General Chat

We Will Remember Them.

Good morning :-)


I do hope the weather stays fine for the many services which will be taking place at Cenotaphs all around the world.

My church has the local Cenotaph in it's garden and is a focal point for the whole community. Roads are close, bands play, organisations march and join together for an Act of Remembrance led by the clergy. The crowds seem to get larger each year and The Silence is observed in just that...................silence. Very moving.

The organisations then move on to church for a service where everyone is welcome.

The collect for today:

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,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever. Amen.


With love to all. Cx :-)

Good morning :-)



The weather was fine but cold. The crowd was large but respectful. The band played and the people sang heartily. Such was the scene at our cenotaph yesterday morning. After the brief service was over, the crowd dispersed - many to continue on to the local church services which followed. Very respectful. Very moving.


This morning I had a message from an old friend of ours......Jack Bunion ;-)

Part of the message included these words which I think are fitting for today:


Just after the start of WW1, when the first troops in France (the British Expeditionary Force) had been decimated, Laurence Binyon sat sadly on the cliffs in North Cornwall and wrote about his friends who had perished:

"They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

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.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond the nation's foam"




It would be good to have 'Jack' back with us...... :-)


With love to all Cx :-)

Very fitting indeed and thank you 'Jack'

My gratitude to those who gave their lives
so that I could have a free and happy life.

Thank you.

Good morning :-)


The eleventh day of the eleventh month.




When you go home,

Tell Them of us and say,

For your tomorrow,

We gave our today.


- Kohima War Cemetery, Burma




Cx <3

Good morning :-)



We managed to go shopping together yesterday and, whilst in M & S it was announced that the store would be observing the two minutes silence. We were in the cafeteria when it happened and it was most impressive as the whole store fell absolutely silent.....not a murmer. It was heartening to know that respect still exists in this busy business world of ours. :-)


For today:


“Flowers Leave Their Fragrance on the Hand That Bestows Them”


There’s an old Chinese proverb that, if practiced each day,
Would change the whole world in a wonderful way-
Its truth is so simple, it’s so easy to do,
And it works every time and successfully, too…
For you can’t do a kindness without a reward,
Not in silver nor gold but in joy from the Lord-
You can’t light a candle to show others the way
Without feeling the warmth of that bright little ray…
And you can’t pluck a rose, all fragrant with dew,
Without part of its fragrance remaining with you.


- Helen Steiner Rice




Continuing to remember our friends in prayer. Cx :-)

Cynthia how lovely, thank you <3

Remembering our friends and their families
in need of prayer.
My young friend is getting on well and her smile
Is a joy to see and her laughter even better.

xx

Good morning :-)


It's good to hear how well your young friend is doing Emma.......we pray that she may go from strength to strength.


With this young lady and many others in mind......


Jesus, I ask for comfort
and hope for those who
are in nursing homes.

May they feel your presence
and know you see them
as precious and having
your love in their hearts.

May they be treated with dignity.

I also pray for the caregivers
They have such a hard job
and many times don't receive
acknowledgement for what they do.

May they know the importance
and beauty of their job
and realize they are
bringing you to the people
they are serving.

Please give them strength
when they become tired and
when the job becomes very stressful.

May the people who make decisions
regarding the money that
nursing homes receive
know they too will be older
one day and to be sensitive.
to the needs and challenges
of these wonderful people

Amen.




Cx :-)

Amen.

Thank you Cynthia xx

Good morning :-)


I have been reading a little about the Celtic prayer life and how prayer interweaves with life itself - morning, noon and night. There are prayers for every occasion throughout the day.



Thanks be to Thee, O God, that I have risen today,
To the rising of this life itself;
May it be to Thine own glory, O God of every gift
And to the glory of my soul likewise.

I will kindle my fire this morning
In the presence of the holy angels of heaven
Without malice, without jealousy, without envy,
But the Holy Son of God to shield me.
God, kindle Thou in my heart within
A flame of love to my neighbour,
To my foe, to my friend, to kindred all.



I will do my household chores as would Mary, mother of Jesus.
I will travel to my next place in the presence of the angels of protection.
Who is that near me when I am sad and alone?
It is Jesus, the King of the sun.


