I WAS appalled by the brutal murder of Henry Nowak, the 18-year-old student who was stabbed to death last year. The riots that broke out in June were horrifying too, not least because his father had publicly stated that the family didn’t want to see his murder lead to further hatred, division and tension. It would now appear that two police officers are being investigated for potential gross misconduct and his killer is seeking to appeal against his conviction.

It’s a terribly sad story. But the more I’ve read the more I’ve realised that there are some things we can be thankful for too. There’s his family’s reaction for example. They could easily have been at the forefront of the mob given the kind of anger that can be generated by such a brutal attack on a loved one. But as we’ve seen, the very opposite has proved true.

There have also been some encouraging very references to the Christian faith and the role of the church too. A priest, for example, has been quoted as saying that the teenager had a Bible verse about the resurrection as his phone screensaver. That doesn’t minimise the brutality of the attack of course, but it encourages us to believe that Henry is now with the Risen Jesus awaiting the day when he will be resurrected too.

In addition to this his family seem to have been greatly helped by a local church. The priest continued ‘They’ve been incredibly grateful for just the presence, which is a wonderful reminder to us that we don’t always have the right words or the perfect solution, but we can be present to people. That’s one way of bringing God’s love into the situation.” If true, that is simply fantastic.

In addition to all this I came across another encouraging report which informed me that the Christians of Southampton were clearly visible among those who stepped up to the challenge to sweep up glass and clear the rubbish that was left in in the aftermath of “two-tier policing” protests.

One local church leader said she was aware children would soon be going to school and was heartened to see one student already busy clearing the street when she turned up at 8am. Together with other members of the church and community they started clearing the masses of smashed bottles the stains from colour grenades that were spread everywhere. “Within an hour and a half, we’d never seen it so clean,” she added

All of this reminded me of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus told His disciples that He wanted them to act as salt and light, bringing healing and hope to a dark world. I was also reminded of the time that Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, and I found myself thanking God for Henry Nowak’s family as well as the Christians of Southampton for the way they have reacted to such a brutal tragedy.