Zetland Park Methodist Church Pastoral Letters
01 November
Remember, remember !
We all remember the 5th of November, the gunpowder, the treason and the plot - and still we have our bonfires and fireworks, toffee apples and hot chocolate. I guess it was potentially the equivalent of foiling 9/11 or 7/7 today which is why I the celebrations still continue! This makes me think, though, that on this day perhaps we should indeed remember those whose job it is to protect us from such atrocities today - covert, unnamed, possibly never to be acknowledged, but who, day by day, do those things we will never hear about to try to prevent similar events again. They are the folks who try to ensure we can move around our big cities in safety and whose successes mean we dare to board an aeroplane to go on our holidays with little need to be fearful, despite the frequent grumbles about all the extra "security measures" which have proved so successful.
But, of course, then there is also the 11th of November - the reminder of all those lives laid down during the two World Wars, and in the many campaigns since to try to establish a world where there is both justice and peace. As I am writing this I am watching the news about the granting of the Royal title to Wooden Bassett - another testimony to the bravery of those who would try to make the world a better, more peaceful place. I was riveted by the recent programme The Bomb Squad, which showed the bravery of those young men and women who daily seek out and deal with IED's in Afghanistan, and the way their families cope with the pressures while they are away, never knowing whether the next knock at the door will be bringing them the bad news they so dread, be it death or atrocious injury of their loved one.
However, there are two other dates in November when we remember!
- 1st November is All Saints Day - need I say more? It is the day when we celebrate the many little-known Saints who whose lives have inspired devotion over the years, though, regrettably, not often celebrated at Methodist Churches.
- And then there is All Souls Day - November 2nd - the day we remember ALL souls - the day when we recall the lives of those we have known and loved, who died in the faith! In past years we have had a service at Chapel at this time of year for folk to remember a loved one, but this has to an extent been replaced by the popularity of the one at the Crematorium.
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All blessings
Arthur