A memorial plaque that shares the importance of God’s love has been unveiled at the Parish of Gresford Paterson.
In 2019, the then parish secretary of Gresford/Paterson discovered that the church did not acknowledge certain members of the community when they passed away.
It was brought to Parish Council, which agreed some sort of acknowledgement needed to be made to highlight these people existed, were precious to God, and the church had failed in their care of the families impacted.
The parish decided to host a service and place a plaque at Gresford.
Bishop Sonia recently joined parishioners to bless the plaque before it was placed in St Anne’s Cemetery.
The plaque reads:
In remembrance of those whom the church did not embrace nor recognise as precious to God. We acknowledge those buried outside consecrated ground in the Gresford/Paterson parish, as children of God, important and valued.
May light perpetually shine on them and may they rest in God’s loving presence forever.’
“I will never turn away anyone who comes to me” John 6.37.
Priest in Local Mission at the Parish of Gresford Paterson, Reverend Mary Horn, said the plaque acknowledged the wrongs of the past.
“We know the attitude of society at the time was that you forget about what has happened and you move on,” she said.
“It has been recognised that the ways of the past were wrong. Every life is valuable, precious to God and impacts on the lives of others – no matter how short.
“This has, at last, been recognised.”
