One Year Later, Britain Remembers 72 Killed in Fire and Faith Groups’ Response

The Rev. Alan Everett vividly remembers the early morning hours of June 14, 2017. Flames were engulfing the 24-story apartment building near his church, St. Clement’s in Notting Dale, and he did what came naturally: invite in the weary, fearful and displaced.

“Opening the doors and switching on the lights was the most important thing I’ve done in my ministry,” Everett recalled.

From 3 a.m. onward, neighbors came for hot drinks, food and clothing, all distributed by a team of volunteers who had sprung into action. In the faces of those who had lost homes, possessions or loved ones, Everett saw something rising to the surface.

“On the night of the fire, something very deep was triggered in people,” Everett said. “They had a strong belief that you can find sanctuary in a sacred space. And they needed that sanctuary.”

June 14 marks the one-year anniversary since the fire at the Grenfell Tower in the Kensington neighborhood of West London. The fire burned for 24 hours and took the lives of 72 residents, with more than 200 others left homeless.

Now, Londoners are remembering the tragedy with a sense for what has changed over the past year. A degree of shame stems from growing awareness of causes that suggest the fire might have been preventable. But Grenfell has also produced an alternative narrative about Britain, where there is concern about…