Remembrance 2020
Please see, also, the page Act of Remembrance service in each village.
November pierces with its bleak remembrance
Of all the bitterness and waste of war.
Our silence tries but fails to make a semblance
Of that lost peace they thought worth fighting for.
Our silence seethes instead with wraiths and whispers,
And all the restless rumour of new wars,
The shells are falling all around our vespers,
No moment is unscarred, there is no pause,
In every instant bloodied innocence
Falls to the weary earth ,and whilst we stand
Quiescence ends again in acquiescence,
And Abel’s blood still cries in every land
One silence only might redeem that blood
Only the silence of a dying God.
Malcolm Guite
Remembrance Morning Prayer
Music
Karl Jenkins The Armed man : Sanctus
All gather in silence.
Welcome
We meet together in the name of God: the Creator, the Sufferer and the Sustainer.
God is our refuge and strength; a very present help in trouble.
Music
Karl Jenkins The Armed man: Benedictus
Remembering
They shall grow not old,
as we that are left grow old;
age shall not weary them,
nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun
and in the morning,
we will remember them.
We will remember them.
2 minute Silence
Prayer
Ever-living God,
we remember those whom you have gathered from the storm of war
into the peace of your presence;
may that same peace calm our fears,
bring justice to all peoples
and establish harmony among the nations,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All Amen.
Let us confess to God the sins and shortcomings of the world and ourselves.
Hymn
O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home;
Under the shadow of thy throne
thy saints have dwelt secure;
sufficient is thine arm alone,
and our defence is sure.
Before the hills in order stood,
or earth received her frame,
from everlasting thou art God,
to endless years the same.
A thousand ages in thy sight
are like an evening gone;
short as the watch that ends the night
before the rising sun.
Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
bears all its sons away;
they fly forgotten, as a dream
dies at the opening day.
O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
be thou our guard while troubles last,
and our eternal home.
Bible Reading
Hear these words of Jesus:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
John 15:9-17
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants* any longer, because the servant* does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
Thought for the Day
Music
Prayers
Let us pray for all who suffer as a result of conflict,
and ask that God may give us peace:
for the service men and women
who have died in the violence of war,
each one remembered by and known to God;
may God give peace.
All God give peace.
For those who love them in death as in life,
offering the distress of our grief
and the sadness of our loss;
may God give peace.
All God give peace.
For all members of the armed forces
who are in danger this day,
remembering family, friends
and all who pray for their safe return;
may God give peace.
All God give peace.
For civilian women, children and men
whose lives are disfigured by war or terror,
calling to mind in penitence
the anger and hatreds of humanity;
may God give peace.
All God give peace.
For peacemakers and peacekeepers,
who seek to keep this world secure and free;
may God give peace.
All God give peace.
For all who bear the burden and privilege of leadership,
political, military and religious;
asking for gifts of wisdom and resolve
in the search for reconciliation and peace;
may God give peace.
All God give peace.
O God of truth and justice,
we hold before you those whose memory we cherish,
and those whose names we will never know.
Help us to lift our eyes above the torment of this broken world,
and grant us the grace to pray for those who wish us harm.
As we honour the past,
may we put our faith in your future;
for you are the source of life and hope,
now and for ever.
All Amen.
Almighty God,
in your heart we find mercy and peace.
This day we commend to you the men
and women who serve in the Navy, Army and Air Force,
who face danger, and who put their own safety at risk
in order to secure peace for others.
Help them to know that, although
often far from home, out of reach of the touch of a lover,
out of reach of the playful cuddle of a child,
they are never beyond the reach of your touch and care.
We pray that in all the actions of those who serve in war, or in peacekeeping activities around the world,
the vision of your love for all people is neither lost nor forgotten.
We pray this day for the families of
those who serve overseas. In their loneliness and anxiety
may your Spirit bring support and comfort
in order that they find the strength to endure their time apart from loved ones.
We pray especially
on this Remembrance Sunday
for those who have lost their lives in war,
and their families who need support in their time of grief.
We pray, too, for those maimed in battle
and we pray for the medical professionals whose skills, care and attention are
used in rehabilitation.
We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen
Deep, searching God,
who has taught us
to love our enemies,
and do good to those who hate us,
give us, we pray, the courage
which delivers us from the dread of our foes.
Show us that your love can overcome fear
and take away our demonising of those who are different from us.
Restore us to the harmony you intended for the whole human race.
Guide people of all faiths and no faith into your ways of peace and justice.
This we ask in and through your Spirit of freedom, truth and mercy.
(Terry Garley)
The Lord’s Prayer
All Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Responding in Hope and Commitment
When you go home
tell them of us and say,
for your tomorrow
we gave our today.
Music
Let us commit ourselves to responsible living and faithful service.
Will you strive for all that makes for peace?
All We will.
Will you seek to heal the wounds of war?
All We will.
Will you work for a just future for all humanity?
All We will.
Merciful God, we offer to you the fears in us
that have not yet been cast out by love:
may we accept the hope you have placed in the hearts of all people,
and live lives of justice, courage and mercy;
through Jesus Christ our risen redeemer.
All Amen.
Music
The National Anthem
Blessing
Music
Karl Jenkins Agnus Dei