A special online service by the churches of Carew, Cosheston, Nash and Redberth to mark Holocaust Memorial Day will be held on Wednesday.

“Here, in the churches of Carew, Cosheston, Nash and Redberth we are committed to being a light in the darkness, to raise awareness of these horrific crimes and to promise that we will do all we can to make sure they do not occur again,” said Reverend Joel Barder, vicar of Carew, Cosheston, Nash and Redberth.

“For this reason, and because for us the most important thing we can do is bring our sufferings, prayers and thoughts to God, we are going to be having a special online service to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on Wednesday, January 27 at 5 pm. It will be a mixture of videos and reflections, prayers and testimonies.

“On 27th January 1945, Soviet Russian soldiers entered into the extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland and ’liberated’ it.

“This was the epicentre of the murderous antisemtism of Nazi Germany; at last the evil of the systematic genocide of the Jewish people was over, but of course for the few survivors, the pain, terror, and memories lived, and live, on.

“Some 76 years later, with the numbers of living survivors decreasing, we have even more of a reason, no actually, a responsibility to mark and commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. Antisemitism remains in existence today.

“A very recent poll conducted by Kings College London and YouGov found that 12 per cent of British people hold entrenched antisemitic views. We must stand together against antisemitism and promise #NeverAgain to genocide.

“On Holocaust Memorial Day we also remember the other horrendous periods of recent years - Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur. The theme for this year, given by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is "Be a light in the darkness" and this is a worthy call to all of us, whether we have faith or not,” he added.

The online service will be accessible through the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/CarewCoshNashRedberth or on the Youtube channel: www.tiinyurl.com/CarewCoshNashRedberth.

The service will be accessible live from around 4.50pm. If you would like further information please contact Revd Joel at: [email protected] or 01646 650114.