Between: remembrance

Showing posts with label remembrance. Show all posts

Friday, 2 January 2026

Artlyst - The Art Diary January 2026

For the January 2026 Art Diary for Artlyst I have highlighted my personal selection of upcoming exhibitions and installations throughout 2026. These reflect my regular interests in art that engages with creativity, ecclesiastical contexts, environmental concerns, reconciliation, relationality, remembrance, social justice, or spirituality. Venues featured include, among others, Guildford Cathedral, Two Temple Place, American Museum & Gardens, Sir John Soane’s Museum, Wiltshire Museum, Compton Verney, National Gallery, Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts, The Courtauld, Serpentine North Gallery, and Laing Art Gallery.

My other pieces for Artlyst are:

Interviews -

Monthly diary articles -

Articles/Reviews -

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Sister Ray Davies - Lindisfarne.

Sunday, 9 November 2025

The Resurrection of the Soldiers

Here's the Remembrance Sunday sermon I shared at St Mary's Runwell this morning:

The acclaimed war artist Sir Stanley Spencer painted an epic series of large-scale murals after World War II for the Sandham Memorial Chapel. “Built to honour the 'forgotten dead' of the First World War, who were not remembered on any official memorials, the series was inspired by Spencer’s own experiences as a medical orderly and soldier on the Salonika front, and is peppered with personal and unexpected details. The paintings took six years to complete in all, and are considered by many to be the artist’s finest achievement, drawing such praise as 'Britain’s answer to the Sistine Chapel'.”

“Spencer painted scenes of his own wartime experiences, as a hospital orderly in Bristol and as a soldier, also on the Salonika front. His recollections, painted entirely from memory, focus on the domestic rather than combative and evoke everyday experience – washing lockers, inspecting kit, sorting laundry, scrubbing floors and taking tea – in which he found spiritual resonance and sustenance ...

the paintings ... describe the banal daily life that, to those from the battlefield, represented a ‘heaven in a hell of war.’ For Spencer, the menial became the miraculous; a form of reconciliation.”

The scheme is dominated by a “Resurrection scene behind the altar, in which dozens of British soldiers lay the white wooden crosses that marked their graves at the feet of a distant Christ.”

“Painted on canvas adhered to the wall of the high altar at Sandham,” the 'Resurrection' took Spencer nearly a year to complete. “It dominates the Chapel and all the other scenes are subordinate too it. The picture is a reminder of the relationship between war, death and Christianity, not merely a convenient and familiar religious image behind the altar. The composition is based on a complex pattern of wooden crosses which was suggested to Spencer by his habit of squaring up the canvas in order to work out the design. As a living soldier hands in his rifle at the end of service, so a dead soldier carries his cross to Christ, who is seen in the middle distance receiving these crosses. Spencer's idea was that the cross produces a different reaction in everybody;” so we see these crosses serving as an object of devotion; ... or marking a grave from which a soldier emerges; or framing a bewildered face. “This is Spencer’s vision of the end of war, in which heaven has emerged from hell.”

So, Spencer gives us two versions of heaven in a hell of war. The first, the mundane acts of service that people do for each other, while the second is the new life that we receive in Christ following our resurrection from the dead. The first is, in some ways, a taster for the second.

Our readings today focus on the second of these, the resurrection from the dead (Job 19. 23 – 27a and Luke 20. 27 – 38), but, before thinking about that briefly, I would like to think a little about the first.

When Jesus spoke to his disciples shortly before his own death, he said they had been chosen and appointed to bear fruit – fruit that will last (John 15. 16). The fruit that he was talking about was his characteristics of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. Christlike behaviour and actions he said lasts or endures. Similarly, St Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13 that actions which are based on faith, hope and love remain. The word he used for remain hints that such actions continue beyond the grave into eternity i.e. that we can take something with us when we die, that the fruit or acts of faith, hope and love grown in this life continue into, and continue to bear fruit in, the next.

So there is a connection here between the two things which Stanley Spencer described as being heavenly; acts of loving service in the here and now and our future resurrected life in eternity.

