Time to remember

“REMEMBER, remember, the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot.”

So begins an old English rhyme that reminds us of events that took place 410 years ago when Guy Fawkes sought to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

We still commemorate that event each year at this time with bonfires, fireworks and all the trimmings! It is certainly a celebrationâ?¦

A little closer to home, and far from celebratory, are the events that will take place at the weekend.

This Sunday is set aside as Remembrance Sunday on which many throughout our nation will gather around war memorials to recognise the cost paid by those who gave their lives in two world wars, as indeed since, in order that our nation might enjoy peace.



At 11am there will be two minutes of silence as people reflect, remember and pray, thanking God for the ultimate sacrifice of those service men and women.

It was Winston Churchill who said: “Out of the depths of sorrow and sacrifice will be born again the glory of mankind.” Of course, every Sunday is a time for us to remember another sacrifice for on this first day of the week, nearly 2,000 years ago, a man of sorrows was effectively born again when he was resurrected from the dead, demonstrating the glory of God.

His sacrifice was also for reasons of peace, bringing us as human beings the possibility of knowing peace with God.

And in many churches there will be an act of communion that takes place, where bread and wine are shared by Christ’s followers as a reminder of his willingness to give his body and shed his blood so that we might experience God’s forgiveness. It is likely to involve a time of silence, where we stop, think, remember and thank God.

Yet it is also a time of great joy as we celebrate the new life that is available to all who believe in him, all those who have been born again into the glory of humankind.