Sean Mendez founded a charity,

Solidarity Sports.

They work with children who live

in disadvantaged areas,

He knew her well.

Firdaws was 12 years old.

She lived on the 22nd floor

of the Grenfell Tower

with her older brother Yahya,

her younger brother Yaqub

and parents, Nora and Hashim.

Firdaws was the type of girl

who you could really trust.

Sometimes, you had a younger child

who was maybe misbehaving a little

bit and you were like,

"Hey, Firdaws, we need your help."

And because she had Yaqub.

Her younger sibling,

I think she naturally took

to that caring role.

She would make these songs and these

dance routines with some

of her friends and her voice

just stood out.

# You're going to miss me.

She had this beautiful

infectious laugh as well.

When you heard her laugh,

you wanted to make her laugh again

and again and again.

She did this giggle that

just stayed with you.

I always remember that.

She was a really good artist,

you know, she would do these

beautiful drawings and cards,

she used to create these

beautiful loom bands

and she could do it so fast.

She was just a bright spark,

as someone who walked into the room

and just illuminated it.

She took part in a Debate

Mate competition.

There was a roomful

of students, she stood out.

Being involved is amazing. It helps

you change the world.

She was just so articulate.

You should be realistic. As

unrealistic it is to think poverty

will disappear, as Bill Gates said,

we have to raise the bar.

She would

have gone on to achieve amazing

things in her life. Now she is gone,

we will never see her again.

On June 14th, Firdaws

was with her brothers,

Yahya and Yaqub, and their parents,

Nura and Hashim.

The whole family died together

in the Grenfell Tower.

To make sure that we never forget

Firdaws and her family,

we have launched the Hashim Family

Legacy.

It's all sparked by Firdaws

and her last dream,

which was to go to Disneyland -

and, sadly, she never got to go.

And we hope to make many other

children's dreams come true.

It's a way of doing something

positive from such a tragic event.

She was one of the 18 children

killed in the fire along with her

brother, Yaqub, six, and her brother

Yahya, who was 13. He wanted to be

an Islamic religious teacher and his

relatives said he would have been a

pride to his religion. A character

in a forthcoming Philip Pullman book

has been named after one of the

members of the El-Wahabi family. We

will never know what the children

lost that night would have grown up

to achieve. They were young lives

cut short. We can go back to Tina.

I'm with the Alves family - Miguel,

Fatima, Ines and Tiago -

who managed

to escape the tower due

to the quick thinking of Miguel.

What does it mean to be here today?

It means a lot. It recognises our

suffering. It is important for the

memory of the people who passed

away.

Who will you be remembering

today?

A small boy who came with us

every morning. On my way to work and

on his way to school. I always

remember him. He is such a nice boy.

A nice person.

Tell us what you

grabbed when you escape from your

flat? I left with my revision notes.

You went on to sit your chemistry

GCSE, the next day, wearing the

clothes you a skateboarding, which

is hard to believe, why was it

important to do that?

It is one of

my favourite subjects. Science I am

best at and I thought why not, I had

revised. What grade did you get? I

got and A.

There is always hope

moving forward, but what I want to

say is today is not a day of

survivors, it is the day of the

bereaved to make sure our thoughts

and prayers are with them. We may

have come out of that fire alive...

Thank you for talking to us. Inside,

the congregation, about 1500 people

in the cathedral today. They will

honour the events of six months ago.

At the far end, dressed in green,

under the dome, you can see the

Ebony steel band. There are 20

musicians. They are based in London.

Many of them live close to Grenfell

Tower. They played for the survivors

in the aftermath of the fire, and

they will play during the service.

It is the first time they have

played inside the cathedral.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has

just entered the cathedral, he is

meeting members of the congregation.

The Lord Mayor of London will be

greeting the Royal family when they

arrived shortly before the service

begins. St Paul's has been a focal

point in many moments of shock and

crisis, crowds came here in the

aftermath of the London terror

attacks in 2005. Before that, for

the September the 11th attacks. And

although the focus today is very

much on those you see sitting

directly under the Dome, those most

affected by the fire, that are also

dignitaries attending. Jeremy

Corbyn, the Leader of the

Opposition, arriving now. With Diane

Abbott, the Shadow Home Secretary.

