O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home;

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.

Penitential Kyrie:

Lord, you promise a place in paradise to all who call to you in penitence and faith.

Lord, have mercy.

All   Lord, have mercy.

Lord, you bring comfort to those who mourn and have suffered loss.

Christ, have mercy.

All   Christ, have mercy.

Lord, you speak your word of peace in times of conflict and calm our fears.

Lord, have mercy.

All   Lord, have mercy.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

Almighty Father, whose will is to restore all things in your beloved Son, the King of all: govern the hearts and minds of those in authority, and bring the families of the nations, divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin, to be subject to his just and gentle rule; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

A Reading from the Book of Micah:

In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills.  Peoples shall stream to it, and many nations shall come and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’  For out of Zion shall go forth instruction and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.  He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.  For all the peoples walk, each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

The Psalm is now said by the congregation

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
³ Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
⁵ God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
⁶ The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.
⁷ The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold.

⁸ Come, behold the works of the Lord,
^[i]Who has wrought desolations in the earth.
⁹ He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
¹⁰ Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold.

A Reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans:

What then are we to say about these things?  If God is for us, who is against us?  He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?  Who will bring any charge against God’s elect?  It is God who justifies.  Who is to condemn?  It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.  Who will separate us from the love of Christ?  Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

All stand for the Gospel reading.

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.

Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven.

Alleluia!

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John:

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.  I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.  ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command you.  I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.  You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.  I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Remembrance tide is the time of year when people wear red poppies.  That, of course, is a well-established tradition.  But a while ago I saw someone wearing both a red and a white poppy.  I had never seen this before, so I said to him: ‘Why are you wearing a red poppy AND a white poppy?’  He replied: ‘The red is for remembrance.  The white is for peace’!

I found that really thought-provoking.  We call today ‘RemembranceSunday’, or ‘Armistice Day’.  But maybe we should call it ‘Peace Sunday’ instead.  That would give it quite a different feel. ‘Peace Sunday’ would not put emphasis on past wars.  It would look forward to what we are trying to build: justice, harmony, well-being and the flourishing of all.

Both ‘Remembrance’ and ‘Armistice’ are words that look back to past wars.  ‘Armistice’ recalls the day when, thankfully, the madness of World War I ended.  World War 2 finished in a much more upbeat fashion, with VE and VJ Days marking the end of the war in Europe and the Far East respectively.  Both words mean the end of conflict, whether in exhaustion or in triumph.  It is indeed right that we remember with gratitude the courage and suffering of those who died in those wars, knowing that we now live in freedom because of their service and self-sacrifice.  It is right that we should honour and respect those who ‘loved not their lives even unto death’.

But suppose we had been defeated in the 2nd World War.  How would we feel then about our own soldiers and relatives, who had died apparently for no good outcome?  We would probably feel a sense of futility and waste that their deaths had been in vain.  And surely this must be how mothers and fathers from Germany and Italy and Japan felt, whose sons were killed in war, or whose relatives died in air raids or through starvation or in other ways.  Whether you win or lose, all war is a tragic mess.  It is no good trying to glorify it!

So we celebrate Remembrance Sunday simply because we won the war.  If we had lost, we would surely feel very differently about it.  We can rightly say it was necessary to stand against aggression; sometimes there seems to be no other solution.  So it is right to express our gratitude for those who gave their lives for us.  But our remembering should not be simply for our own people.  What about all those who also believed they were fighting for a good cause, for their freedom and their families?  If we ignore them, we will be maintaining the same attitude of ‘us against them’, and keeping the conflict alive in our own minds.

You may remember that Pope St John Paul II visited the UK just at the time of the Falklands War. In his sermon at Coventry, he had the courage to say that in the settlement of international disputes, war should not even be considered as an option.  Jesus told us to pray for our enemies, and he set the tone by praying for those who were crucifying him: ‘Father, forgive’ – words that are now on the altar of the bombed-out Coventry Cathedral.  If we cannot pray for our enemies, the enmity continues within us, and the war has been fought in vain, whether we win or lose.

Jesus said: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’.  He did not say: ‘Blessed are those who won the war, those who had sufficient resources and weaponry to crush their enemies’.  He said: ‘Blessed are the peace-makers who work to build a world of peace.  But there are two kinds of pacifists.  There are those who will not use violence because it seems somehow to contaminate them, and so they withdraw from the whole sad business.  There are also those who strive actively for peace, if necessary by meeting violence with non-violence.  I think we all know which is the more Christ-like.  We can all be peace-makers.  We may not be able to influence international politics, but we all have roots of violence within us.  There are people or groups who we hate, or feel contempt for; and those for whom it might never occur to us to pray for.  In the spirit of Christ, we can work to change ourselves, with his help.

