A Post-dated Remembrance Day Prayer

Remembrance Day Prayer 

Dear God,

As adults in this world, as keepers of the littlest of Your children, we are charged with the task of explaining how the world we live in actually works. Not least of which, I might add, is the insurmountable, alpine task of explaining to these innocent, wide-eyed children why wars happen, why people feel the need to kill one another, why hatred exists, the reason why their big brother or sister is never coming home again. I feel so unequipped for this task, O God. I can’t even begin to understand why these things happen for myself, Lord, let alone explain it to our most precious of cargo, and to be frank, oh Lord, I’m not sure that I ever want to understand that kind of hatred.
 

What I do know, O God, is that for all the evil man has created in Your world, for all the atrocities we see, and that we attempt to prepare our young to go out into, Lord, You are the good, You alone are the way, the truth, the light and the life. Despite all the bad in our world, or perhaps because of it, You have planted a mustard seed of talent within each and every one of us, a gift to be used for the establishment of Your Kingdom. 

I pray to You, O God, on this Remembrance Day, I beg of You, to help us remember the power which each of us has inside, the power to affect change, to be a pillar of light and of all that is good in this world, a pillar of Your love, help us to be Your hands, on earth, God, doing Your will, spreading Your message of love and salvation to everyone we meet, Lord, not through proselytizing, but in the way in which we live our lives, Lord, may we always seek to glorify You. 

For although we are fortunate to live in an area of the world that remains relatively untouched by armed combat, and although the war-torn areas of the world often seem so far away, Lord, the same blood that runs through their veins, runs through ours, and the same blood that runs through our veins runs through theirs, we are one. And if the peace that we seek, that we pray for each day, shall come to pass, the kind of all-encompassing world peace that will bring an end to war, hatred, and suffering, if that peace is ever to come and reign over all of Your children, Lord, it must begin with us. It is in our day-to-day interactions with other people, Lord, that we create that peace that can change the world. Please help us to use the power You have instilled in all of us, Lord, for good. Help us feel Your love for us, Lord, that we may forgive ourselves for our own missteps. Help us to share the love and to treat each person we encounter with respect and understanding, bearing in mind that the wars we send our young men and women off to fight, end with us, and our actions and how we choose to treat each other, with Your love. 

In Christ’s most holy name we pray,
Amen

Posted with permission from Aarika Black, Hamilton Congregation, Nov 11, 2012

Remember

Today is November 11th. In four hours from the time of this writing, we will each pause from whatever we are doing to remember and reflect upon our own thoughts of war and the need for peace.

I feel some sense of duty to prepare a blog for today, perhaps as a way to continue my life-long struggle with the subject. Remembrance Day posts in 2009 and 2010 have each generated comments from you filled with your own memories and struggles.

When I look back at what I wrote in those posts, it seems not much has changed. My thoughts are much the same. Like humankind, I have made little or no progress. Consequently, I leave you with that quintessential Canadian Remembrance Day poem written by Lieutenant Colonel John McRae, who appears to have felt no such internal turmoil. Wikipedia’s biographic sketch of McRae contains the following quote attributed to C.L.C. Allinson. The occasion of this remark was McRae being ordered away from the artillery to set up No. 3 Canadian General Hospital in northern France. Allinson reported that McCrae

most unmilitarily told [me] what he thought of being transferred to the medicals and being pulled away from his beloved guns. His last words to me were: 'Allinson, all the goddamn doctors in the world will not win this bloody war: what we need is more and more fighting men.'

Remember today

Carman


In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields, the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; wait and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead, short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields!

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands, we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields!|

Remembering

Today is November 11. Across Canada today, at 11:00 a.m. we will pause for a moment of silence and remembering.

When I was a child, Remembrance Day was an interesting exercise; something different and interesting that we did on this one day a year. As I get older, however, it seems to me that Rememberance Day gets much more personal. For example, I now feel a personal sense of connection to W.W. I, W.W. II, and now the war in Afghanistan. I know this experience is common to many people, but this is part of my remembering.

I remember Joan’s grandfather; a homeboy on a Canadian farm who was badly abused. He lied about his age, joined the army, then saw action in some of the most horrible battles of World War I including the battle of Ypres. I recall Fred sharing how despite no religious upbringing he prayed in a shell hole to a God he didn’t know; “God if you spare me, I will serve you.” Then he would laugh; he had no idea what that meant. But he was spared, returned home, then met a nice girl who led him to faith. He learned to serve God as a Sunday school teacher who told his war stories to try to warn of the horrors of war. His effort was not entirely successful; he had one of the biggest Sunday school classes in the city of Toronto! It was filled with boys who were fascinated by those stories. But the soldier went on to serve as a Community of Christ pastor, High Priest and District President. God was faithful and Fred kept his promise.

Then I remember my own father. I see him as a young man, camped with his unit in an oak forest in England in June of 1944. Their trucks were all waterproofed and ready to head for the docks the next day to participate in what would become known as the D-day invasion. That very night, an allied fighter pilot shot down an overhead buzz bomb, which landed right in the middle of their camp and “blew everything to smithereens!” I remember how he would wince when he shared that story. That event delayed their departure while they patched everything back together. As a result, he followed the D-day invasion, but several days late. I have often wondered if that unexpected event saved his life, which in turn, may well have enabled mine.

And now, I think of Robb, a young man who is the father and step-father to four of my grandchildren. Currently his address is the Canadian Forces Base, Kandahar. I remember how he left with a lot of enthusiasm for this new experience. I recall how, over time, his FaceBook posts revealed a very different reality. Now, both he and his family anxiously dream of, pray for and await his return home, and so do I.

So Remembrance Day is more personal for me than ever this year. Please don’t misunderstand, it is not about me at all, but it is about remembering, and it feels very personal.

As you pause today, for a moment of silence at the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year, whom and what will you remember?

Posted by Carman

Remembering

Perhaps it is because of the passing of years and my own increasing age that Remembrance Day feels closer to my heart these days. I need to remember. I want to remember.

I remember my father, a young soldier who married my mother days before he left on a ship for Europe during WWII. I remember the stories he was willing to tell; the funny incidents as well as the scary hours and months there. I remember too that there were months and years of stories he wouldn’t tell. I have always assumed that for him, they were simply too vivid and painful to recount. Having lost my Dad just two years ago, I look at his snapshots of wartime, and remember.

I remember Joan’s Grandfather; a teenage soldier in the trenches of WWI. I remember his stories of almost unbelievable horror and fear. I remember how in that theatre he cried out to a God he didn’t know, and found comfort and blessing in a Spirit he would learn more about when he, miraculously, survived. I remember the strong, faithful man of God he became, and how he blessed the church in Toronto, Ontario and beyond.

I remember Robb, a young man who is the father of some of my grandchildren, who felt the call to be a soldier. He is scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan in 2010. I remember and I worry.

I remember the thousands of Canadian Armed Forces personnel who have been deployed as peace keepers around the world. I am proud of them, and of our country’s peacekeeping record. I remember too, the soldiers who now serve, this time in combat roles. I think of their families, and also the people who live where they serve, in a rugged and war torn land. I remember and pray for them.

I remember too that we are called to be a peace church. I wonder how a peace church works with the dichotomy of having our countries at war, and our loved ones deployed? It is a challenge.

On Remembrance Day in 2009, there is much to remember.

How about you? What or who do you remember on this sacred, solemn day? Will you share some of your remembrances here?