And the Labour MP for Kensington and

Chelsea. And we are expecting Prime

Minister Theresa May and members of

her Cabinet to arrive shortly just

before the service begins. Community

groups from the Grenfell area have

played a very important role in

bringing people here and devising

the content of the service with St

Paul's and they are represented in

the congregation.

Within hours of the tragedy, local

people mobilised to do whatever

they could to help those in need.

What we saw was

the best of humanity.

People coming from all over

the community to help

with donations.

Clothes amassed,

along with volunteers.

Since the 14th of June,

we have been in operation

and still are in operation,

we have over 100 survivors'

families on our books.

The immediate response was to open

the centre to everyone who may need

a temporary shelter to come and find

a space here in Al-Manaar.

Later on, we thought maybe

we can also offer some

food, because of Ramadan.

So we have people who have been

volunteering, who are now working

with us on those type of programmes.

This is the canteen and kitchen.

I think it's really important

to feed your family food

that you've cooked

with your own hands,

with your own flavours,

and that's not going to be found

in hotels or take-away,

so it's really important

that they get that opportunity

using our kitchen,

their food, their ingredients

to feed their own family.

The fire has been devastating

for this community.

So many people

witnessed the scenes that night

and it was particularly

traumatic because the fire

went on for so long,

and everyone was aware

that there were still

people in the building.

There are very few people locally

who don't know someone

who was lost in the fire.

So it has had an enormous impact. At

the centre here...

At the centre here...

We're still offering all

the services that we were before.

So employment, adult learning,

our education for young people.

But we've also tried to provide

additional support for those

directly affected.

It's the Grenfell Assistance Centre,

called the Curve.

It's basically available

to anybody affected

by the fire.

Yes, it's hard, it's hard,

but as a community, the strength

is there and we look

out for one another.

I've got two kids and my husband.

I'm in a hotel, I've been

there since the fire.

Your sense of normality

goes out of the window.

There's nothing normal

about being in a hotel.

You're not eating the right food,

you're not sleeping,

the children are not

in their own bed.

You come in here and you have a cup

of tea and you just forget.

It gives you that sanctuary away

from what's happening in our lives

and how we've been affected.

The Rugby Portobello

Trust is a charity.

We're trying to support

the community the best way

we know how.

The work won't be finished

for quite some time.

We're broken.

We're broken at the moment.

This is a support group called

Magic Mums, for women

in the community.

There's a massive increase of women

on anti-depressants,

we have suicidal feelings

within the group,

and the children

are behaving very differently.

The emotional impact is just

beginning and it's getting bigger

and bigger and bigger.

We tragically lost 21

of our students, 12

of whom were children

or young people.

People still have to go

to work, they go to school.

It's quite hard

when you forget for a second

and then you look up

and see the tower.

And members of the Royal family now

arriving at the Great West Door of

the cathedral to be greeted by the

Dean, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

and Prince Harry. Who have all been

involved in the relief effort and

taken a close interest in what

happened in the aftermath of the

fire at Grenfell Tower. The Duke of

Cambridge two days after the Fire

accompanied his grandmother, Her

Majesty the Queen, and he met

bereaved families and members of the

emergency services. A visit that

many of those who they met said

meant a great deal to them. The

Duchess of Cambridge just this week

met children and parents who were

affected by the fire. She visited

the Rugby Portobello trust, which

has been one of the key community

centres offering support to the

Grenfell community. And Prince Harry

alongside his brother visited the

Grenfell area in September to see

the work being done especially with

mental health provision for those

affected. So the congregation in

their seats. The service will begin

in a few minutes. The Prime Minister

is among those attending, she is

already in her seat now. Sitting

alongside two of her ministers,

including the Communities Secretary

Sajid Javid. In the days after the

tragedy, she said, long after the

television cameras have gone and the

world has moved on, that the legacy

of this awful tragedy be that we

resolve never to forget these people

and instead the gear our policies

and our thinking towards making

their lives better. And bringing

them into the political process. If

you are familiar with the inside of

the cathedral, you might notice that

it looks a little different to how

you would see it normally because

the altar has been removed from that

dais and instead, we see a group of

faith leaders sitting who will be

taking part in the service. A

service which will have multi-faith

elements, reflecting the diverse

nature of the Grenfell community,

many of those who lived in the Tower

were Muslim. We will here join the

service from an Islamic school girls

choir who will be singing. The

Archbishop of Canterbury is among

those who is sitting with the

multi-faith leaders. The leaders of

different world faiths. He will be

giving the blessing during this

morning's service. The Chief Rabbi.

