This week we are remembering those who served and those who are currently serving our country through the Canadian Armed Forces. We remember their family members and friends, especially those who are grieving the loss of one who served.
We remember those armed forces members who continue to suffer physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually after their service to this country, those for whom depression & post-traumatic stress is a daily reality for themselves & their families.
We remember civilians bombed and driven from their homes, and refugees living in camps, longing for a new life.
In silent fields, poppies blow.
In empty streets, silence dwells.
In vacant rooms, photos sit.
War does not end with a pen or a parade.
Into the silence, the emptiness, the sorrow,
let us bring the peace, the song, the hope of Holy Love.
Let us remember and let us yearn for peace. (With thanks to David Sparks)
We remember the sacrifice of naval, air and armed forces as well as civilian personnel. We remember the separation they faced so that they could serve their country, sometimes ending in the permanent separation of death, with burials oversees.
The sacrifice we are being asked to make in this pandemic time, of not gathering with those outside our homes, wearing masks and physically distancing when out, seems a small sacrifice compared to what generations before us have sacrificed. And so we remember them, and commit to doing our part to care for each other in their honour.
With all of our love and prayers,
Rev. Susan and Rev. David
High River United Church – a community of help, home & hope
“Just to be is a blessing; just to live is holy.” A. Heschel