The Act of Remembrance was solemnly observed during our morning’s worship last Sunday. Mr Mark Savill was our preacher who was warmly welcomed by our steward Keith Harrison and it was pleasing to see young people in our congregation with their small children as we came together to remember those who had fallen for our freedom in two World Wars.
As his call to worship, Mark used words from the Lamentations in the Old Testament “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases and His love endures”. Accompanied by Rod Smith on the organ, for our opening hymn we sang the great hymn of Charles Wesley “Love divine, all loves excelling” following which prayers of praise, thanksgiving and confession were said and the Lord’s Prayer. There were three bible readings the first by Keith Harrison from John, chapter 15 in which Jesus said “the greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them”: the second by Jill Harrison from Romans, chapter five, being Right with God. Rod Smith read also from Romans, chapter eight “if God is for us who can be against us?
At 11 am Mark led our prayers and two minutes silence as we remembered those who had made the ultimate sacrifice and ‘They shall grow not old, as we that 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”.
In well chosen words, Mark led our thoughts on remembrance. He began with the assertion that we are here because we believe in the eternal truths of God. The battle of good over evil and of light over darkness has already been won because of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. To quote from St John’s gospel “greater love has no man than that he lay down his life for his friends” and this is what Jesus did for our sakes as he laid down his life on the cross.. “If God is for us who is against us?” asked Paul in his letter to the Romans. Mark played a beautiful audio visual celebration of a war poem by Major Malcolm Boyle who was killed on the D-Day landings, “Knowing the love of God, I fear not death”. Mark concluded with the recital of four words beginning with the letter ‘S’. Sacrifice – with grateful thanks for those who died for us; Suffering – both physical and mental in the cause of war; Service – to those who serve in our armed forces for our freedom; Salvation – the ultimate victory through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross at great cost. Before the Blessing we sand the much loved hymn “Abide with me fast falls the eventide”.