Poppies were one of the few flowers able to survive in areas severely damaged by fighting. The flowering of poppies from seeds which germinated in the mud of the World War I battlefields (and Flanders, in particular) became a symbol of hope on the battlefields, and after the war it became associated with Remembrance, a sign of life continuing after the horrors of conflict.

As Christians, we believe that we will grow into new life through death because of Jesus. Jesus was a seed sown into our world which died and was buried only to live again. As Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 15, “the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised.” The tomb therefore becomes a womb, a place of new birth, not just for Jesus but, through Jesus, for each one of us as well.

St Paul writes that, “This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the mystery of the resurrection body — but only if you keep in mind that when we’re raised, we’re raised for good, alive forever! The corpse that’s planted is no beauty, but when it’s raised, it’s glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful. The seed sown is natural; the seed grown is supernatural — same seed, same body, but what a difference from when it goes down in physical mortality to when it is raised up in spiritual immortality!”

Stanley Spencer painted a vision of that future life in his Resurrection of the Soldiers. The resurrection life is different from this life because the soldiers are leaving war behind – handing in their rifles to Christ as these are no longer required – and contemplating with devotion the cross on which he died for their salvation. Their acts of loving service – washing lockers, inspecting kit, sorting laundry, scrubbing floors and taking tea – have not been left behind however; as they look out from their scene of resurrection it is these things that they see in the Chapel before them. It will be the same for us - our acts of faith, hope and love will continue to be with us in our resurrected future – and this can be a source of inspiration and encouragement as we seek to bear fruit for Christ in the here and now by living Christlike lives; lives which are characterised by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control.

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Mark Knopfler - Remembrance Day.

Thursday, 8 May 2025

Faith that sustains in wartime

Here's the Address that I shared at St Catherine's Wickford this afternoon for our Act of Remembrance on VE Day 80th Anniversary:

In his book ‘Wickford’s Heroes’, Steve Newman writes: “In the Second World War, whether air crew flying missions over enemy territory, soldiers retreating to Dunkirk, or fighting their way across Europe, from the jungles of the Far East and the unimaginable Japanese labour camps and hell ships, to the freezing seas of the North Atlantic and North Sea, or indeed on the home front, all were served by and indeed claimed the lives of men and women from Wickford and Runwell.”

Today we have gathered to remember the many soldiers, sailors, airmen, and civilians who gave their lives restraining evil and opposing tyranny, whether from our local area or further afield, in order that we can know peace and commemorate this significant anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.

In doing so, it is helpful to know something of the lives of those we remember today. Albert Chable and his younger brother Ernest are among those named on our War Memorial and were sons of Joseph and Sarah Chable, who lived on the Nevendon Road. Albert was a Sergeant in 1st Battalion Kings Royal Rifle Corps and was first injured and then killed in fighting in Italy, having been earlier involved in the North African campaign. Ernest was a Lance Bombadier in 7th Battery 5th Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, and was killed in action in the Japanese attack on Hong Kong, a battle that started less than eight hours after the infamous strike on Pearl Harbour that brought America into the war. Both died when the eventual outcome of World War II was still in the balance but it was their sacrifice and that of so many more like them that would eventually lead to the War’s end. Albert’s grave is in the Cesena War Cemetery in Italy. His grieving parents chose to add a personal inscription to the headstone which read ‘The things which are seen are temporal but the things that are not seen are eternal’. Their belief was that their sons were safe in the everlasting arms of God.

The faith of those like John and Sarah Chable as they mourned the loss of their sons, sustained and inspired many involved in action, whether on the home front or the front lines. In 1944, Major John Pott led his battalion to support the defence of Arnhem Bridge during a fierce battle against German forces. Despite facing heavy enemy fire, Major Pott’s unwavering faith and courage led him to pray over wounded soldiers and show remarkable forgiveness even as a prisoner of war.

On Sunday, 17 September 1944, Major Pott’s Parachute Regiment battalion was airdropped into the Netherlands to support the defence of Arnhem Bridge. As the men of the battalion parachuted from Dakota planes, they faced enemy fire from German snipers.