Sitting next to him. And also in

this group representatives of

different churches the Grenfell area

who will be a game taking part in

the service and saying different

prayers. -- again be taking part.

Reflecting the community coming to

this Cathedral on the other side of

London. And the Prince of Wales and

the Duchess of Cornwall arriving at

the cathedral now. They have been

greeted by the Lord Mayor Charles

Bowman. And they are being led up

the cathedral steps. Where they will

be greeted by the Dean.

The Very Reverend Dr David Ison. The

Prince of Wales visited the Grenfell

community assistance Centre in the

days after the fire. He met

survivors who told him their

stories. He and the Duchess of

Cornwall will be walking through the

centre of the Cathedral in a moment

with the Duke and touch as of

Cambridge and Prince Harry to take

their seats at the front of the

congregation, just before the

service begins -- Duke and Duchess

of Cambridge. The Prince of Wales

has a link to a couple of groups

that we will see represented or we

will hear from during the service.

The Al-Manaar mosque, one of its

employees will help to carry the

Grenfell banner through the

cathedral had the service and that

was the mosque opened by the Prince.

And he also knows the Ebony Steel

Band who we heard playing a moment

ago, led by Pepe Francis, MBE. And

the Prince presented him with that

MBE. So the Lord Mayor is now taking

his seat at the front of the

congregation. The Lord Mayor and the

Lady Mayoress. And the members of

the Royal family will be escorted to

their seats by the Dean just before

the service begins. And it will be a

very special service. Commemorating

this terrible loss of life, the

worst loss of life in a fire

anywhere in the United Kingdom since

World War II. It will be an

emotional service, we already know

that. From what the survivors and

the bereaved families have said. It

is also an on President at a

gathering with those affected by the

service -- unprecedented gathering.

The first time they have gathered

together in these numbers. They have

all come with their own sense of

connection with the events of that

night. And some of them will go from

here to take part later on today in

the silent march that takes place on

the 14th of every month in and

around the Grenfell Tower.

It was important to the cathedral to

make sure that this service

reflected the different traditions

and the different religions of the

Grenfell community. Not all of them

Christian so there are these

multi-faith elements that we will

see in the service. And when we hear

the Cathedral choir, one of the

pieces of music they have chosen is

from the musical West side story.

Chosen because they wanted to make

sure this service would appeal to

those of all faiths and none. And

that this should be a moment that

fits not just the horror of that

night, but the deep and raw emotions

as we commemorate events still so

recent.

So members of the Royal family now

starting to walk through the

Cathedral. The service will begin

with the first him and as we hear

that hymn, this banner, which has

been specially made for this

occasion will be carried through the

Cathedral and placed below the

pulpit. It has been carried by a

local Roman Catholic priest. And by

a representative of the Al-Manaar

mosque. The symbolism of the

Greenheart which has been adopted as

a symbol of Grenfell will be seen

during the service as well because

some of the schoolchildren who are

part of the congregation here,

children from schools in the

Grenfell area, they will then

scatter green hearts. In memory of

those who died around the Cathedral.

And you can see in the congregation

also how some of the families

support their children with them on

this day.

The service will begin

with the first hymn,

Be Still My Soul, which is often

in sung in remembrance.

That is when we will see the banner

carried through the cathedral by

father Gerard Skinner and Fahim

Mazhary, who is an imam from a local

mosque.

# Be still, my soul,

the Lord is on your side

# Bear patiently the cross

of grief and pain

# Leave to your God

to order and provide

# In every change he

faithful will remain

# Be still, my soul

# Your best, your heavenly friend

# Through thorny ways

leads to a joyful end

# Be still, my soul,

when dearest friends depart

# And all is darkened

in the vale of tears

# Then you shall better

know his love, his heart

# Who comes to soothe

your sorrow, calm your fears

# Be still, my soul,

for Jesus can repay

# From his own fullness

all he takes away

# Be still, my soul,

for Jesus can repay

# Sorrow forgotten,

love's pure joy restored

# Be still, my soul,

when change and tears are past

All safe and blessed

we shall meet at last.#

The Dean of St Paul's,

the Very Reverend Dr David Ison,

will now give the welcome.

