They shall grow not old as we who 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.
Dear friends,
November is the month of remembrance. We, along with millions of others, come together on Remembrance Sunday (this year the 14th November) to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in past and present wars.
It is also a time when we remember others who have died, and this last year there have been a number of our church family friends who have gone from us and are sadly missed. We remember those whom we have loved but who are no longer with us - with sorrow that they are seen no more, but also with gladness for all they have meant to us: the joy and love we have shared, the memories we treasure.
Perhaps it seems a strange description, but I think of November as a month of splendour and death. We see it in nature with the dying leaves putting on their glorious show of colour before they fall from the trees. We witness it in the Remembrance Day parades, in the uniforms and medals proudly worn, the music played, the bugles sounded, the red of poppies promising that we will not forget – not a celebration of war but a respectful recognition of sacrifices made, at home and abroad, by those who fought and those who waited, those who laboured and those who lamented.
As the month ends, we move into the season of Advent. It is a time when the Church prepares for the coming of light into the darkness of sin, the coming of joy into the sorrow of grief, the coming of hope into lives plagued by despair, the coming of peace into a world of conflict and strife and the coming of Love to all those who will open their hearts to receive it. In Jesus, our hope and faith are continually renewed: because of him we can trust in the promise that one day there will be an end to war and, through faith, we may be comforted that Death does not have the final word. The leaves fall from branches left bare and black but come spring the trees will bud green again. So too, we discover that the love we have given and received is never truly lost for love cannot die.
May November be a special month for you. As you reflect on sacrifices made and remember and reminisce on lives lost, may the presence of Christ bring you comfort and may your hearts be full of gratitude for the love you have3had the privilege of sharing.
In peace and with every blessing,
Sharon
