From Rev’d Caroline – 01285 712467 – carolinesymcox@googlemail.com
Readings for Sunday: John 15.12-17
To hear Caroline’s sermon click on the arrow below.
The following is taken from the Parish Newsletter for Sunday 8th November 2026.
This Sunday we come to the third major moment of remembrance that we mark in this month, as we come together for Remembrance Sunday. Each of these times of remembrance has its own particular flavour, but of the three, Remembrance Sunday is the one that stands out as notably difference. At All Saints (1st of November) our remembrance has a flavour of joy, of triumph even, as we think of those people of faith who lived holy and transformative lives, honouring Christ even in the most difficult circumstances. At All Souls (2nd of November) our remembrance has a more personal sadness, but a personal warmth as well. We come together to remember people we knew personally, whose love and character impacted our own lives.
But here on Remembrance Sunday our time together has a flavour of lament. Of true, full sadness and profound regret. Sometimes I think this is missed by some. On occasion you might be misled into thinking that Remembrance Sunday is a celebration, a glorification of war and the people who fight in those conflicts. Of course, that misunderstanding could not be further from the truth. Our Acts of Remembrance, since they first began in 1919 in response to the horror of ‘The Great War’ – World War One – are not celebrations. They are commemorations. They are times for us to look fully and clearly at the terror and awfulness of war. They are times for us to think of those whose lives are mangled and transformed by war, leaving behind people who are often scarred in both body and mind. They are times for us to notice the cost and horror of war, and most importantly, to resolve to do better.
We gather in the church and at the War Memorial to remember the cost of war in lives given, and to remind ourselves of what an incredible, unspeakable cost that truly is. They are times for us to yearn for peace, and to voice our regret that that peace was not given to both those brave people whose names we read out, and those in our more recent history that may not be listed on the memorial, but whose lives are nevertheless touched by war.
We commit to do better. We commit to value peace. And we commit to cherishing and caring for those whose lives have been touched by violence and war. We do not devalue, and we do not forget.
May our lament and our commitment both be renewed this Remembrance Sunday.
Rev’d Caroline
Updated 9th November 2026