Inverness Cathedral will be Lighting candles for Aleppo at 5.00pm on Sunday 20th November, please join us or light a light in your church or in your window, please remember to be careful with candles.
Please read the following press release from the University of Edinburgh.
Flaming beacons send signal of hope to besieged people of Aleppo
A trail of beacons will be lit along both sides of the Firth of Forth in a gesture of hope and solidarity with the besieged residents of Aleppo in Syria.
The displays of light will be sparked to show support and raise funds for people in the city, which has been ravaged by civil war.
Communities along the coast will light torches at 5pm on Sunday November 20. Their message will be spread around the world by social media, using the hashtag #alightforaleppo, by other beacons and by people lighting candles at home anywhere in the world. information on the campaign can be found at www.alightforaleppo.org.
The University of Edinburgh Chaplaincy has organised the scheme, which aims to raise funds for the charities Oxfam and Medicins Sans Frontieres, Caritas and Red Cross/Red Crescent, who are all working in the region.
Groups and individuals from across Scotland and as far afield as Greece, Taiwan, Japan and Chile have registered to join the initiative to spread light. There are at least 55 events across 12 countries. ECA student India Pearce contributed artwork for the campaign materials.
Rev Dr Harriet Harris, Chaplain of the University of Edinburgh, said: “Every day, the people of Aleppo have less food and fewer medical supplies, and aid is not getting through. We want them to know that they are not forgotten – the people of the world are watching and are upholding their humanity. We are helpless to deliver food, medicine or peace, but we will light beacons to send a message of solidarity and hope to stem despair and renew resolve. We now know that some Aleppo residents have heard of the trail of light and will join in if safe for them to do so”
Dr Liz Grant, Assistant Principal of the University of Edinburgh’s Global Health Academy, said: “Light represents a fundamental resource that is gifted to us in each new day and belongs to each of us to live by. It speaks of our commitment to honour the gift of life and to stand with those whose lives are in constant danger. Through this simple action, we commit to daily remembrance, to speaking out against injustice and terror and to giving to those who can act on behalf of the people of Aleppo so that their light, though dim, is not extinguished.”
For further information, please contact:
Catriona Kelly, Press & PR Office, 0131 651 4401; 07791 355940; Kathryn.Dunlop@ed.ac.uk
