Each year on Remembrance Sunday – the
Sunday nearest to Remembrance Day (11 November), like most churches we hold a
special service when we remember those who have died in war, give thanks and
commit ourselves to work for peace.
This Remembrance Sunday, tomorrow, will
be different inasmuch as it occurs in the year of the 100th anniversary
of the start of that most bitter of wars, the First World War. We have invited
people to come and complete a small form with details of all of their relatives
who have fought in any war, whether they came home or not. These will be collected at the front of church, as
we then give thanks for those individuals’ lives, their commitment to our
society and, in some cases, their supreme sacrifice.
As we remember the suffering they
experienced, we commit ourselves to work for peace, both by prayer and action.
As people leave St Paul's, they will be given a small card, pictured above, to remind them of
Jesus Christ who himself was the supreme sacrifice for us.
