An Act of Remembrance

At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the guns fell silent, and the War to End All Wars was over.

Our Parish held a simple Act of Remembrance ceremony within the folds of our Eucharist service on Sunday, November 11, 2018.

After the service, people were invited to come up to take a close look at the memorabilia on display at the front of the church, commemorating those from the Parish who gave their lives in service, and also relatives of various parishioners who served, and gave their lives in service.

Thanks to Nila R. for her photographs:

Full table display.
From left: photos and postcards from Sheila C's grandfather,
who married her grandmother during WWI.  His two brothers also
served.  Next, commendations, medals and a photo of Pat C's father,
who served in the Royal Air Force in WWII.  Centre; list of
parishioners who died in service, WWI. Right: actual WWI
jacket, medals and beret, and a replica of a WWI helmet.

Close-up of the uniform, with
thanks to Grant O and his son, who
collects militaria.

Photo of Mike C's father who served in the Royal
Canadian Air Force in WWII and was shot down and
lost over the English Channel a few months before Mike was
born (1943).  Photo of Margaret B's father who, in his late
thirties, signed up with the Black Watch of Canada (Royal
Highland Regiment) and was seconded to the British
Army of the Rhine to work in military government (1944 - 1946).
An incident in a Displaced Persons' Camp in the spring of 1946,
when he was Acting Colonel in charge, lead to injuries that
caused his death a few years later, just months before Margaret was born.
On the table: a journal and letters home from Mike's father
and letters home from Margaret's father.

Poetry in Ordinary Time: Remembrance Day

'Silence' -- for Remembrance Sunday

November pierces with its bleak remembrance
Of all the bitterness and waste of war;
Our silence tries but fails to make a semblance
Of that lost peace they thought worth fighting for,
Our silence seethes instead with wraiths and whispers,
And all the restless rumour of new wars,
The shells are falling all around our vespers,
No moment is unscarred, there is no pause,
In every instant bloodied innocence
Falls to the weary earth ,and whilst we stand
Quiescence ends again in acquiescence,
And Abel’s blood still cries in every land.
One silence only might redeem that blood;
Only the silence of a dying God.

-- Malcolm Guite, Sounding the Seasons

To listen to the poet read this aloud, click HERE.

Fall Back!

Once again it's time to return from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time.  

Remember to turn your clocks back 1 hour

on Saturday evening at bed-time!