Sunday 12 November, 10:50 at All Saints

Today is Remembrance Sunday. The All Saints service starts before 11:00 for today only, so that the two minute silence can coincide with 11:00 am. There is a special service book for Remembrance Sunday, and it is in very good condition, having been only used once a year. There are lots of people outside the church, and they are dressed in their 'Sunday best'. Parking is a problem this morning, the little car park meant for the walkers if full, cars are parked along both sides of the road. I'm worried about parking on the bend, but there's no straight road left, so there's no choice. Everything is is hustle and bustle in side, and there is almost no space. I'm directed to a seat behind a pillar, the view of proceedings isn't brilliant, but I can hear OK. There are no bells, and no evidence of bell ringers either. The service proceeds, the ATC parade in, lay their wreath, the names of those who lost their lives in the two world wars last century are read out. Are there none from Hutton who have died in the other many conflicts we have seen since?
Brenda speaks on the same passage from Matthew (the beatitudes), and speaks of peace, but this sermon is not a repeat of the children's talk in St Peters. It is very different, and aimed at the adults present. The service is lead by a reader, and there is no communion. The ATC are responsible for the readings and the prayers. I wondered:

• How often they have been in church before?
• What an opportunity it is to have them there and involved?
• Do they realise the cost that goes into making this service?
• Do they contribute?
• What do they make of it all - a duty, to be 'got through', or something more?
  

I hear a piece about Remembrance Sunday on the radio on the way home. In its present form it started in 1921, shortly after the end of WW1. It is, they said, a very English remembrance, where the dignitaries, and high ranking people do not dominate. I think back to the service in All Saints, and yes the same spirit was there also. The ATC, none of whom can have seen any action because they're all too young are the main people representing the memory of those who died many years ago.
I am uncomfortable with the hymns, ' I vow to thee my country' in particular. I do not want to put my country in a position where it is ahead of my God. I'm proud to be English, I'm proud to be a Christian, a citizen of Heaven, and that is more important. I have passed the days when I believe I wouldn't defend my country if it was under threat (from outside), not the land, but the way of life.