The Parish church in Huddersfield opened a book of condolence after the terror attack at Manchester Arena and called people to gather for a vigil of peace on Tuesday afternoon.
It is always the hardest to speak of peace in the midst of violence - was the message from St Peter's Parish Church on Byram Street in the heart of the town.
People of all faiths and none, the local parliamentary candidates in the forthcoming election, local police, the Lord Mayor in what was his last civic engagement before he was due to hand over his mayoral chain and office this week and faith leaders from different communities began to gather around 4.30pm before they took their vigil onto the church steps for a short period of reflection, a minute's silence followed by prayers for peace led by the vicar, the Revd Simon Moor.
The Bishop of Huddersfield, the Rt Revd Jonathan Gibbs signed the book of condolence before leading the gathered outside for a short reflection you can read below.
The church is open every day for anyone wanting to sign the Book of Condolence.
Statement from the Bishop of Huddersfield following the Manchester bombing
We gather together this afternoon with a deep sense of shock and grief, of anger and of sadness at the awful events that took place in Manchester last night.
We come together from across the whole community of Huddersfield and Kirklees, as people of different faiths and none, as members of different political parties and none.
We stand together with the people of the City of Manchester and with all those who have been affected by this barbaric act of terror.
It is less than a year since many of us gathered at this church following the murder of Jo Cox MP.
That day we remembered her words that what unites us is greater and stronger and more important than anything that divides us, and we reaffirm those words today.
We stand united, resisting the power of terror and refusing to allow fear and hatred to shape how we will choose to live.
Our hearts go out to those who grieve, and we offer our love, our support and our prayers for them all.
And we reach out to one another, across our different communities, faiths and political allegiances, for the sake of our shared future.
Together we condemn the twisted and misguided thinking that led to this evil act of violence, aimed especially at children and young people.
Together we give thanks for the bravery and professionalism of all the emergency services.
Together we commit ourselves to working for peace and for justice for all the victims of terror in this country and around the world.
And as people of faith, we pray that the God of Peace will bring comfort and healing to those who have been most affected by these awful events.
Now may I invite us to keep a Minute’s Silence in memory of those who have died, before we pray for all concerned.
