![]() ![]() The Anglican Roman Catholic Commission declared ‘In Christ all the faithful, both living and departed, are bound together in a communion of prayer.’ We are one with all those God loves, as we keep alive our memories of the departed we are together with them in God’s love. This seems to seriously misunderstand what prayer is. Prayers for the dead had been disapproved of because people said when someone has died we can have no further influence on how God cares for them. Commending the departed into God’s hands – as was done in the burial service – was a help, but the continual memory of them by lighting candles and praying that God would keep them in his light became much more common. The memorials had been built but there was an ongoing sense of loss for so many families. Most did not answer the question by blaming God for the loss of life, but recognised the war was triggered by the leaders who had led their people into war, as has happened since the beginning of time.Īnd finally people asked how they could remember the dead. It was an expression of our national identity.Īt the same time people asked where God was in all this. The whole nation had suffered loss in war, and those who had served in the armed forces were remembered at the national cenotaph with thanksgiving. Memorials then became more comprehensive. ![]() A spontaneous reaction was to do something tangible to mark the immense loss of life by erecting a memorial, and these remain, often with so many names from quite tiny communities a permanent reminder of the huge loss of life. The First World War affected every community in these islands. The temple priest leads the prayers and singing, rather as we do this morning at the memorial to those from this parish who lost their lives in the world wars. They met to remember and pray for their ancestors, in front of tablets with their names. It coincided with the day when Chinese family members travelled from around the world to meet together at a clan temple. This is his Remembrance Sunday sermon, shared via the Quaker committee for Christian and interfaith relations.Ī year or so ago I made one of my regular visits to Penang, in Malaysia. But Peter Varney is both, “in joint membership” as both an Anglican priest and member of Norfolk & Waveney Area Meeting. As a rule, Quakers don’t give sermons, in the way that an Anglican priest does. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |