In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
By: John McCrae
This coming weekend we will mark Memorial Day. I don’t like saying we will “celebrate” because the reason for the day is to honor those men and women who died in service to our country. We honor their sacrifice and their memories. We honor who they were in life and what they did in death. We honor them for the very fact we are able to live in a country that allows us the many freedoms we tend to take for granted. Each one of those freedoms is grounded in the death of all who fought in battle.
Our nation has seen many wars. From the very first one that gave us our independence as we broke away from England, a Civil War that threatened to rip our nation apart, two World Wars, the ones we are currently fighting against terrorism and all the other wars in between. If we were honest, I am sure we could all agree that it has been too much war and even more too much loss of life.
In honor and in memory of the sacrifices these men and women have made, I invite all who are able, to join me on Sunday at noon in the memorial garden where we will have a Memorial Day reflection service. A time where we can gather and offer our gratitude for the sacrifices that were made on our behalf. As John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”
Peace,
Pastor Beth
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