Dearest friends,
On Remembrance Sunday we pause to remember those who have died in war, and those whose lives have been shaped by conflict. We remember people whose names are known to us, and the many whose names we will never know; those who did not return, and those who came home carrying grief, fear, or injuries that were not always visible. We remember, too, the families and communities who have lived with that loss, sometimes for generations.
St Paul’s words to the Thessalonians speak directly into that act of remembering. He does not tell them not to grieve. He knows that death hurts, and that the absence of someone we love is real. He says that we do not grieve as those who have no hope, because our hope rests in Jesus, who died and rose again. Those who have died are not lost to God.
Their lives, with all their courage and kindness, their failures and unfinished hopes, remain held within his love.
The Gospel gives us another picture of waiting and hope. Ten young women go out to meet the bridegroom, carrying their lamps. He is delayed, and all ten grow tired and fall asleep. The wise ones are not the ones who never falter or grow weary; they are the ones who have brought enough oil to keep their lamps burning when the long night stretches on.
There is something in that image for us as we remember. The work of peace and reconciliation is rarely finished quickly. The wounds left by war can endure long after the fighting has stopped, and those who carry them may sometimes feel that the night will never end. Keeping a lamp burning is not a way of pretending that the darkness is not there. It is a quiet act of faith – a refusal to let hatred, despair, or indifference have the final word.
We keep that light alive when we remember truthfully, when we listen to those who have been wounded by conflict, and when we pray and work for peace. We do so trusting the promise at the heart of our faith – that those who have
died are held by God, and that Jesus will gather his people into the life that has no end. Our remembrance looks back with gratitude and sorrow, and forward with hope.
In love,
Fr. Matthew
We will begin both services this Sunday with an act of remembrance outside. We’ll gather at the Calvary in both churches at the start of mass and process into church. Please arrive a little early to church.
Sunday 8th November
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Remembrance Sunday 🟢
9am – Parish Mass with Act of Remembrance [SJ]
11:15am – Parish Mass with Act of Remembrance [SL]
Year A(II), Psalm week 4, 3rd Sunday before Advent
Upcoming Dates
Nov
8th – Parish Lunch [SL]
20th – ‘Western’ Class 52 Diesel-Hydraulic Locomotives in
Camera, 1975–1977 (7pm) [SL]
21st – Table Top Sale (10am) [WH]
Rosary Group, 10:30am [SL]
25th – Last Night of the Proms Concert (7pm) [SL]
26th – Advent Course on Mary – Week 1 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall
29th – CTNA Advent Service (4pm) [SL]
Advent Carols by Candlelight (6.30pm) [SJ]
Dec
2nd – St. Luke’s Ladies Group [SL]
3rd – Advent Course on Mary – Week 2 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall 6th – Rowcroft Carol Service (3pm) [SL]
9th – Darby and Joan Club Carol Service (2pm) [SJ]
10th – Advent Course on Mary – Week 3 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall
11th – Bingo, 7pm [SL]
12th – Christmas Fair [WH]
13th – Parish Lunch [SL]
17th – Advent Course on Mary – Week 4 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall
20th – Nine Lessons and Carols (6pm) [SJ & SL]
24th – Small Blessings Crib Service (morning, time TBC) [SL]
Live Nativity (4pm) [SJ]
Candlelit Midnight Mass (11.30pm) [SL]
25th – Christmas Day Mass (10am) [SJ & SL]
[SJ] St. John’s | [SL] St. Luke’s | [WH] Wickham Hall
[SC] St. Catherine’s School