On behalf of this cathedral

in London, welcome, each one of you,

to this National Memorial Service

of remembrance, community and hope.

Among us are survivors

of the fire in Grenfell Tower

exactly six months ago.

Those who have lost members

of their families, or their friends.

Those who live or work

in North Kensington as neighbours

and members of the local community.

Those who served others

as front-line responders

or volunteers, or who assisted

with the immediate tasks of coping

with the losses of lives,

homes and livelihoods.

And there are representatives

of our national life.

Because this is a nation that

grieves at the unspeakable tragedy,

loss and hurt of that June day.

The welcome also includes

all of you watching on national

television, among whom are those

painfully affected who could not

face such a public event,

those who would have liked to have

been here in solidarity,

those whose hearts go out

to the many whose lives have been

lost or changed forever.

In this service, we come together

as people of different faiths

and none, as we remember

before God those whose

lives were lost, and pray

for them to be at peace.

As we are alongside brothers

and sisters who have

lost their homes and their community

and those they love.

As we commit ourselves to care

for each other and to be united

in the face of suffering and sorrow.

As we seek each other's help

and resolve to build on our hopes

for a future in which the tragedy

that struck the peoples of Grenfell

Tower will never happen again.

So now, together, we

remember and reflect.

And now the choir of

St Paul's with the anthem

The Souls of the Righteous.

# The souls of the righteous

# Are in the hand of God

# And there shall no

torment

# No torment

# Touch them

# In the sight

# Of the unwise

# They seemed to die

# But they are in peace

# They are in peace

# They are in peace

# In peace.#

Tricia Hillas, Canon Pastor

of St Paul's, will now read

from the Beatitudes.

Here begins the fifth chapter

of the Gospel according to Matthew.

When Jesus saw the crowds,

he went up the mountain,

and after he sat down,

his disciples came to him.

Then he began to speak,

and taught them, saying: 'Blessed

are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the Earth.

Blessed are those who hunger

and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for

they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted

for righteousness' sake,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people

revile you and persecute

you and utter all kinds of evil

against you falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad,

for your reward is great in heaven,

for in the same way they persecuted

the prophets who were before you.'

And now the sound of the oud -

the instrument heard often

in the music of the Middle East

and North Africa.

It will be played by the Syrian

musician, Rihab Azar.

It will be played as a prelude

to a sound montage reflecting

the experiences of those affected

by the fire - at the time and since.

OUD SOUNDS

SOUND MONTAGE:

My dad automatically realise

something was wrong and he ran up

the stairs and told my mum to go

downstairs and called everybody on

the floor and woke me and my

brother.

I smelt smoke but assumed

my mum has a little candle, so I

went to blow out the candle. It was

a very faint smoky smell.

The

windows broke and things were

falling to the floor. In the space

of six minutes, the fire reached six

floors above.

You could see the

smoke. It felt as if it was not

real.

I was horrified by what I saw.

I went to help. I brought practical

stuff you would need.

Hopefully when

starting over again. I cannot thank

these people enough, they provided

services, food, clothes, money. They

are probably going through hardship

themselves.

Never did I think people

could rally round in the way the

community around here managed to

rally themselves around. Different

religions. Different walks of life.

All of them coming together to help.

The Kontaveit is just being

together. The company is having each

other.

They need to look at the

tragedy. Don't look at taking

selfies. Don't take a picture. This

is not respect. You need to feel

what we felt.

They have let's down,

this board.

So many questions and no

answers. It is heart-wrenching and

heartbreaking, nobody is giving you

any answers.

We were lost for words,

we did not know what to do and how

to react. I have never known

anything like it in my life.

I made

these signs and I photocopied them

and I came back out and I have been

here for a few hours making my way

basically around the area to put

these posters everywhere.

