Extended resources for an all-age service to be used on or around Remembrance Sunday
Planning
Beforehand, invite members of the congregation to bring family war-time memorabilia to display for all to see.
Hymns and songs
One hymn is suggested below. This is 'We pray for peace' by Alan Gaunt. It is widely available, published in a number of hymnbooks.
Other hymns and songs should be chosen locally, according to what is known and traditionally acceptable on this day. Make sure that among your choices there are songs that children can join in. Children's hymn and song books commonly have many songs about peace.
Online resources
DVD
- The scrolling wars clip for the two minutes silence is in the chapter called 'War' on the Twelve Baskets DVD, He never said, published by Active Media Publishing.
- Black Adder Goes Forth, BBC.
Gathering
Prepare the space
Display, in whatever way is possible for you, one of the conflict maps (see Planning) together with family war-time memorabilia contributed by members of the congregation.
Call to worship
God is our refuge and strength;
a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46.1
Opening prayer
Lord, we all have our memories of war,
personal or handed on.
We give thanks for all who gave their lives and suffered for our freedom,
and we pray for all who suffer the fear and misery of conflicts across the world today.
Amen.
Word
Open the Word
The ideal readings for this service are John 15.9-17 and Romans 5.1-11.
Show a picture of the Victoria Cross, explaining its history and purpose. In the same way, show a picture of the George Cross.
Having established the idea of laying down one's life for others, read John 15.9-17.
Jesus died that his friends might have life, eternal life. The Romans reading tells us that if we have faith in him, then we are reconciled with God through the death of his Son. Read Romans 5.1-11.
Explore the Word
One of the marks of a true hero is their willingness to lay down his or her life in the full knowledge of what will happen to them. Jesus died so that others may have life. Tell the story of St Maximilian Kolbe who was in a concentration camp and voluntarily took on the death sentence of a young Polish Officer (see Planning above).
At any victory celebration there must be two emotions: joy that the war is over and sadness at the appalling cost of that victory (which we express today). It used to be the custom on this day to focus on the two world wars of the twentieth century, but in a new century, and as time marches on, we acknowledge with sadness that there are still many conflicts in the world; there are still millions of victims and thousands of heroes and in any consideration of war, we must remember them too, pray for them and press for solutions to be sought.
Respond
Respond to the Word
Be silent
This is the traditional Remembrance Sunday response. You may be able to undertake this easily but if the congregation is made up of people who may not have come across this before, it will need some preparation. Here is a suggested way in:
The leader says:
For a long time we have kept silence as a way of remembering people who have died. This was what happened on 11 February every year after the First World War and today it still happens when we remember groups of people or individuals who have died. So we are going to be silent now. To do that we shall need to get ready. It is hard to be silent if you are not ready.
Make sure you are sitting comfortably and that you have a bit of space around you so that you are not touching anyone else. But if you are a parent with a little child, cuddle the child close if they would like it, or make sure they are happy doing something else if that is what they would like. Help them to listen to the instructions or whisper to them in a way that they will understand if that is more helpful. Be sure you are comfortable now and get ready.
Close your eyes and feel the space around you so that you are not worried about someone else. Put all things you want to think about out of your mind, just for the time being and make your mind empty. Perhaps you can feel your own breathing. Now, in the silence, let us remember in our minds people who have died in wars. We don't know all their names: though you might know the name of someone; if so, remember it. Silence begins now and at the end I will say 'Amen'.
Explain the origin of the two minutes silence, instituted after World War One and to take place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month to mark the time when the war ended in 1918. There is an account of the first two minutes silence as described by a Guardian journalist on the Project Britain website (see Planning). It is important to stress that we are remembering not only soldiers who died in the two World Wars, but also soldiers who have died in action in just about every year since. One way of doing this would be to run the list of conflicts since 1945 found on the DVD He never said during the silence. It lasts just two minutes and could be used with the sound off (see Planning). Another possibility is to watch the final moments of Black Adder goes forth (see Planning).
Gather and listen
Invite everyone to gather around the family memorabilia which form the Prepare the space display and ask people to speak briefly about their contribution. If there are members of your congregation who have been involved in wars other than WW1 and WW2, it may be appropriate to ask them to share their experiences. Do ensure that this is undertaken in a way that is safe for those people who may have relatively recent terrible memories of events that may be hard for us to understand.
Sing
Sing some verses of the hymn 'We pray for peace' (see Planning).
Decorate
If you have a printed version of a conflict map on display, provide little white paper doves together with traditional poppies and use them to create a picture frame for the map.
You will need: British Legion poppies (cut off the stalks), doves cut out of white paper (see PDF template link at the bottom of this page), scissors and glue sticks.
Place the poppies at equal intervals around the map. Then, at the spot where each poppy is to be permanently placed, pierce a small hole with the skewer or kebab stick. Put the poppy stem through the hole to secure it in place. Cut off any protruding stems at the back of the map, but remember that the more stem you leave, the more secure each flower will be. You could secure them with sticky tape. Finally stick the white paper doves between the poppies to complete the picture frame.
Prayer
An all-age prayer
Lord, we are sad when we think of war,
of the soldiers who must fight
and all the people who are killed.
Today we remember their sacrifice with great sadness.
We thank them for what they did for us.
We also remember that they won for us a victory,
that without their bravery
our lives would have been so very different,
without the freedom we enjoy.
We thank them for what they did for us.
We are sad, too, at the thought of your suffering,
that you, too, had to be a great hero,
and walk to Jerusalem,
be arrested, tried and killed on the cross.
We thank you for what you did for us.
But we remember that you won for us a victory,
that on Easter morning you rose again,
to help us overcome our human nature,
so that we might rise again with you.
We thank you for what you did for us.
Amen.
Sending out
The following prayers are taken from the Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) Remembrance Sunday resources.
The act of commitment is made:
Let us commit ourselves to responsible
living and faithful service.
Will you strive for all that makes for peace?
We will.
Will you seek to heal the wounds of war?
We will.
Will you work for a just future for all humanity?
We will.
Merciful God, we offer to you the fears in us that have not yet been cast out by love:
May we accept the hope you have placed in the hearts of all people,
And live lives of justice, courage and mercy;
through Jesus Christ our risen Redeemer.
Amen.
The National Anthem(s) may besung.
The following blessing is used:
God grant to the living grace,
to the departed rest,
to the Church, the Queen, the Commonwealth
[or to the Church, the State]
and all people,
unity, peace and concord,
and to us and all God's servants,
life everlasting.
And the blessing of God Almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you all
and remain with you always.
Amen.
(These resources were first published in Issue 38 Adult & All Age magazine.)