A time to remember

This morning I attended the two minutes silence outside the Mansion House in Doncaster (Today is Remembrance Day; the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the signing of the Armistice, on 11 November 1918, to signal the end of World War One). It was a solemn and dignified occasion, though spoilt a little by the fact that the pa system was working only spasmodically, meaning that much of what was said by the Mayor went unheard by the majority of those gathered there.

I am always particularly moved by the contributions of those who have actually served in conflict situations, and especially veterans of the World Wars. One or two of the veteran standard bearers were struggling at times to maintain a hold on their standards in the strong wind.

A few months ago someone came into Priory asking if we had a plaque commemorating those church members who lost their lives in the First World War - I think that the person was researching family history. It seems that when Priory was redeveloped in the late 70s the plaque was taken down and stored away. After much searching, it was located, and will be restored to a position on the wall in the chapel at Priory. It is very poignant to read the names on the plaque: husbands, fathers and sons who never came back. What enormous pain and sadness for their loved ones.

According to Wikipedia (which isn't always the most reliable source of information), approaching 100 million people lost their lives during the two world wars. And the sad thing is that we human beings never seem to learn the lessons of history. The conflict and killing continues. How God must weep that we disregard his way of peace. In our lunchtime Bible study this week we were considering the world of Jesus, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." For all who know the peace of God in our hearts, that is our challenge.