There is a

picture right there, if you see the

picture, she's missing, we are

looking for her. My little children

are at home crying thinking, we are

never going to see her again. In a

situation like this, they hope to

find her.

Quite a lot of children in

the area and sadly, quite a few

lives I will never see again.

You

know, of course people are

continually saying they want

justice, they want somebody to pay.

And most of these people are angry.

And they are understandably angry.

We have walked here in dignity, we

have bought here in silence, we have

made it clear to the Government that

we are not violent, we are not

oppressive, we just want answers!

You begin to feel survivors guilt.

And maybe not now, but within the

next couple of months we will begin

to question why was them and why not

as why did we survive, why did they

not? And that will always be

something eating away at our minds.

I just want a place where I can

start over and have the room to

myself. And just relax for a bit. I

just want a home again.

OUD PLAYS

The oud was played by a Syrian

musician.

And now the girls' choir

from an Islamic faith school

Al-Sadiq and Al-Zahra.

The pupils joined in the relief

effort.

Not far from Grenfell,

will sing Insha Allah,

meaning 'God Willing' in Arabic.

There are 30 girls, between the ages

of nine and 11.

In the name of God, the

compassionate, the masterful.

# Every time

# You feel

like you cannot go on

# You feel so lost and

that you're so alone

# All you see is night

# And darkness all around

# You feel so helpless

You can't see which way to go

# Don't despair

# And never lose hope

# Cos Allah is always

by your side

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# You'll find your way

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# You'll find your way

# Every time

# You take one look around

# You then remember

that they're really gone

# You're so confused

# What is right and what is wrong

# How to choose

and how to carry on

# But don't despair

# And never lose hope

# Cos Allah is always by your side.

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# You'll find your way

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# You'll find your way

# Ooh-ooh...

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# You'll find your way

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# Insha Allah

# You'll find your way

The choir was conducted by Rashida

Hanif..

The Address by the Bishop

of Kensington, the Right

Reverend Dr Graham Tomlin.

The evening of June 13 was an

evening like any other in London. It

has been a hot day. The sunshine

went down on a calm and gentle

night. That evening, people went out

for a meal. They went to bed. I

stayed up talking and doing what

people do in London and a warm

summer's evening. And yet that night

was to change the lives of so many

here in this Cathedral and beyond

today. Since then, it has been a

long six months. Many here grieved

for loved ones, precious people who

perished on that dreadful night.

Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers.

Aunties and uncles, cousins, sons

and daughters. Today would have been

the first birthday of one of the

youngest victims of the fire. And

many still struggle with their

memories. There are still far too

many living in hotels in a kind of

limbo, not sure of what the future

holds. There are so many unresolved

issues and questions and it is hard

to live with uncertainty. And yet in

the following days, in the middle of

that unimaginable tragedy, we saw

something extraordinary. People

started coming from all over London,

all over the country and even

beyond, bringing offers of help,

water, toys, nappies, blankets,

food. Churches, mosques, community

centres, opened their doors as

people came with suitcases of

clothes they had collected from

their homes and driven across the

country to deliver. The emergency

services worked tirelessly.

Ambulance crews, firefighters who

entered the tower again and again.

The police. Often going far beyond

what was required of them to rescue

and the comfort. We saw acts of

simple but remarkable generosity. On

the Sunday morning following the

fire, I was standing in one of the

streets near the tower when a man

approached me with his six-year-old

son. He said that Alfie had

collected together all his pocket

money and rather than spending it on

toys for himself, he wanted to give

one of the families who had lost --

lost their home. Alfie handed me a

tin, a dented, well loved Marvel

avengers tin with about £60 in it.

It was all the money he had. The

fire took place during Ramadan. And

in the summer, there are few hours

of darkness. Many Muslim volunteers

had to work longer hours in heat

with no food because of the fast.

And they did so with great

willingness and dedication. They

worked alongside people of all

faiths and none to do what they

could to bring help and hope. I

remember standing outside one of our

churches the day after the fire.

Helping the Christian community to

organise the help coming in. A crowd

of people had turned up to help.

What struck me was the variety.

Every ethnicity, background, age.

