The clocks have gone back and the nights are drawing in, Autumn is coming to a close, and winter is about to set in. And of course, Strictly Come Dancing is back! We can sit back and watch the glittering sequinned costumes and the dancers waltz, samba and tango their way through the competition as we act as judges in our living rooms. And November is the marking of the end of the harvest season as we enter the season of remembering.
We begin with All Saints Day on the 1st November each year, when we remember and give thanks for the Saints and Martyrs who stayed faithful to God and gave their lives as examples of loyalty, courage and service to the glory of God.
On the 2nd November every year, we celebrate All Souls Day also known as The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, when we remember with thanksgiving before God those we have personally known and loved who have died, those who had an influence on our lives or who made a difference to us, and who helped to shape us into the people we are today.
Then we have perhaps the biggest opportunity to remember when many of us come together to remember for Remembrance Sunday. We remember all those who gave their lives in the Great War, the Second World War and sadly, many conflicts since. We explore at these services the theme of memory, as we confront the ongoing issues of war and peace, loss and self-sacrifice.
As I write this, I have recently heard of the death of one of the few remaining Normandy Veterans, Ken Hay, aged 101. I knew Ken personally through my work as Chaplain for the Normandy Veterans Association and The Spirit of Normandy Trust, and had watched him emotionally remembering his brothers-in-arms who now lie “in a corner of a foreign field that is forever England” (Rupert Brook’s “The Soldier”). It was a privilege to know him. We will remember them.
Ken, and many of the Normandy Veterans, would visit schools both here and in France, to talk about their experiences, not to frighten the children or glorify war, but in the hope that the next generation would learn that war is not the answer, but respect, peace and tolerance is the way forward. Sadly, with wars and conflicts still raging around the world, we are certainly taking our time to learn this lesson.
St Francis of Assisi said: “Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred let me sow love; where there is injury pardon; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy”.
Even in the darkest of days and nights, we can all shine as lights within our communities and surroundings. We can become light and bring joy within challenging environments. We can all make a difference in someone’s life, often with just a smile and a kind word.
As Edith Wharton, who in 1921, became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel The Age of Innocence wrote “There are two ways of spreading light, to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it”.
We can be both.
With Love and Blessings,
Rev Mandy Xx