The drop zone was at Ginkel Heath and the route to Arnhem Bridge led through a forest. As they moved through the woods, they encountered heavy enemy fire and several men were wounded and unable to continue. Major Pott, unable to carry the wounded with him, hid them under bushes for protection. Then, with bullets flying and explosions nearby, he stood and prayed over them.

Sergeant George Sheldrake, one of the men who witnessed this moment, recalled, “I was with another two lads. We were all in a bad way. Major Pott said he couldn’t take us with him, but he put us carefully under some bushes. He said the battalion might make a fresh attack and we could be rescued, or we would be picked up by the Germans.

“Before he moved off, he stood there and prayed over us for a couple of minutes, although there was mortar and machine-gun fire. A couple of minutes is a long time to stand in those conditions. It is something I shall never forget.”

With disregard for his own safety, Major Pott stood over the wounded men and spoke to them before leaving: "I am sorry that I have only led the Company to death and pain; but remember there is another Commander who is 'The Way, the Truth, and the Life,' and I am committing you into His hands as I leave you now. Lord Jesus, watch over them, please."

Despite the conditions, the men survived. Major Pott continued on and was shot and severely injured in the battle for Lichtenbeek Hill, with his right hand and femur shattered. When the Germans came to collect the wounded, Major Pott, unable to walk, was left behind to die. He lay in the forest for 18 to 20 hours, struggling with his wounds and writing a letter to his wife. But in a miraculous turn of events, Dutch teenagers found him and fetched their relatives with a stretcher who then carried him to safety, hiding him in a shed until a doctor could be found to treat him.

However, he was eventually discovered by the Germans and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. While receiving treatment, he managed to escape, attempting to swim across a river despite having a plaster cast on his leg. Unfortunately, he was recaptured by the Gestapo and returned to the prison camp, where he remained for the rest of the war.

Major Pott’s son David later recalled how his father took the Bible’s command to “love your enemies” literally. “My father’s love towards Germans was maybe one of the most remarkable things,” he said. “How does a Christian soldier obey the command to ‘Love your enemies’? I think he got somewhere with that. It was amazing how he made lifelong friends with SS officer Werner Elfering and his wife in the hospital in Gronau. They became friends playing chess together!”

Even in the darkest moments of battle, Major John Pott’s faith was visible to all around him. Even as a prisoner of war, he continued to practise forgiveness and friendship, extending kindness even to his enemies.

As we come together today conscious of our need for God’s forgiveness for the sin and the desire to dominate others that leads to conflict between people, and war between nations, in our own day and time, it is the examples of those like Major Potts and the Chables that we need to remember and replicate if we are to have hope for the future and peace in our time. Amen.

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Oh God Our Help In Ages Past.

Sunday, 10 November 2024

Habits for peacemaking

Here's the reflection that I shared during the Service of Remembrance held at Wickford's War Memorial this morning:

Earlier this Autumn in the Parish of Wickford and Runwell, we studied a course called the Difference Course. Difference is a course about the power of faith in a complex and divided world, enabling us to see transformation through everyday encounters.

In the first session of the course, we were discussing Jesus’ statement in the Sermon on the Mount – ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.’ I was in a group with people who could recall the Second World War and the work of rebuilding the country that everyone, including their parents, was involved in once the War was over. Their memories helped me realise that winning the First and Second World Wars in order to bring peace as those that we remember today were doing is only the first stage in bringing peace.

The second stage, which involves all of us, is the task of maintaining peace and of actively living in peace. The peacemakers are not just those who bring peace by ending war but also those who live peacefully in the peace that others have won for them. If we do not do so then we risk, as is the risk currently with a war in Ukraine on European soil and the escalation of war in the Middle East, of slipping back into war, rather than maintaining peace.

Those we remember today who served to bring about peace or have served in maintaining peace, received training before they went to serve. They were training for war, but it is also possible to train for peace. That is what we were seeking to do earlier this Autumn when we studied the Difference Course.

The Course taught us three habits. First, to be curious by listening to others’ and seeing the world through their eyes. Second, to be present and to encounter others with authenticity and confidence. Third, to re-imagine finding hope and opportunity in places where we long to see change. These are helpful habits to learn and practice so that they genuinely become habitual for us in the ways we relate to other people. Because they are peaceful habits, they are also similar to the values that children continue to learn and practice in the uniformed organisations that are represented here today in such numbers.

