Wellingborough Remembrance Sunday - Hundreds gather at war memorial to pay respects - video Dailymotion

Wellingborough Remembrance Sunday - Hundreds gather at war memorial to pay respects

Transcript

00:00It's good to see so many people here today. We're here to do two things.

00:08First of all, we remember. Remembering is a fundamental part of being human.

00:15And we do this not just on our own, with our personal memories, but by joining together with others.

00:23Just like we do on happy occasions, as when we remember a birthday by inviting others for a party,

00:32so we do on sombre occasions when we give thanks for someone's life with a funeral or memorial service.

00:41This is a sombre occasion when we come together as a community here in Wellingborough,

00:49just as communities all over the country are coming together to remember those who died or were wounded

00:57in the two great wars of the 20th century and all the conflicts since then.

01:05There will be some here who will have poignant personal memories of the effect of those conflicts,

01:13as well as those whose families and friends' lives have been changed because of war.

01:20We do not talk easily of duty or sacrifice these days, and I'm sure those who volunteered or were called up to fight for their country

01:31had the usual mixture of motives that we all have. But part of that mixture was a sense of duty,

01:39a feeling that something very big was at stake, a desire to do what they could to stop the spread of tyranny.

01:48And this morning we recognise that the fundamental rights and freedoms we take for granted in this country

01:56were fought for and safeguarded and continue to be by them.

02:04But while we acknowledge our debt to the past, we must also acknowledge our duty to those yet to be born.

02:12Blessed are the peacemakers, said Jesus, for they shall be called children of God.

02:19And there is nothing wishy-washy about this peace.

02:22When Martin Luther King was in prison because of his work to secure basic human rights for black people,

02:29a group of pastors wrote to him to tell him to tone it down.

02:34He wrote back, peace is not the absence of tension, but the presence of justice.

02:42To oppose bullying, to stand up against name-calling on social media,

02:48to bring a calm voice into the abusive debates of our time, is to be a peacemaker.

02:56So as we remember today, we are called in honour of the men and women who gave their lives

03:03to root ourselves and our community in the calm and strength of peace.

03:10For those yet to be born, those of all faiths and none,

03:15we must strive to work together for justice, for reconciliation and for an end to all wars.

03:24We will remember them.