For a moment, we all lost our fear

of each other. We lost our obsession

with ourselves. And we reached out

across the city in love for our

neighbour. It was a glimpse of what

our society could be like. A place

where we were for a brief moment

more concerned about our neighbours

and their well-being rather than our

own. Jesus said, the two greatest

commandments were to love God and to

love our neighbour. As we come to

the end of this difficult year, as

we celebrate Christmas, as we move

into a New Year, nothing can remove

the memory of that night. Nor do we

want to forget those dearly love to

people who were lost. And yet my

hope and prayer is that this New

Year can bring new hope of a future,

a vision of a city where we lose our

self obsession and we listen and we

learn from places and people that we

would not normally think of reaching

out to. There is something about a

Cathedral. It is a place where we

are aware, that we are in the

presence of something, someone

bigger than ourselves. As we cross

the threshold into this building, it

doesn't matter who we are.

Politicians, religious leaders,

volunteers, survivors, bereaved,

residents. We are all equal in the

eyes of God. Love makes no

distinctions. We are all neighbours

to each other. And we are called to

love our neighbours. Today, we

remember with sorrow, with grief,

with tears. And we pledge that those

we have lost will not be forgotten.

Today, we ask why warnings were not

heeded, which a community was left

feeling neglected, and cared for,

not listen to. Today, we hold out

hope that the public enquiry will

get to the truth of all the lead-up

to the fire at Grenfell Tower, that

it will listen to the hopes, fears

and questions of those most directly

affected by it. And we trust that

the truth will bring justice. And

that justice will enable true

reconciliation. The eventual healing

of the divides in our life together

that this tragedy has revealed.

As we come to this special time of

year, as we enter a new year, we

also look forward. We long for a

society where we have learned not

just to tolerate our neighbours, but

to love them, which means to listen

to them. Not just to our friends,

those who are like us, but to our

neighbours. Those we do not choose,

yet who are placed alongside us

precisely so we can learn to love

them. To do that we need to see our

neighbours differently. Not as those

to be feared, despised, neglected.

But as a gift to be cherished,

valued, and loved. The message of

this season, the message we

celebrate this Christmas, is found

in that ancient word

Emmanuel. The God understands and

listens and here's the cries of

those forgotten and abandoned. And

we trust this service today is an

assurance the families most deeply

affected by this tragedy are also

not forgotten by our nation. By

those here in this cathedral, and by

those who watch and listen around

the country today. My hope, my

prayer, is that today we will pledge

ourselves to change, from a city

where we did not listen, where we

did not hear the cries of our

neighbours, because the were too

wrapped up in our own interests and

prosperity, to create a new type of

life together. Where we are turned

not inwards to ourselves, but

outwards, towards each other. A

society known for listening, for

compassion, and love. In years to

come, our hope is that the name of

Grenfell will not just be known as a

symbol of sorrow, of grief,

injustice. But a symbol of the time

we learned a new and better way to

listen and to love. Amen.

The Bishop

of Kensington reflecting the many

questions about how the fire caused

such a great loss of life.

And now the hymn For

the Healing of the Nations.

# For the healing of the nations

# Lord, we pray with one accord

# For a just and equal sharing

# Of the things that Earth affords

# To a life of love in action

# Help us rise and pledge our word

# Lead us forward into freedom

# From despair your world release

# That, redeemed from war and hatred

# All may come and go in peace

# Show us how through

care and goodness

# Fear will die and hope increase

# All that kills abundant living

# Let it from the Earth be banned

# Pride of status, race or schooling

# Dogmas that obscure your plan

# In our common quest for justice

# May we hallow life's brief span

# You, Creator God, have written

# Your great name on humankind

# For our growing in your likeness

# Bring the life of Christ to mind

# That by our response and service

# Earth its destiny may find.#

Let us remember those

who died in the tragedy

of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Let us remember and not forget.

Let us remember, united

in grief and hope and love.

Let us keep silence.

The souls of the righteous

are in the hand of God and there

shall no torment touch them.

They are at peace.

The St Paul's Cathedral Choir

will sing And I Saw A New Heaven,

conducted by Andrew Carwood.

# And I saw

# A new heaven and a new Earth

# For the first heaven and first

earth had passed away

# And there was no more sea

# And there was no more sea

# And I John

# Saw the holy city

# New Jerusalem coming down

# And I heard a great voice

out of heaven, saying.

