Communities across Medway will come together again to remember and honour millions of people who lost their lives during the Holocaust.
Holocaust Memorial Day falls on Tuesday, 27 January, and Medway’s commemoration will take place at Rochester Cathedral from 5.30pm.
Since 2004, Medway’s Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration has been jointly organised by Medway Council, Chatham Memorial Synagogue, Rochester Cathedral and the Medway Inter-Faith Action Forum. Since 2010, Medway Youth Council has also been involved in the organisation.
This year's service will include readings, poetry and drama, as well as prayers from local schools, faith leaders, Medway Youth Council and Kent Police. The Bishop of Tonbridge, The Right Reverend Simon Burton-Jones, will also give a speech during the evening.
Artwork created by local schools will also be on display during the event, with the exhibition then being moved to Chatham library.
Cllr Vince Maple, Leader of Medway Council, and Cllr Trevor Clarke, The Mayor of Medway, will both be attending the commemoration. During the event, the Mayor will also be presenting certificates to the schools which have taken part.
Each year the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust sets a theme for services. This year it has chosen ‘Bridging Generations’ which highlights that the responsibility of remembrance sits with everyone to ensure the lessons of the past are not forgotten. This theme encourages us all to engage actively with the past: to listen, to learn and to carry those lessons forward. By doing so, we build a bridge between memory and action, between history and hope for the future.
Bring communities together
Cllr Vince Maple, Leader of Medway Council, said: “As this year's theme for Holocaust Memorial Day says, taking the time to remember is always important - to pause and think about, and honour, the sacrifices, bravery and memory of those no longer with us. This commemoration gives us the chance to do just that, and will bring communities from across Medway together to remember the victims of the Holocaust and all subsequent atrocities.”