Learning and practising habits such as those taught in the Difference Course will help us to be active peacemakers in our homes, our community, our nation, and our world. That is the best way in which we can honour those who laid down their lives in war to win peace for us and, as Jesus taught, we will experience God’s blessing and become his children when we live and act as peacemakers. Amen.

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Pie Jesu.

Sunday, 12 November 2023

Preparing for the unexpected

Here's the sermon I shared this morning at St Mary's Runwell (and which I would also have shared at the Act of Remembrance at the Wickford War Memorial, had it not been raining heavily this morning):

A few weeks ago members of the local writer's group in Wickford, the Ladygate Scribblers, were showcasing their work at an evening of reading in St Andrew's Church. Among the stories and poems we heard, were two recounting stories of those serving in the World Wars. The first involved a lost letter from Jack to his sweetheart when he had been invalided out from the frontline and was returning home. The hopes of both for their future were then cruelly dashed when the ship on which Jack was returning was attacked and sunk. The second involved Stan and his best friend Taffy, both deployed to different ships. Through a set of strange circumstances, they decided to swap deployments and applied to change ships. This was agreed and Taffy went to serve on HMS Hood, which was sunk by The Bismarck in 1941. Stan lived out his life in the knowledge that he was only alive because of Taffy and the decision they had made together.

These two stories reminded me of the fundamental uncertainty of life and the fact that we can't know what is round the corner for us, especially in wartime. We have been recently reminded of that reality, once again, through the current war in Gaza, which began with an attack by Hamas that was wholly unexpected.

Jesus told a story about being as ready as we can for the unexpected (Matthew 25.1-13). His story is the set reading for this Remembrance Sunday. His story was about bridesmaids waiting for a bridegroom to light him to the wedding with their lamps. He was later than expected and some had not brought supplies of oil for their lamps. Those without had to go searching for oil and missed out on the wedding as a result. Those who prepared for the unexpected were ready to meet the bridegroom and go into the wedding.

With this story Jesus is asking us prepared we are for the unexpected? The bridesmaids who were prepared had rehearsed possible scenarios and were ready for those. They also had the right attitude, being ready to wait for the bridegroom’s arrival. As a result, they were able to take part in a wonderful celebration of unity and love. With this story, Jesus is also encouraging us to prepare for the unexpected recognising that we live in a world where conflict is regularly experienced at all levels of society.

While we can't prepare for the exact situation we might face, we can prepare for possible scenarios, prepare mentally and emotionally for difficult events, and practice peace ourselves in order to anticipate a peaceful society. That’s essentially what our armed forces regularly do. In peacetime they go on manoeuvres and take part in exercises in order to be ready for the moment when they are called to go to war while also acting as those who maintain the peace by preventing fresh conflict from developing.

So, while this day is about honouring the dead who laid down the lives that we might be free, it can also be about our preparation for the future. We draw inspiration from those who have gone before and learn from their experiences in order that can be as ready as we can for what will come in the future and even shape that future. The key lesson to learn from past wars is the fundamental necessity of peace. Jesus taught his followers through his stories to anticipate a future where people come together in love to celebrate unity and he calls us to be those who anticipate and practice that future reality in the here and now.

We can also prepare ourselves mentally and emotionally for difficult events by developing an attitude of resilience that can enable us to endure in times of difficulty and challenge. The Lutheran Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed for his resistance to Hitler on 9 April 1945 in Flossenbürg Concentration Camp, only four weeks before VE Day. He wrote a creed just days before his execution by the Gestapo which exemplifies a resilient attitude:

“I believe that God can and will generate good out of everything, even out of the worst evil. For that, he needs people who allow that everything that happens fits into a pattern for good. I believe that God will give us in each state of emergency as much power of resistance as we need. But he will not give in advance, so that we do not rely on ourselves but on Him alone. Through such faith all anxiety concerning the future should be overcome. I believe that even our mistakes and failings are not in vain, and that it is not more difficult for God to cope with these as with our assumed good deeds. I believe that God is not a timeless fate, but that He waits for and responds to honest prayers and responsible action.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer quoted by Philip Yancey, The Question That Never Goes Away)

These are the words of a man who knew his life was in danger, whose family and country were already suffering under Hitler, the Nazis, and the war machine they had put into action. It was Bonhoeffer’s trust in the redemptive will of God that helped sustain him during the dark months of prison and interrogation, and the final days of his life. With a similar attitude, we may be able to do the same should we need to do so.