# "Behold, the tabernacle

of God is with men

# "And he will dwell with them

and they shall be his people

# "And God himself shall be

with them and be their God

# And God shall wipe away

all tears from their eyes

# And there shall be no more death

neither sorrow nor crying

# Neither shall there

be any more pain

# For the former things

are passed away.#

# And God shall wipe away

all tears from their eyes

# And there shall be no more death

neither sorrow nor crying

# Neither shall there

be any more pain

# For the former things

are passed away.#

And now the prayers,

involving representatives

from several churches

and organisations

in the Grenfell area.

United in grief and hope and love,

let us pray for each other,

and for the world in which we live.

CHOIR SINGS: Kyrie, eleison

We pray for the families

and friends of those who died

in the Grenfell Tower fire,

for all who mourn the

loss of a loved one.

May we be comforted

in our time of grief.

# Lord hear our prayer.

CHOIR SINGS: Kyrie, eleison

We pray for those who survived

this tragedy, for all

who are scarred by the horrors

of that fateful night.

May all our memories be healed.

# Lord, hear our prayer.

CHOIR SINGS: Kyrie, eleison

We pray for those who rushed

to rescue, for the members

of our emergency services.

May we be saved from

all that threatens us.

# Lord, hear our prayer.

CHOIR SINGS: Kyrie, eleison

We pray for those who have

offered their support,

for all who sustain us

with their care and friendship.

May we grow through

the love of others.

# Lord, hear our prayer #.

CHOIR SINGS: Kyrie, eleison

We pray for those in authority,

for all who will learn

from this disaster.

May we live to see a better world.

# Lord, hear our prayer #.

CHOIR SINGS: Kyrie, eleison

We pray for the communities

of which we are part,

for those alongside whom we live.

May our shared sorrows

bring us closer together.

# Lord, hear our prayer #.

CHOIR SINGS: Kyrie, eleison

God our maker, You know our hearts

and share our sorrows.

We are wounded by the tragedy that

has befallen us and by our parting

from those we loved.

When we are angry at the loss

we have sustained, when we long

for words of comfort,

yet find them hard to hear,

turn our grief to truer living,

our affliction to firmer hope

and our sorrow to deeper joy.

Amen.

Rejoicing in the presence

of God here among us,

let us pray in faith and trust.

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,

on Earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those

who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever and ever.

Amen.

And we will hear now from The Ebony

Steel Band.

Many of the musicians live close

to the Grenfell Tower.

The Ebony Steel Band will now play

'Hallelujah', by Leonard Cohen.

The Ebony Steel Band.

Maria Jafari, who lost her father

in the fire, will read

the poem 'Remember Me'.

I will be with you in the grave

on the night you leave behind

your shop and your family.

When you hear my soft voice

echoing in your tomb,

you will realise that you were never

hidden from my eyes.

I am the pure awareness

within your heart,

with you during joy and celebration,

suffering and despair.

On that strange and fateful night,

you will hear a familiar voice -

you'll be rescued from

the fangs of snakes

and the searing sting of scorpions.

The euphoria of love

will sweep over your grave.

It will bring wine and friends,

candles and food.

Had everyone sought God instead

of crumbs and copper coins

They would not be sitting

on the edge of the

moat in darkness and regret

What kind of gossip-house

have you opened in our city?

Close your lips and

shine on the world

like loving sunlight

Shine like the Sun of

Tabriz rising in the East

Shine like the star of victory.

A reading from one of the bereaved

relatives, the daughter of a man who

died from the fire, Ali Jafari.

died from the fire, Ali Jafari.

And now the Act of Commitment

spoken by representatives

of different world faiths.

ALL:

We resolve to continue

working together

to make our local

community a place where

everyone is valued, where everyone

has the opportunity to live

free from fear to become

what they can be and to live

peacefully with all.

May we be given vision,

compassion and

patience as we resolve

to work together.

So be it.

We will work with you

as we stand together

in the quest for justice and peace,

remembering those who have

died, and committing

ourselves to the future

good of our community

in hope and love and peace.

