Dear Friends

November and remembrance go hand in hand, but my first memory of the link between the month and the act had nothing to do with Remembrance Day. As a boy, the remembering in November was:

‘Remember, remember, the 5th of November, Gunpowder, treason and plot.’ (anon)

I knew little of the Gunpowder Plot, I was simply excited for a bonfire and fireworks.

As I grew older, I became more aware of why November and remembrance went together, mainly from attending Remembrance Sunday services as a member of the Boys’ Brigade, hearing those words I now know so well:

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. (Laurence Binyon)

Remembering people and events of significance is something people have always done. Indeed, it was commanded by God: after the tenth, and final, plague God inflicted on the Egyptians to persuade Pharaoh to release them from slavery:

‘This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.’ (Exodus 12:14)

and Jesus commands us to remember Him in a very particular way, which we do in the Sacrament of Holy Communion:

‘Then He took a loaf of bread, and when He had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’ (Luke 22:19)

There are many reasons why it is important to remember, three of which are: it recognises the foundations of our past, it gives honour where it is due, and it helps prevent us from repeating mistakes.

As we remember those who have laid down their lives for others, we not only recognise their sacrifice but join with them in a desire for peace. Looking around the world today, peace may seem a distant dream but Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and a time will come when God

‘will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.; (Revelation 21:4)

Many Blessings

Carl