Church leaders including the Archbishop of Canterbury have expressed their shock and numbness at the attack in Southport in which three children have now died. Five children and two adults remain in a critical condition after the incident at a dance class where primary school age children were attending a Taylor Swift-style event.
Most Rev Justin Welby described it as “appalling” and “devastating”. Posting on social media site X he wrote : “My prayers are with the victims of the appalling stabbings in Southport today - and especially with the parents and loved ones of the children who were killed. I pray that God would draw near and comfort them in this unimaginable grief. I pray too for those who were injured, their families and those caring for them, and for those who witnessed and responded to this devastating attack.”
Writing shortly after news of the attack broke on Monday afternoon, the Archbishop of York, Most Rev Stephen Cottrell posted that he was “Praying this evening for the souls of those who died and for those injured in today’s horrific knife attack in Southport. Praying also for their families and all who are caring for them.”
Churches close to the attack have opened their doors to support the local community and a vigil will be held this evening.
Speaking to Premier Christian Radio, the Roman Catholic Auxilliary Bishop of Liverpool, Rt Rev Thomas Neylon described how he felt when he first heard the news:
“I think I just felt numbness. I was in shock. I think the reality of all this began to hit home when it mentioned later in the day that children have died. And I think that's when the impact of the event really, really began to hit me.
“I feel really, really sad for them, and pray for them. Just hope that as the days, the weeks go by, there’ll be some ease, some peace for these people. But I think it's going to be a long journey, not just for those immediately involved, but for others in the community.”
He added that Holy Family Church, which is about three streets away from the community hall where the attack happened, opened its doors as soon as clergy realised there had been an incident:
“People were trickling in, having time to pray, maybe to light a candle, to have a chat with a priest. The church is open again all day today, so I think the priests are just going to see who turns up, and just be there to respond as best they can, as the people in the local community take in what’s happened and try, if possible, to begin to make some kind of sense of all of this.”
Phil Jump who is chair of Churches Together in Merseyside and Regional Minister for the North West Baptist Association told Premier the church is helping people come together in different ways to try to process their grief:
“Holy Trinity Church is open and there was a vigil last night at the local Anglican Church that will carry on. We’ve also put a prayer online because we know the football club are organising vigils, along with other groups in the community and so we'll also be seeking to resource that because people want to come together in different ways, in different contexts, to express their grief and their solidarity with the families who've been so devastatingly affected by this.
“People want to do something, they want to have a vigil, they want a church open. That is part of the way that we cope with these immense periods of grief.
“North Merseyside is a very resilient, close community. So while this is a devastating tragedy, the community is coming together, doing what they can to stand with these families. There are no words to describe the sadness, the shock, the mindlessness of what has happened.”