We Will Remember Them…

‘Remember, remember the 5th of November, gunpowder treason and plot!’ A well known rhyme which I used to sing at school as the clocks went back, the nights drew in and became colder and I started to get excited about fireworks and then Christmas!

November marks a season of remembrance. We think of our loved ones, who have died but are still very much cherished, in services of Thanksgiving and Remembrance, lighting candles to symbolise a memory living on and a prayer offered.

We remember those who lost their lives in wars past and present on the eleventh hour of the eleventh month, wearing a poppy as a sign of respect for all the fallen. 

We remember Guy Fawkes and his plot to blow up the houses of parliament with loud and colourful fireworks; in a year where politics in this country and around the world has had some ‘oohs and aahs’ of its own!

And the church gets ready to remember the most amazing and wonderful event – the birth of Jesus. But before that celebration comes Advent, with its countdown to the big day – more about that in a future post.

So do pause this month and remember. Memories shared with friends, family and communities bring us closer together; remembering gives us a sense of who we are, how we belong and how past people and events can shape our collective tomorrows for the better of all.