So, as we honour today those who laid down the lives that we might be free, let us also prepare for the future by drawing inspiration from those who have gone before, practising God’s peaceful kingdom and developing attitudes of resilience in order that we can be as ready as we can for what will come in the future and, perhaps, even shape that future ourselves. Amen.

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J. Lind - I Don't Know.

Friday, 3 November 2023

Wickford Heroes and other Unveiled events

The Crayshillbillies rehearsing for the Sea Shanty evening

We had a fascinating evening tonight at Unveiled in St Andrew's Wickford hearing about those from Wickford who fought and died in the First and Second World Wars. Our thanks to Steve Newman, of the Wickford War Memorial Association, for his informative talk. Find out more about Wickford War Memorial Association at https://www.wickfordmemorial.com/.

Those who came also saw the 'Wickford Remembers' display which is at St Catherine's Wickford until 12 November. This has archive photographs and stories of those who served in the two World Wars. Our thanks to Basildon Heritage for the display. Visitors can also see the War Memorial and Commonwealth War Graves at St Catherine's.

Additionally, 'From Hong Kong to Wickford' is the autumn exhibition at St Andrew's Wickford. This exhibition is a Multifaceted Pictorial Display with Stories by Ho Wai-On (Ann-Kay) & Friends and is at the church from 26 September – 16 December 2023. St Andrew’s opening hours: Sat 9 am - 12.30 pm; Sun 9.30 am - 12 noon; Mon 2 – 3.45 pm; Tue 1 – 4.30 pm; Wed 10 am - 12 noon; Fri 10 am – 1 pm.

Next, are three further Unveiled events (all are 7.00 pm, St Andrew’s Church, 11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN):

Rev Simpkins in concert, Friday 17 November, 7.00 pm
St Andrew’s Church, 11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN
No ticket required – donations requested on the night

Rev Simpkins and Pissabed Prophet: Suffolk-Essex musician, Rev Simpkins, presents an evening of acoustic music of great imagination and charm, inspired by the history and geography of East Anglia.

The Rev will perform songs from his acclaimed folk albums Big Sea and Saltings, before his band Pissabed Prophet, formed with Dingus Khan’s Ben Brown and Nick Daldry, takes to the stage to play their first ever acoustic set.

The Rev’s sweeping melodies, rich harmonies, and fascinating lyrics have won him both a cult following and national acclaim.

This is a rare chance to experience the breadth of the Rev’s work in one evening.

"BIZARRE POST-PUNK MASTERY...LUDICROUSLY COOL" 8/10 Vive le Rock on Pissabed Prophet

"A MOST JOYOUS ALBUM...A WORK WITH AN OVER-ARCHING SENSE OF COMMUNITY, LIFE, LOVE, AND NATURE, WHILST ALSO MUSING ON THE CYCLICAL INEVITABILITY OF DEATH AND DECAY" Fatea Magazine on Pissabed Prophet

"ENERGETIC...GLORIOUS...A DANDELION FIELD FULL OF FRESH CUT GOODNESS" The Organ on Pissabed Prophet

Read my review of Pissabed Prophet here.

1 December – Mission to Seafarers evening including Sea Shanties: The Mission to Seafarers provides help and support to the 1.89 million crewmen and women who face danger every day to keep our global economy afloat. Hear more about their work from Paul Trathen, Port Development Manager. Also enjoy a selection of sea shanties from The Crayshillbillies, a group of local singers led by John Rogers.

15 December – Film Night: It's a Wonderful Life. The story of dejected and desperate George Bailey, who's spent his whole life in the small town of Bedford Falls, but longs to explore the world. Reaching rock bottom, he starts to believe that everyone in his life would be better off if he had never been born. An angel shows him how important a role he's had in the lives of friends and family.

