After the silence, church opens doors for prayer
AFTER the two-minute’s silence, members of the Holt School communitywalked down the hill, where theywere welcomed inside St Paul’s Church.
Father Richard opened the church doors to offer a space to reflect, say a prayer and light a candle in memory of James Furlong.
More than 1,100 friends of the school visited the Church to light a candle on Monday.
WokinghamTown Mayor, Cllr Tony Lack, said that Mr Furlong would be missed by a lot of people.
“On behalf of everyone at WokinghamTown Council, I would like to express my deepest condolences on the tragic passing of James Furlong following the shocking attacks in Reading yesterday,” he said.
“He was a talented teacher at the Holt School, Wokingham, and his loss will be felt by so many in our town and community.
“Our thoughts go out to his family, friends, colleagues and students at this very sad time.”
Father Richard Lamey, Rector of the Reading Road church, said:
“St Paul’s [was] open so that people can come and sit, be quiet, pray, and feel supported by the community and by God.
“Lighting a candle is a way of helping them pray.”
He felt it was important that the church was open for the school to use in this way.
“We’re working verymuch in partnership with the school,” he said.
“The way that people [were] coming in really large numbers is a sign that they need this and hopefully, they [were] helped by it.”
He added: “We’re just trying to be good neighbours and we have to welcome people in as we always do for any situation.
“This feels particularly profound and particularly important to get it right and be there and for the church to be open and available in everywaywe can.”
Father Richard also paid tribute to Mr Furlong.
“I think of the people have had their lives turned upside down – his parents, his partner, his family his very close colleagues and students,” he said.
“They are people who were really, reallymissing him and are really upset.”