Dear Siblings in Christ,
With the national lockdown, there will be no in-person Sunday worship for at least the next 4 Sundays – our online worship is continuing as planned. Do join us for virtual coffee on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. (see Zoom info below).
Today’s online service for Remembrance Sunday is available here as we honour and remember those who gave their lives in service to their country. If you wish to participate in the two-minutes of silence at 11 a.m. then begin watching this video service at 10.51 a.m. I am the preacher today and we will listen and reflect on Jesus’ parable of the ten bridesmaids, half of whom did not take any oil with them as they waited for bridegroom. Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13. We commit ourselves to work in penitence and faith for reconciliation between the nations, that all people may, together, live in freedom, justice and peace.
If you have been unable to buy a poppy this year, you can donate to the British Legion and download a full-colour poppy poster or one to colour in at this link.
Let me share with you now the complete poem For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon which was first published in The Times in September 1914.
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.
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.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England’s foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
In the Spring this year, we really enjoyed seeing all poppies growing in the verges and even a whole field of poppies.
What I was not expecting to see was poppies still blooming at this time of year. Last weekend we were walking along a public footpath and there were a number of isolated poppies still blooming. Hope comes in many forms.
Let me leave you with this thought from Christine Sine on her Godspace website:
May we dream of a world made new, where together we shout for justice and as one we fight against oppression.
May we dream of a world made new, where together we seek God’s righteousness and as one we sing God’s praise.
May we dream of a world made new, where together we climb God’s mountain, and as one we enter the promised land.
May we dream of a world made new, where together we proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom, and as one we enjoy its peace, and abundance and love.
I am keeping you in my prayers. May God’s peace be with you all,
In Christ
–Pastor Joan
Joan’s Jottings are written to the churches at Museum Street, Landseer Road and Chantry where Joan is the minister, and shared here for all to read.