These events do not require tickets (just turn up on the night). There will be a retiring collection to cover artist and church costs. See http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html for fuller information.

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Rev Simpkins - For Every Number.

Thursday, 26 October 2023

Unveiled - November and December

The next 'Unveiled' evening is 'Wickford Heroes': A talk by Steve Newman, 3 November 2023, 7.00 pm, St Andrew’s Church, 11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN.

Hear Steve Newman of the Wickford War Memorial Association and author of ‘Wickford Heroes - The Wickford & Runwell Roll of Honour Book’ speak about the War Memorial & some of those from Wickford & Runwell who made the supreme sacrifice in the World Wars.

See also the 'Wickford Remembers' display at St Catherine's Wickford until 12 November. Archive photographs and stories of those who served in the two World Wars. Our thanks to Basildon Heritage for the display. See also the War Memorial and Commonwealth War Graves at St Catherine's.

Additionally, 'From Hong Kong to Wickford' is the autumn exhibition at St Andrew's Wickford. This exhibition is a Multifaceted Pictorial Display with Stories by Ho Wai-On (Ann-Kay) & Friends and is at the church from 26 September – 16 December 2023. St Andrew’s opening hours: Sat 9 am - 12.30 pm; Sun 9.30 am - 12 noon; Mon 2 – 3.45 pm; Tue 1 – 4.30 pm; Wed 10 am - 12 noon; Fri 10 am – 1 pm.

After 'Wickford Heroes' there are two further Unveiled events:

Rev Simpkins in concert, Friday 17 November, 7.00 pm
St Andrew’s Church, 11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN
No ticket required – donations requested on the night

Rev Simpkins and Pissabed Prophet: Suffolk-Essex musician, Rev Simpkins, presents an evening of acoustic music of great imagination and charm, inspired by the history and geography of East Anglia.

The Rev will perform songs from his acclaimed folk albums Big Sea and Saltings, before his band Pissabed Prophet, formed with Dingus Khan’s Ben Brown and Nick Daldry, takes to the stage to play their first ever acoustic set.

The Rev’s sweeping melodies, rich harmonies, and fascinating lyrics have won him both a cult following and national acclaim.

This is a rare chance to experience the breadth of the Rev’s work in one evening.

"BIZARRE POST-PUNK MASTERY...LUDICROUSLY COOL" 8/10 Vive le Rock on Pissabed Prophet

"A MOST JOYOUS ALBUM...A WORK WITH AN OVER-ARCHING SENSE OF COMMUNITY, LIFE, LOVE, AND NATURE, WHILST ALSO MUSING ON THE CYCLICAL INEVITABILITY OF DEATH AND DECAY" Fatea Magazine on Pissabed Prophet

"ENERGETIC...GLORIOUS...A DANDELION FIELD FULL OF FRESH CUT GOODNESS" The Organ on Pissabed Prophet

Read my review of Pissabed Prophet here.

1 December – Mission to Seafarers evening including Sea Shanties: The Mission to Seafarers provides help and support to the 1.89 million crewmen and women who face danger every day to keep our global economy afloat. Hear more about their work from Paul Trathen, Port Development Manager. Also enjoy a selection of sea shanties from local singers led by John Rogers.

15 December – Film Night: It's a Wonderful Life. The story of dejected and desperate George Bailey, who's spent his whole life in the small town of Bedford Falls, but longs to explore the world. Reaching rock bottom, he starts to believe that everyone in his life would be better off if he had never been born. An angel shows him how important a role he's had in the lives of friends and family.

These events do not require tickets (just turn up on the night). There will be a retiring collection to cover artist and church costs. See http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html for fuller information.

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Pissabed Prophet - Evensong.

Saturday, 7 October 2023

Wickford Remembers

See the 'Wickford Remembers' display at St Catherine's Wickford until 12 November. Archive photographs and stories of those who served in the two World Wars. Our thanks to Basildon Heritage for the display. See also the War Memorial and Commonwealth War Graves at St Catherine's.

Also, 'Wickford Heroes': A talk by Steve Newman, 3 November 2023, 7.00 pm, St Andrew’s Church, 11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN.

