I’m preparing this in the week that I am also preparing for our All Soul’s service at Westerhope where we remember those connected with the church who have died in the last year. It also reminds me that I need to invite the Fire Brigade to come and lay a wreath on Remembrance Sunday as we continue to remember the sacrifice that many people made in the two World Wars and subsequent wars since. War continues to dominate our news as the Ukraine/Russia war goes on and negotiations between Israel and Gaza continue in the hope that the fragile ceasefire can lead to peace in the Middle East. It’s also the month that we traditionally mark Bonfire night but, these days, fireworks are used to mark all sorts of things and aren’t restricted to 5th November or the weekend nearest that date for community firework displays. For quite a while last night I watched from the manse window as a display took place between Stamfordham Road and West Denton.

 

Remembering or reminiscing is part of our daily lives. The world is very different to what it was when we were growing up but I wonder how many of us remember those days with rose-tinted glasses? Even if there was no rationing when we were younger there wasn’t the wide range of goods to buy that there are today and for some families it was difficult to provide anything other than the essentials. That is still the case today for some families. A lot of the work was hard manual labour with the coal mining and ship-building being large employers. We may bemoan health and safety regulations today but the regulations brought in, along with Safeguarding, is hopefully keeping people safer today than in the past.

 

Remembrance is a key theme in the Bible. The thing that perhaps immediately springs to mind when we think of Remembrance in the church is the last supper Jesus shared with his disciples on what today we call Maundy Thursday. Jesus took bread, broke it and gave it to them saying ‘This is my body’ and then shared the wine telling them ‘This is my blood. Whenever you eat this bread or drink this wine do so in remembrance of me.’ However, there are numerous times when the people of God are called to remember, either through their actions or by naming places where key things happened to them. For instance, Peniel, where Jacob wrestled with God; or their name is changed to remember the impact God had on them which changed their life (Saul became Paul). Other faiths also have times of remembering key events in the history of their faiths.

 

However, it’s not enough just to remember. When someone dies, we often talk about them leaving a legacy. Remembering should also involve action: to ensure it doesn’t happen again, to do something in honour of someone. Looking back is only positive when it helps us to move forward. Jesus doesn’t just want us to remember him when we receive Communion. He wants us to remember him through everything we do and say each and every moment of our lives. I’m sure those that gave their lives for us in the wars as well as those we have loved and lost would want the same. So, in the closing words of a poem by an unknown author I sometimes read in funerals ‘You can remember them and only that they have gone or you can cherish their memory and let them live on. You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back, or you can do what they’d want you to do: smile, open your eyes, love and go on’. As we pause to remember, may we follow family, friends and Jesus’ example and try to leave this world a better place.

 

God bless,

 

 

Lynda