The St Paul's Cathedral Choir

will sing 'Somewhere',

from the musical West Side Story.

Chosen because of its words and

message of hope.

Chosen because of its words

and message of hope.

As they do so, school children

from the Grenfell area will scatter

green hearts they have made,

in memory of those

who died.

# There's a place for us

# Somewhere a place for us

# Peace and quiet and

open air

# Wait for us

# Somewhere

# There's a time for us

# Some day a time for us

# Time together with time to spare

# Time to learn, time to care

# Some day!

# Somewhere

# We'll find a new way of living

# We'll find a way of forgiving

# Somewhere

# There's a place for us

# Somewhere a place for us

# Peace and quiet and

open air

# Wait for us

# Somewhere

# There's a time for us

# Some day a time for us

# Time together with time to spare

# Time to learn, time to care

# Some day!

# Somewhere

# We'll find a new way of living

# We'll find a way of forgiving

# Somewhere

# There's a place for us

# A time and place for us

# Hold my hand and

we're halfway there

# Hold my hand and I'll

take you there

# Somehow

# Some day

# Somewhere!#

# Somewhere!#

And now the blessing,

given by the Most Reverend

and Right Honourable Justin Welby,

the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Lord bless you and keep

you,

the Lord make his

face to shine upon you

and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up the light

of his countenance

upon you and give you peace,

now and for ever.

Amen.

The final hymn is O God

our Help in Ages Past.

As this is sung, the members

of the Royal family will meet some

of those who lost family members

in the fire.

And also some of the survivors.

# O God, our help in ages past

# Our hope for years to come

# Our shelter from the stormy blast

# And our eternal home

# Under the shadow of thy throne

# Thy saints have dwelt secure

# Sufficient is thine arm alone

# And our defence is sure

# Before the hills in order stood

# Or Earth received her frame

# From everlasting thou art God

# To endless years the same

# A thousand ages in thy sight

# Are like an evening gone

# Short as the watch

that ends the night

# Before the rising sun

# Time, like an ever-rolling stream

# Bears all its sons away

# They fly forgotten, as a dream

# Dies at the opening day

# O God, our help in ages

past

# Our hope for years to come

# Be thou our guard

while troubles last

# And our eternal home.#

That marks the end of the service.

Members of the Royal family are

gathered at the western door of the

cathedral, just inside the door.

Each member of the Royal family

meeting a separate group of the

bereaved and of the survivors. Those

for whom this service will have

meant more than anyone else, who

have come each with their own grief

and memories of those who will be at

the forefront of their minds through

this. The Prince of Wales has been

introduced to the group he is

standing with by the Dean, Dr David

Ison. And now, we are sending the --

seeing the Grenfell banner. A Roman

Catholic priest and imam and father

Gerard Skinner. And following

directly behind them, some of the

bereaved relatives. The El-Wahhabi

family, who lived in the tower. The

lady in the blue headscarf lost her

brother and his entire family who

lived in a flat on the 21st floor.

And a picture of the Syrian refugee

who was the first to be formally

identified. His picture carried

through the cathedral by members of

his family who are here to remember

him. This procession will go right

through the cathedral. With the

bereaved and the survivors, who have

been at the heart of this service

and for whom it has been deeply

emotional. Harry is meeting a group

of survivors and bereaved families.

The Royal party are now leaving the

cathedral.

The Prince of Wales is greeted by

the Lord Mayor of London as he and

the Duchess of Cornwall step out of

the cathedral. They have both, in

the past, as well, met Grenfell

families and members of the

community. Talked about the

emergency services and what they

tried to do on the night of the

fire. And the Grenfell banner, this

will be taken from the cathedral to

the Grenfell area because on the

14th of every month there is a March

that takes place and this banner

will go to be part of that March

this evening.

So this national memorial

service for the victims

of the Grenfell Tower fire comes

to an end.

A fire that was the worst in this

country since the Second World War.

Life-changing for those who have

been at the centre of this service -

the survivors and the bereaved.

The Bishop of Kensington said he

hopes that one day Grenfell will be

known not as a symbol of sorrow, but

of the time we learnt a new and

better way to listen and to love. A

service of remembrance and community

and hope, hope that a disaster like

this is never seen again. Goodbye.