Hear Steve Newman of the Wickford War Memorial Association and author of ‘Wickford Heroes - The Wickford & Runwell Roll of Honour Book’ speak about the War Memorial & some of those from Wickford & Runwell who made the supreme sacrifice in the World Wars.

Part of ‘Unveiled’, the fortnightly Friday night arts and performance event at St Andrew’s Church.

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Mark Knopfler - Remembrance Day.

Sunday, 13 November 2022

What do these stones mean?

Here is the sermon that I gave at today's Service of Remembrance held at the Wickford War Memorial in Memorial Park:

What we are doing here today has ancient origins. The Old Testament speaks of the People of Israel, when they crossed the River Jordan on dry land to enter the Promised Land, picking up rocks from the river bed and setting them up in the Promised Land as a memorial to their crossing over into a new world (Joshua 4).

Stone was chosen for this memorial, as is the case with our Memorial here, because it endures from generation to generation. No names were carved onto the rocks that the Israelites set up as a memorial but 12 rocks were chosen and set up to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Their leader, Joshua, explained to the Israelites what the memorial meant saying, ‘When your children ask their parents in time to come, “What do these stones mean?” then you shall let your children know, “Israel crossed over the Jordan here on dry ground.” For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we crossed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, and so that you may fear the Lord your God for ever.’

We gather today to do essentially the same thing, to ensure that our children and, through them, our children’s children, down through the generations, honour those who serve and served to defend our democratic freedoms and way of life and remember the service and sacrifice of the Armed Forces community from Britain and the Commonwealth, in particular those from this area. As the number of those who served in the two World Wars lessens with the passing years, it becomes ever more important that we gather in this way and honour those who gave their lives for the freedom that we enjoy. The two poems which are part of this Act of Remembrance today suggest that that message has been heard and is understood.

The memorial that the Israelites set up after crossing the Jordan was not the only way in which that great event was remembered. We know of it today, because the story and Joshua’s instructions were written down meaning that we can still read them today. We can do the same here in Wickford and Runwell, thanks to the work of Steve Newman and the Wickford War Memorial Association who, through the book ‘Wickford’s Heroes’ and their website enable us to read the stories of those from this area who gave their lives in the two World Wars.

The Rt Hon John Baron MP, in his Foreword to the book, says that he was so taken with this book because, “in highlighting the tremendous sacrifice of lives so young, we are reminded yet again that war must always be a measure of last resort, to be taken up only when all other possibilities have been exhausted.” The RBLI speak of our helping towards building a peaceful future. The Bible envisages a time when people “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.” Our prayer today, as we honour the sacrifice of those who have died in war, is to inhabit that other country where “her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.”

The best way to show our gratitude for all those who make these sacrifices is to remember, to give thanks and to try to bring about a better world. We can do this by working together for reconciliation and justice; by being kind and forgiving to all - in our closest relationships, our neighbourhoods, our communities, our nations; by being selfless ourselves. God loves us all alike and wants us all to live in peace and harmony and to thrive, as one family, where everyone is equal and valued for their place in it. If we all recognise that, we come closer to that other country about which we sang in our hymn.

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I Vow To Thee My Country.

How to live in wartime?

Here is the sermon I shared during Morning Praise at St Mary's Runwell this morning:

How to live in wartime? That is essentially the guidance that Jesus gives his disciples in the teachings recorded for us in Luke 21. 5-19. He was talking about a very specific conflict that would affect his disciples in the near future and which occurred in AD70 when the Roman army attacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple there. When this happened, as Jesus prophesied, “not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one will be thrown down.”

The result of this conflict was twofold; the Jewish faith refocused its community life, teaching and worship around the synagogue (a pattern of faithful living which continues to this day); and Christianity, forced to abandon its early focus on the authority of the church in Jerusalem, stepped up its missionary encounter with the wider world to become a world religion. Both results are relevant to Jesus’ teaching here because the essence of his teaching comes in verse 19 when he says to “stand firm” in your faith.

