We Will Remember Them

Published On: 

Sun 11 Nov 2018 — 2:50 pm
Flower Display for 2018 Remembrance
Church Pillar decorated for 2018 Remembrance
Wooden Cross adorned with poppies

Today, we celebrated 100 years since the end of World War I.

As usual, we started with a packed church, with well over 100 adults, many Scouts and Guides; as on every Sunday of the year, children younger than school age had our two supervised creche groups in the vestries. We sang traditional hymns, had the Bible read from Jonah 3 and 1 Corinthians 13, confessed our part in the selfishness that leads to war, prayed for peace and for those who are wounded and traumatised, and pledged ourselves to work anew for peace. The choir sang The Souls of the Righteous, by Stanley Marchant. The sermon summarised the Christian "gospel", or good news, that Jesus both died for our sins and overcame death by rising again.

Meanwhile, children of primary school age were in St Edith Hall for our Sunday club activities.

At 10.45, all these groups came together, joined by many others, to process to the village war memorial. A senior Scout and two senior Guides read the names of the fallen from Kemsing, and we held two minutes silence bracketed by our local bugler playing the Last Post and the Reveille. After some closing prayers, we finished with the National Anthem, before processing back to church for welcome refreshments.

The church was beautifully decorated on this the Centenary year. The church remains open each day during the day, and the decorations will remain in place for any who wish to go and admire them at leisure.

Many thanks to everyone who took part to make this the memorable and appropriate occasion that it was.