November is very much a time for remembering. In the UK, we have Guy Fawkes night, with its somewhat macabre injunction, ‘Remember, remember, the fifth of November: gunpowder, treason and plot’. All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day call us to remember those who have lived and died in the faith. And, of course, on Remembrance Day we remember those who have given their lives in battle – above all, the millions who perished in the two world wars of the last century. We remember, not to glorify war but, hopefully, to learn the lessons of the past so as to ensure that bloodshed on such a scale need never happen again.
Here, then, I’m posting some material for Remembrance Day or Remembrance Sunday. First a poem from my book Prayers for All Seasons (Book 2); then a prayer of intercession from the same book; finally a second poem from Prayers for All Seasons (Book 1).
A poem of remembrance
Introduction
Every night, in the town of Ypres in Belgium, a crowd gathers at 8 o’clock beneath the Menin Gate to observe the ceremony of the Last Post. It is a simple yet profoundly moving tribute to all those who gave their lives during the First World War. The location could hardly be more fitting, the beautiful town of Ypres having been reduced to rubble during that conflict but lovingly restored afterwards, stone for stone. More powerful still, on the Menin Gate are inscribed the names of the thousands of soldiers killed in the Ypres-Salient and with no known grave. There can surely be few more graphic reminders of the awful cost of war. The following poem, offered as an introduction before observing two minutes’ silence, seeks to bring home that cost and to prompt reflection on our responsibility today to work for peace. It was written during my time with Toc H, a national movement committed to breaking down barriers of prejudice
and discrimination in society, and it encapsulates the principles at the heart of that movement: building bravely, loving widely, thinking fairly and witnessing humbly.
Poem: It was March
It was March when we visited Ypres,
just a few weeks short of the spring,
the flowers were starting to open,
the birds beginning to sing.
Outside, in fertile lowlands,
the grass grew lush and green,
no sign now of the carnage
which once these fields had seen.
And in the busy centre,
a constant hum of sound,
as a milling throng of people
pursued their daily round.
Few hints here of the horrors
that racked this charming place,
mock medieval splendour
and pleasant open space.
But as the sunlight faded
and night began to fall,
a little crowd assembled
beside the city wall.
In different moods they stood there,
some laughing, some in tears,
some talking of the weather,
some hiding inner fears.
But all at once fell silent
as the clock came round to eight,
and a poignant tribute sounded
beneath the Menin Gate.
Another sad reminder,
another fond farewell;
a proud and thankful blessing,
a heart-rending death knell.
And as the bugles faded
till their sound was heard no more,
we saw then all too clearly
the dreadful face of war.
Instead of names around us
there were young men in their prime,
a tragic generation
cut down before their time.
Our hearts were there beside them,
we stood knee-deep in mud,
and shared the awful horror
of fields dyed red with blood.
We heard their cries of anguish,
we felt their searing pain,
and we understood more clearly
this must never be again.
Yet the battle is not over,
though the war may long be past,
the fighting may have halted
but the cause is only masked.
Unless we come together,
until we learn to share,
until we love more widely
and think in ways more fair;
until we build so bravely
that all we say and do
gives our hope of breaking barriers
some hope of coming true,
then the Last Post may be sounded
in the future just the same,
but the thousands who it heralds
will all have died in vain.
Prayer of intercession
For victims of war and keepers of peace
Lord of all,
hear us now as we pray for the victims of war
and for peace in our world.
We pray for those across the world who bear the scars of conflict –
the injured, maimed and mentally distressed,
those who have lost their limbs, their reason or their loved ones
through the horrors of war.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for those left homeless or as refugees,
those who have lost their livelihoods and security,
and those who still live in daily fear for their lives.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for children who have been orphaned,
parents who mourn their children,
husbands and wives who have lost their partners –
countless families whose lives will never be the same again.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for those in the armed forces,
charged with keeping the peace in countries across the world –
their work involving months away from family and friends,
and often danger to themselves.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for world leaders and rulers,
politicians and diplomats –
those whose decisions and negotiations
affect the lives of so many,
and in whose hands peace ultimately lies.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Lord of all,
give wisdom to all who work for peace,
so that a more secure future may be ensured for all.
Give courage to those who strive for justice,
so that the causes of conflict may be overcome.
Give strength to those who seek to break down barriers,
that divisions over race, colour, creed and culture may be ended.
Grant that wherever war, or the threat of war,
continues to haunt lives,
a way of reconciliation may be found,
and harmony established between people and nations.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
In the name of Christ.
Amen.
Remembrance Day reflection
To the unknown soldier
Introduction
It is hard for us to imagine the full horror of what so many have been through in war, but it is vital that we try, for only then can we appreciate all we owe to the millions we remember today, and so understand the importance of maintaining peace for future generations. The following reflection, written during a visit to the war graves of Flanders, asks how it must have felt to be one of the countless young men sent out to the battlefields of ‘The Great War’. It is offered as a possible introduction to the two minutes’ silence and subsequent prayers of remembrance.
Reflection
How did you feel that morning
when the call up papers came through?
Did your blood run cold, or excitement take hold
at the thought that your country needs you?
How did you feel that morning
when the time came to set off from home?
Did you conquer your fears, or break down in tears
with the loved ones you’d soon leave alone?
How did you feel that morning
when you first set foot in the trench?
Did you brush it aside, or wish you could hide
from the horror, the carnage, the stench?
How did you feel that morning
when your friend was blown up by a shell?
Did you rush to his aid, or just stand there, afraid
that you’d somehow been whisked off to hell?
How did you feel that morning
when they sent you over the top?
Did you shout with relief, or in sheer disbelief,
vainly pray that this nightmare would stop?
How did you feel that morning
when the bullets started to fly?
Did you think even then you might cheat death again,
or did you know you were going to die?
How did you feel that morning
as the lifeblood slipped slowly away?
Did you try to make sense of these crazy events
or with one final breath try to pray?
How do I feel this morning
in the face of such slaughter and sorrow?
Do I just stand aghast as I think of the past
or give all for a better tomorrow?
Reblogged this on Abide In God and commented:
As our thoughts turn to those who lost their lives in war, and are still doing so, here are some reflections, poems and prayers from author, pastor and poet, Nick Fawcett.