Families and members of various faith communities gathered at Christchurch’s Avonhead Cemetery recently to mark the three year anniversary of the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
At an early morning private memorial service ― organized by the Christchurch Inter-faith Society and supported by the Christchurch City Council ― prayers were offered, words of comfort and faith were expressed, and those who lost their lives were honoured.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
Christchurch Mayor, Lianne Dalziel, and other dignitaries from Japan, Israel, and Australia were among the attendees.
A member of the Russian Orthodox Church offered a prayer to begin the service.
Michael Roberts, Pacific Area Director of Inter-faith Relations for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, delivered an address, titled, “Words for the Family.”
He spoke about the belief that we are all spirit children of the same God which is the basis for the brotherhood and sisterhood of humanity, and underpins the empathy this creates in us for the suffering of others.
Touching on the subject of resilience in the face of adversity, he noted an example from Mormon pioneer history of how two people reacted differently to the same set of tragic circumstances. One turned inward and became bitter about his loss. The other turned outward and became a ministering angel helping those in need. The key to her resilience was service to others.
He finished with a Japanese poem which he wrote especially for the occasion which summarised these ideas and captured the notion that the families who had suffered loss could honour the memory of their loved ones by serving others.
Representatives of the Salvation Army and Wat Budda Samokhee Buddist Community Church also participated in the service.
The memorial service concluded with a prayer offered by Reverend Rick Loughnan, the Catholic Vicar General of Christchurch.
Following the private service a public civic ceremony was held in the botanical gardens culminating in flowers being laid on the Avon River as a tribute to the 185 lives lost.
Watch a video about Mormon beliefs on families.