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3rd
August 2014 - Sunday Evening - Revd. Preb Maureen Hobbs |
Introductory Address - Vigil Service
We are meeting this evening to remember the 100th anniversary
of the outbreak of World War 1 and those individuals from this
community who went away to war. Some came home again, some did
not...
There will be many events over the next four years, but what
will we be remembering? There are plenty of different perspectives,
and lots of emotion too.
I'd like to suggest that instead of spending our time discussing
whether it was a just war, or evaluating the strategy and tactics,
that we agree that we are commemorating a tragedy. Wars may or
may not be necessary, but they are always tragic. Tragedy is
a complicated word - it means more than 'awful' or 'wrong'. There's
space within tragedy for heroism. War is tragic because it would
always be better for it not to happen - but in times of war people
also perform deeds of bravery they would not have imagined possible.
The human cost of World War One was horrendous. About 17 million
people died - about 10 million of them were military personnel.
Casualties were of every race and religion, and from every continent
- among so many others, there are about 2000 Chinese buried in
WW1 cemeteries in France. About 900,000 British personnel died;
The political consequences were huge: by the end of the war the
Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires had collapsed,
and Germany was in a state of revolution. Russia would soon follow.
In these islands, the lines were being drawn which would lead
to the partition of Ireland. The tyrannies of Stalin and Hitler
arose out of this chaos. On a much smaller scale, so did the
troubles which caused so much suffering in Northern Ireland and
beyond. The war was a tragedy not just because of what happened
in those four years, but because it opened the door to further,
and even greater disasters to come.
So how do we remember a tragedy like this? Not by standing apart
- either in praise or in blame. If you've ever seen one of Shakespeare's
tragedies, you will know that the play invites you to experience
the emotions, to share the dilemmas of the principal characters.
Really good TV dramas do exactly the same. By being drawn in,
we understand the complexity of what's going on from the inside.
From our hundred years' distance, we now have the chance to understand
the First World War, and at the same time to understand ourselves
a bit better too. And as we look around at a world that has so
obviously failed to learn the lessons of War, so too we ask for
God's forgiveness for all our shortcomings, our lack of vision
and understanding for all that we hold in common.
This service is a mixture of the sacred and the secular; the
civic and the religious. It is also an occasion when we can give
thanks for the work of Peter Leigh and those interested in local
history, who have contributed to our displays here in church,
Peter has also prepared an outstanding record of all those who
took part in both the first and second world wars, from this
community. We thank him, and dedicate this work in the name of
the One who came, who died and rose again for us - the Prince
of Peace.
Amen.
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