Remembrance Day

Today is Remembrance Day in my country.

At church I asked that we observe 2 minutes of silence at 11am to remember and think about the sacrifices that so many have made for our country and for us.

The people doing the service today, we are a lay led congregation, hadn't planned for it and I think were a little taken aback when I brought it up.

Even in the midst of preparing for a service on peace, centred on the songs of Pete Seeger, they seemed to have forgotten about those who this day is meant to recall.

Or perhaps the waters are so muddied now, that they felt that Remembrance is all about glorifying war.

It could be just an oversight, because getting ready to do a service is all about a million details and even the most obvious things can slip right past without notice.

It is quite easy to forget that this is not an ordinary day.
(The stores are filled with Christmas decorations, I guess it would be hard to try and sell Remembrance knick knacks, the profit margin would likely be much smaller.)

Maybe in some ways that is alright too.
That we live a life of such comfort and safety and freedom that we can let it pass by without much notice.
Isn't that why wars were fought?

All the congregation stood in silence for two minutes.
Tears came to my eyes as I thought of my grandfather, who suffered from shell shock in WW2 and of my husband's grandfather who lay, wounded, on the beach in Galipoli with water soaking his wedding picture and a letter from home in his pocket.

I nearly lost it when on of the little ones said Daddy? Daddy?
and he answered that he was right there, because so many never could be.