The conflict he describes and prophesies will, he says, be an opportunity for his disciples to tell the Good News, if they stand firm: “Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one another … you will be arrested and persecuted; you will be handed over to be tried in synagogues and be put in prison; you will be brought before kings and rulers for my sake. This will be your chance to tell the Good News.” (Luke 21. 10-13)

That is what Jesus looks for from his followers in wartime and he promises his support and enabling in doing so: “Make up your minds beforehand not to worry about how you will defend yourselves, because I will give you such words and wisdom that none of your enemies will be able to refute or contradict what you say.” The situations in which we are called to do this change throughout history but what is unchanging is the call to tell the Good News, as here, in situations of military defeat, but also in times of victory, while the outcome is uncertain, and in times of peace.

On Remembrance Sunday we remember particular examples of telling the Good News in and through the wartime experiences which are within our cultural memory, most notably soldiers who fought and died in order to win peace within Europe such as Harry Patch, who was the last surviving British soldier to have fought in the trenches of the First World War. Patch, in the moment when he came face to face with a German soldier, recalled the story of Moses descending from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments, including "Thou shalt not kill", and could not bring himself to kill the German shooting him in the shoulder, above the knee, and in the ankle. Patch said, "I had about five seconds to make the decision. I brought him down, but I didn't kill him."

We can also think of: civilians living through the Blitz and caring for neighbours while accepting the simple lifestyle imposed by rationing; Archbishop William Temple setting out an Anglican social theology and a vision for what would come to constitute a just post-war society in ‘Christianity and the Social Order’; and Bishop George Bell assisting refugees, arguing against the blanket-bombing of German cities and encouraging the role of the Church in the reconstruction of Europe after the war.

The German pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who took part in the plot to assassinate Hitler, was one of those who saw most clearly what was actually at stake in World War II, when he wrote at the beginning of the war: “Christians in Germany will face the terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that Christian civilisation may survive, or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying our civilisation.”

Our situation is different again, meaning that the ways in which we are called to stand firm and tell the Good News are also different. In our time, the battle is one of ideas, a battle which is explained well by the French philosopher Jean Luc Nancy:

“1968 led to a process of transformation that amounted to adapting society to something that was leaving it behind: a new techno-political-economic world. This adaptation has had many negative effects. It unleashed the spirit of consumerism and ... completed the destruction of the frameworks, or references, of religious and emancipatory politics ... The resulting society has fewer foundations that it did before 1968.”

In this changed and changing world, where, in the West, we are no longer part of a civilization which seeks to be built primarily on Christian principles, many people want to mount rear guard actions to retain as much of what they perceive to be the past as possible. So, for example, some seek to fight for a mythic mono-cultural white Britain which never actually existed, while others seek to maintain the privileges that Christians have enjoyed in this country in the past instead of accepting the justice of the equality of faiths which is now enshrined in the law of the land.

The situation in which we find ourselves now equates to that of the Jews and Jewish Christians after the destruction of the Temple in AD70. Then there was no going back and Jesus sought to prepare his disciples for that reality. Instead of calling for rear guard actions to preserve as much of what had been as possible, Jesus sought to prepare and enable his disciples to go out into their changed and changing world and tell the Good News by standing firm in their faith. This remains the call of God on our lives and it is a task which requires the same bravery and courage as was shown by the Early Church in its missionary activity and as continues to be shown by serving men and women in conflict situations around the world today.

Jesus gives us the same marching orders that he gave to his first disciples: “Make up your minds beforehand not to worry about how you will defend yourselves, because I will give you such words and wisdom that none of your enemies will be able to refute or contradict what you say.” We are to trust that Jesus, through his Spirit, will inspire and enable what we are to do and say in this changed and changing world (as happened for Harry Patch). Nancy argues that we should respond to our new techno-political-economic world: “not with politics or economics but with thinking, with imagination, with what I call worship: a relationship to the infinite. We must stop believing that economic measures or political models can respond to what is happening. What is happening ... is the spirit of the world being transformed.”

The Early Church saw the spirit of the world transformed by God as they stood firm in their faith and told the Good News. That is how we are called live in wartime - in the battle of ideas or clash of civilizations which we now face - to stand firm in our faith and tell the good news. The challenge of this passage is whether we can do and see that within our changed and changing world.

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Talking Heads - Life During Wartime.