Murder victim's brother preaches forgiveness at funeral

FORGIVENESS was the main theme as Pete "Pecka" Noray, 51, was laid to rest.

Noray was killed in the mass shooting at Harpe Place, Charford Court, Port of Spain, on March 16, in which five people died.

His funeral was held at the Holy Rosary Church on Henry Street, one street away from where he died, while armed police stood at the corner.

Delivering the eulogy, Noray’s brother Roland Hutchinson stressed the importance of forgiveness, as he seemingly called on everyone to forgive his brother’s killers.

Hutchinson described “unforgiveness” as a cancer and said it was impossible for someone to grow with God if there is “unforgiveness” in their heart.

“We have this unforgiveness on the inside that will eat us like cancer. A pastor said that unforgiveness is like drinking poison while wanting your enemy to die. You will walk around with that pain on the inside while your enemy stands, and you will die, because the unforgiveness will spread like cancer on the inside and it will eat at you from the inside out.”

Hutchinson said it may be impossible to forget, but not forgiving someone who has trespassed against you can lead to a “treadmill effect.

“You won't forget what they did, but God will deal with that. If you try to deal with it then it will have a treadmill effect and just keep going on and on and on.”

He said while some people may look to the Bible to justify their lack of forgiveness, God never intended his words to be misused.

“If you say the Bible says, 'An eye for an eye,' then we will have a lot of one-eyed people walking all over the place. And if you say it says, 'A tooth for a tooth,' then that Cyclops won’t be able to eat.

“But I think we only use this to justify our hurt and our pain, and we deal with it in different ways. but we have to cope with it. We have to forgive in order to see the future.”

Hutchinson said refusing to forgive someone could have serious effects on a person’s life.

“Unforgiveness will eat at you. It will ruin you. It can ruin your marriage, your family life, your friendships, all because we don't want to forgive.

“It darkens the heart, it darkens the spirit, it darkens the mind. How can you love if you have unforgiveness in your heart?”

He said it was wrong not to be willing to forgive but still ask for God’s forgiveness for sin.

“We don't want to forgive, but we want God to bless us. We are all sinners, we are not righteous, and I won’t stand here today to pretend to be righteous, because I have been there, in my thoughts, in my words, in my deeds.

“But it was unintentional. So even if it's unintentional or intentional, forgiveness is for you. Forgiveness is not for the person.”

Hutchinson told Newsday after the funeral although he is not concerned about reprisal killings on his brother’s behalf, he is aware some young people may not be willing to forgive Noray’s killers.

“I know a lot of the youths, they toting that unforgiveness, and that unforgiveness would just be like a treadmill effect, just keeps going on and on and on without end. So it was just to the congregation or anyone listening to know that we're not harbouring anything.”

He said he hoped for justice for his brother’s death, but no one will seek justice themselves.

“I just hope and pray that it doesn't happen, and that the law enforcement will do their job, and I look forward to them doing their job. There’s justice from man and there's justice from God.”

Hutchinson added, “Even though we all sin or something was done bad, there's always that repercussion from that spiritual aspect of it. And that's why I was preaching that, because what unforgiveness does is, it darkens history.”

Asked his thoughts on having lost a loved one to a violent crime, Hutchinson said it’s not the country he is worried about

“It’s the people and the culture that we have that we need to change, and that culture or mindset of thinking. Not everyone will be able to change their mindset, because they think that they have a point to prove, but for us, that's what it is.”