May today then be a genuine Remembrance Sunday: a day when we remember lovingly before God all his people who died in the major, and also the more minor conflicts of the past century.  Above all, let it be a Peace Sunday, when we pray and try to work for reconciliation and harmony. Then, with Christ, we may all become true peacemakers.   Amen

Intercessions:

On this Remembrance Sunday, let us bring before the God of peace our prayers for the world, the church and all His people.

Merciful God, we pray for peace in our hearts and homes,
In our nations and our world,
The peace which is your will,
The peace which we so badly need.
We remember today O Lord all those who have died in any kind of war throughout your world, soldiers who perished in the horror of battle, innocent people buried beneath the rubble from bomb attacks, men women and children brutally attacked and murdered in their villages.
Today we remember especially those victims of the two world wars, and the conflicts which have taken place since then, including those close to us, or to our parents and grandparents. We remember those who came home with terrible injuries, both physical and psychological and those whose loved ones never returned.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Remembering the conflicts of the past and the sacrifices which were made, we pray for a world where war is still a grim reality. Lord as we remember those who have lost their lives, help us to renew our fight against cruelty and injustice, against prejudice, tyranny and oppression. Still we cry out to you in the darkness of our divided world. Let not the hope of men and women perish, let not new clouds rain death upon the earth. Lord, hear our prayer for the multitudes in every country who do not want war and are ready to walk the path of peace. May their voice be heard and may they not lose heart.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord God, we pray for the leaders of the nations at this time, asking you to pour out your spirit of reconciliation on them. Give them a longing to bring freedom from fear and freedom from want for all peoples. Give strength and courage to those who bear heavy responsibilities for the peace of the world. We pray also for the Christian Church, called to witness to your love in this generation. May Christians work with all people of goodwill to break down the barriers which divide us one from another.  May those who profess one faith respect those who sincerely hold dear to others, and build a community where there is harmony and understanding.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful God, we pray for all who face difficulties in their personal lives – problems in their families, in their friendships, in their neighbourhoods or in their workplace. Help them to be calm in times of uncertainty and patient with those around them. Show us when we can help and give support to others around us.
On this day of remembrance our hearts and prayers go out to all who mourn the loss of those we have loved. When we lose someone close we feel that part of us dies as well, but part of them lives on in us, Give us strength and understanding to honour and cherish that gift. Help all those who are bereaved to find the same consolation that in knowledge of your love they may honour the past by looking to the future.
Jesus Christ is the light of the world, a light which no darkness can quench.
We now remember before God all those who have died and light a candle in our hearts to symbolise the light of Christ, which eternally shines and brings hope.

We remember

You turn our darkness into light in your light shall we see light
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord,  Finally, a prayer for ourselves that we may all put our confidence in you,
O Lord you know we are often filled with fear and foreboding.
Give us courage and deepen our trust.
You are a rock which nothing can shatter.
On you we can place the whole weight of our lives

Almighty God, who has promised to hear our prayers.

Grant that what we have asked in faith we may by your grace receive, though Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

NOTE All who are able, are requested to stand for the Act of Remembrance.

Let us remember before God,
and commend to his sure keeping
those who have died for their country in war;
those whom we knew, and whose memory we treasure;
and all who have lived and died
in the service of mankind.

Here follows The Silence.

After the conclusion of the 2-minute silence, the priest will say:

They shall not grow old, as we who 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

We will remember them.

As part of this Remembrance Sunday, Members of the British Legion (and others) are invited now to lay their wreaths.

THE PEACE:

The congregation stands.

We are the Body of Christ.

His Spirit is with us.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

And also with you.

Please greet each other with a sign of peace using a traditional Thai ‘Wai’.

Judge eternal, throned in splendour,
Lord of lords and King of kings,
With thy living fire of judgement
Purge this realm of bitter things:
Solace all its wide dominion
With the healing of thy wings.

Crown, O God, thine own endeavour;
Cleave our darkness with thy sword;
Feed the faithless and the hungry
With the riches of thy word:
Cleanse the body of this nation
Through the glory of the Lord.

THE OFFERTORY

Blessed are you, God of all creation.  Through your goodness we have these gifts to share. Accept and use our offerings for your glory and the service of your kingdom.

Blessed be God forever.

Let us pray

We do not presume to come to your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies.  We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same Lord whose nature is always to have mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us.  Amen.