Remembrance Prayer

Monday November 4 2019

A prayer from the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev Colin Sinclair

1919 was the first time the two minute silence was observed

Living God,
one hundred years ago
a year after the guns had ceased,
the two minute silence began.
However, the absence of loved ones
was, if anything, more real and more painful
when the soldiers returned and they did not.
Some came back in body
but changed inside,
with memories that would never die
and bodies that would never heal.

Living God,
eighty years ago
it all started again
and sucked in more and more nations
as the Second World War unfolded
and front lines became less clear
until all were caught up in its misery.

We pray for all
who in bereavement, disability and pain
continue to suffer the consequences
of fighting and terror.
We remember with thanksgiving and sorrow
those whose lives,
in world wars and conflicts past and present,
have been given and taken away.

We remember our armed forces
serving in different parts of our troubled world
and pray for your protection on them
in all their undertakings as peace-keepers.

Forgive us for ever glamorising war.
Help us in our remembrance
to commit to working for peace, for justice and for reconciliation.
Help us to never forget the courage shown in war
by both men and women,
serving in so many different ways.

As we honour the past,
may we put our faith in your future;
for you are the source of life and hope,
now and for ever.
AMEN