ST ALBANS AND WELWYN CIRCUIT SERVICE – SUNDAY 12TH 2023
PREPARED BY REVD ROSEMARY MUTOPO
CALL TO WORSHIP (Lamentations 3:21-23
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
STF 51: Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father
Thomas O. Chisholm (1866–1960)
An Opening prayer
God of unending mercy, we meet in your presence. Eternal God, in whose perfect realm no sword is drawn but the sword of justice, and no strength known but the strength of love: guide and inspire all who seek your kingdom, that peoples and nations may find their security in the love which casts out fear; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Wherever we may be, we commit ourselves to work in humility, penitence and faith for reconciliation in our families, communities and nation, that all people may, together, live in freedom, justice and peace. We pray for all who, in bereavement, disability and pain continue to suffer the consequences of fighting and terror. On this remembrance Sunday, we remember with thanksgiving and sorrow those whose lives, in world wars and conflicts past and present, have been given and taken away. Amen. (Partly Common Worship).
Please Read: John Chapter 15 Verses 9-17
Reflection
Today is Remembrance Sunday. A day on the church calendar we remember all those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Today we also give thanks for our armed forces who are too often in action and in danger. They continue to selflessly take risks so that others may be free.
And true to what Jesus says in today’s reading, ‘No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ On this remembrance Sunday, we join together with other nations to pay tribute to those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, who gave their lives for their country and not least for us all today.
In the last century plus, the people of United Kingdom as well as other nations were willing to sacrifice everything even their own lives which has now freed the people from oppression. The freedom and democracy enjoyed by many people today is the result of those who died selflessly.
They sacrificed their everything for the liberty of the nation. As a result, we are experiencing freedom of speech, the freedom to hold differing opinions, the freedom to be ourselves. We are reminded today that the freedom that the people of Britain and throughout western Europe are enjoying came at a price some men and women paid with their lives and possessions.
Some of the veterans who signed up for WW2 would probably have done so as teenagers and many of them would have witnessed the horrors of the war at this young age. The few of these veterans alive today, are still living with these traumatic experiences and horrific memories even years later.
So, it is a privilege for us to be able to express our gratitude and to honour them while they are still alive. Nearly every community in Britain lost someone in either the first or the second world war.
This shows the immensity of sacrifice, and so like Jesus said ‘no one has greater love than this to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ And truly, there has been no greater laying down of life surpassing this in the years following. Their virtuous sacrifice was not in vain. Our freedom and democracy is their legacy. The men and women who fell chose to embrace the possibility of death believing it to be a price worth paying.
And theirs was the greater love for they chose to lay down their lives, may we who are left continue to remember both the sacrifice that they were willing to make. May we remember their words back then, ‘when you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow we gave our today.’ And so, I hope our acts of remembrance and that the sacrifice that each have made will always be recognized.
We also need to remember today that each of those who died was someone’s son or someone’s daughter, maybe someone’s husband, wife or fiancé or even someone’s mother or father.
The casualties of war are not only to be found on the battlefield; they are to be found throughout our communities. The mentally and physically scarred, the bereaved, the widowed, the fatherless those whose hopes for a bright future came to a sudden and tragic end. As we say our prayers, let us be reminded on this remembrance Sunday that the troops who go to war are made up of people; sons, daughters, wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters of other families.
And when their bodies are flown back home to be buried, we need to remember too that they did not make that sacrifice alone but that there will be many who remain who will pay the cost of that decision months, years even decades after the actual event. Today, we also remember the innocent civilians who did not sign up to go to war but whose lives where prematurely taken away by military aggression as they minded their business. Today though their names are not inscribed in stone or written on our proud memorials we should remember them.
And today we remember the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Syria, Congo and Sudan where the horrors of unjustified wars are still fresh in their minds and communities.
Jesus said no one has greater love than this to lay down one’s life for one’s friends and he encouraged us to love our neighbour, even our enemies because to do so means that we must value another person’s life as much we value our own.
We are called to be bearers of peace and love. Love that puts the needs of others before our own needs, love that forebear all things and forgives people their failings, love that casts out fear. Love that breeds justice, equality, diversity and inclusion. The love lived out and exemplified by Jesus when he said, no one has greater love than this to lay down one’s life for one’s friends as he laid down his life for us.
Christ gave himself up and sacrificed himself for us because in doing this he delivered us from the power and bondage of sin and death. So, we are now living in the light of his victory. We are free from sin today and we will have eternal life because on that rugged cross he laid his life and demonstrated this greater love for humanity. So, let us love one another as Jesus commands us. Amen.
STF 132: O God, our help in ages past,
Prayers for others and the world (Intercessions)
On this Remembrance Sunday, let us bring before the God of peace our prayers for the world, the church and all His people.
We pray for the peace of the world: for the United Nations, for leaders, that they may have wisdom to know and courage to do what is right, for all who work to improve international relationships, that they may find the true way to reconcile people of different race, colour, and creed, and for men and women around the world, that they may have justice and freedom, and live in security and peace thar surpasses all human understanding.
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer.
Today we remember especially those victims of the two world wars including those close to us, or to our families and for all service men and women who have died in the violence of war.
We remember and pray for those who came home with terrible injuries, both physical and psychological and those whose loved ones never returned home.
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer.
God of peace in whose will is our peace, we pray for peace to be established throughout the whole world; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Remembering the conflicts of the past and the sacrifices which were made, we pray for a world where war is still a grim reality. We remember Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Gaza, Congo, Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer.
We pray for all who suffer as a result of war: for the injured and the disabled, for the mentally distressed, for those without homes and refugees, for those who are hungry, and for all who have lost their livelihood and security, for those who mourn their dead. Lord, in their grief may you sustain and comfort them.
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer.
Almighty God, hear our prayer as we together pray the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples and gave to us:
Our Father…
STF 696: For the healing of the nations,
The Blessing
God grant to the living grace, to the departed rest, to the Church, the King, the Commonwealth and all people unity, peace and concord; and to us and all God’s servants, life everlasting.
And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always. Amen
