A Service of the Word in commemoration of the fallen in two World Wars
Welcome and Hymn 537 St Anne
O God, our help in ages past
our hope for years to come
our shelter from the stormy blast
and our eternal home
Beneath the shadow of thy throne
thy saints have dwelt secure
sufficient is thine arm alone
and our defense is sure
Before the hills in order stood
or earth received her frame
from everlasting thou art God
to endless years the same
A thousand ages in thy sight
are like an evening gone
short as the watch that ends the night
before the rising sun
Time, like an ever-rolling stream
soon bears us all away
we fly forgotten, as a dream
dies at the opening day
O God, our help in ages past
our hope for years to come
be thou our guide while troubles last
and our eternal home
The Act of Remembrance
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
We will remember them. (A short silence follows)
We meet in the presence of God who knows our needs,
hears our cries, feels our pain, and heals our wounds.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
The Collect
Almighty Father, whose will is to restore all things
in your beloved Son, the king of all:
Govern the hearts and minds of those in authority,
and bring the families of the nations,
divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin,
to be subject to his just and gentle rule;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Proclaiming and Receiving the Word
A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.
In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God. Isaiah 2:1–5
Psalm 78.1-7
1 Hear my teaching, O my people; •
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable; •
I will pour forth mysteries from of old,
3 Such as we have heard and known, •
which our forebears have told us.
4 We will not hide from their children,
but will recount to generations to come, •
the praises of the Lord and his power
and the wonderful works he has done.
5 He laid a solemn charge on Jacob
and made it a law in Israel, •
which he commanded them to teach their children,
6 That the generations to come might know,
and the children yet unborn, •
that they in turn might tell it to their children;
7 So that they might put their trust in God •
and not forget the deeds of God,
but keep his commandments.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
A reading from the Epistle of St Paul to the Romans.
What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,
‘For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God. Romans 8:31–39
Hymn 103 Derry Air (2)
O Christ the same, through all our story’s pages,
our loves and hopes, our failures and our fears;
eternal Lord, the King of all the ages,
unchanging still, amid the passing years:
O living Word, the source of all creation,
who spread the skies, and set the stars ablaze,
O Christ the same, who wrought our whole salvation,
we bring our thanks for all our yesterdays.
O Christ the same, the friend of sinners, sharing
our inmost thoughts, the secrets none can hide,
still as of old upon your body bearing
the marks of love, in triumph glorified:
O Son of Man, who stooped for us from heaven,
O Prince of life, in all your saving power,
O Christ the same, to whom our hearts are given,
we bring our thanks for this the present hour.
O Christ the same, secure within whose keeping
our lives and loves, our days and years remain,
our work and rest, our waking and our sleeping,
our calm and storm, our pleasure and our pain:
O Lord of love, for all our joys and sorrows,
for all our hopes, when earth shall fade and flee,
O Christ the same, beyond our brief tomorrows,
we bring our thanks for all that is to be.
The affirmation of faith
Let us declare our faith in God
We believe in God the Father,
from whom every family
in heaven and on earth is named.
We believe in God the Son,
who lives in our hearts through faith,
and fills us with his love.
We believe in God the Holy Spirit,
who strengthens us
with power from on high.
We believe in one God;
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Praying Together
Let us pray for all who suffer as a result of conflict,
and ask that God may give us peace.
For service men and women
who have died in the violence of war,
each one remembered by and known to God;
may God grant peace.
God grant peace.
For those who love them in death as in life,
offering the distress of our grief
and the sadness of our loss;
may God grant peace.
God grant peace.
For members of armed forces
who are in danger this day,
remembering family, friends
and all who pray for their safe return;
may God grant peace.
God grant peace.
For civilian men, women and children
whose lives are disfigured by war or terror,
calling to mind in penitence
the anger and hatreds of humanity;
may God grant peace.
God grant peace.
For peacemakers and peacekeepers,
who seek to keep this world secure and free;
may God grant peace.
God grant peace.
For all who bear the burden and privilege of leadership,
political, military and religious;
asking for gifts of wisdom and resolve
in the search for reconciliation and peace;
may God grant peace.
God grant peace.
We offer these our prayers and thanksgivings
to you, O God,
source of all that is true and holy,
now and for ever. Amen.
A General Collect
Almighty and eternal God, from whose love in Christ we cannot be parted, either by death or life: hear our prayers and thanksgivings for all whom we remember this day; fulfil in them the purpose of your love; and bring us all, with them, to your eternal joy; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven:
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory
for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn 643 (and collection) Slane (1)
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art
Thou my best thought, in the day and the night
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light
Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, and I thy true heir
Thou in me dwelling and I in thy care
Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise
Thou mine inheritance through all my days
Thou and thou only the first in my heart
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art
High King of heaven, when the battle is done
Grant heaven’s joy to me, O bright heaven’s sun
Christ of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O ruler of all
Concluding prayers
O God of truth and justice,
we hold before you those whose memory we cherish,
and those whose names we will never know.
Help us to lift our eyes
above the torment of this broken world,
and grant us the grace to pray for those who wish us harm.
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.
For peace in a broken world
Lord God our Creator,
your Son Jesus Christ prayed
that his disciples might have abundant life;
we gather to bring before you those whose lives are scarred
by the evils of hatred, violence and genocide,
by our inhumanity one to another.
Through the mystery of Christ’s suffering
transform our brokenness and disunity
into a new a lasting wholeness and peace:
we ask this through him who suffered, died and rose again,
even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
An Act of Commitment
Let us pledge ourselves anew to the service of God
and our fellow men and women:
that we may help, encourage and comfort others,
to support those working for the relief of the needy
and for the peace and welfare of the nations.
Let us pray that we may be instruments of God’s peace
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is discord, union;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and
it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Blessing
The Lord Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Holy and Undivided Trinity guard you, save you and bring you to the heavenly city where he lives and reigns now and for ever. Amen.
Dublin Fusiliers (Anon.)
Sung by the Scouts. Please join in singing the chorus.
When I was young and in my prime I thought I’d take a chance
To join with my companions and fight the war in France
John Redmond said when peace has come Old Ireland will be free
And you’ll return brave heroes from the war with Germany
Chorus And in my dreams I see them still
Come marching down the years
The boys who stood beside me
In the Dublin Fusiliers
There was Johnny Roche from Dolphins Barn and Micko from Ringsend
And Willie Doyle from Dalkey town none better as a friend
We marched together through the mud the likes you’ve never seen
And as we marched we sang a song The Wearing of the Green Chorus
Poor Micko fell at Messines Ridge while trying to take the hill
A German bullet brought him down his body cold and still
And Johnny Roche and Willie Doyle though they were never found
Like thousands they still lie today beneath the battle ground Chorus
Now I am old not wanted here a stranger in my home
I sit alone in my backyard and watch the sun go down
For medals are no good to you when you are old and grey
And the taste of gas upon your lips will never go away Chorus