Be with us, Lord,
in our working and our resting,
in our laughing and our crying,
in our eating and our fasting,
in our travelling and our staying.
Abide with us, each day, each night.


Continuing to remember our friends in prayer. Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

All week, there has been a lot of emphasis on the annual Children in Need events taking place up and down the country. Today, our prayer is for the children who will be helped and supported by the generosity of others...




We pray today for children in our communities
who live without either of their parents:
children whose parents have died,
children who have been abandoned,
children taken away from their parents because of abuse or neglect,
and children who have run away from home.

You care for these little ones God,
and not one of them is lost from your sight.
Guide, guard and protect these children as they move in with relatives,
as they live with foster parents,
as they are adopted into new families
or as they struggle on the street.

Comfort each one who feels unloved, unwanted and afraid.
Give wisdom to people who make decisions about children's lives.
Empower those who care for them to be loving and compassionate.
Instil in our government leaders a passion for protecting the most vulnerable.
Help us to reach out as individuals to those who live without the protection and love of parents.

We also pray for parents and children who have been wrongly separated,
that you will end their agony and help them to be reunited.

We pray this in the name of Jesus, who loves the little ones. Amen.

- Carol Penner



Cx :-)

Auguries of Innocence. (William Blake 1757-1827)
*Briefly quoted on Radio 4 this morning.

To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

A robin redbreast in a cage
Puts all heaven in a rage.

A dove-house fill'd with doves and pigeons
Shudders hell thro' all its regions.
A dog starv'd at his master's gate
Predicts the ruin of the state.

A horse misused upon the road
Calls to heaven for human blood.
Each outcry of the hunted hare
A fibre from the brain does tear.

A skylark wounded in the wing,
A cherubim does cease to sing.
The game-cock clipt and arm'd for fight
Does the rising sun affright.

Every wolf's and lion's howl
Raises from hell a human soul.

The wild deer, wand'ring here and there,
Keeps the human soul from care.
The lamb misus'd breeds public strife,
And yet forgives the butcher's knife.

The bat that flits at close of eve
Has left the brain that won't believe.
The owl that calls upon the night
Speaks the unbeliever's fright.

He who shall hurt the little wren
Shall never be belov'd by men.
He who the ox to wrath has mov'd
Shall never be by woman lov'd.

The wanton boy that kills the fly
Shall feel the spider's enmity.
He who torments the chafer's sprite
Weaves a bower in endless night.

The caterpillar on the leaf
Repeats to thee thy mother's grief.
Kill not the moth nor butterfly,
For the last judgement draweth nigh.

He who shall train the horse to war
Shall never pass the polar bar.
The beggar's dog and widow's cat,
Feed them and thou wilt grow fat.

The gnat that sings his summer's song
Poison gets from slander's tongue.
The poison of the snake and newt
Is the sweat of envy's foot.

The poison of the honey bee
Is the artist's jealousy.

The prince's robes and beggar's rags
Are toadstools on the miser's bags.
A truth that's told with bad intent
Beats all the lies you can invent.

It is right it should be so;
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Thro' the world we safely go.

Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.

The babe is more than swaddling bands;
Throughout all these human lands;
Tools were made and born were hands,
Every farmer understands.
Every tear from every eye
Becomes a babe in eternity;

This is caught by females bright,
And return'd to its own delight.
The bleat, the bark, bellow, and roar,
Are waves that beat on heaven's shore.

The babe that weeps the rod beneath
Writes revenge in realms of death.
The beggar's rags, fluttering in air,
Does to rags the heavens tear.

The soldier, arm'd with sword and gun,
Palsied strikes the summer's sun.
The poor man's farthing is worth more
Than all the gold on Afric's shore.

One mite wrung from the lab'rer's hands
Shall buy and sell the miser's lands;
Or, if protected from on high,
Does that whole nation sell and buy.

He who mocks the infant's faith
Shall be mock'd in age and death.
He who shall teach the child to doubt
The rotting grave shall ne'er get out.

He who respects the infant's faith
Triumphs over hell and death.
The child's toys and the old man's reasons
Are the fruits of the two seasons.

The questioner, who sits so sly,
Shall never know how to reply.
He who replies to words of doubt
Doth put the light of knowledge out.

The strongest poison ever known
Came from Caesar's laurel crown.
Nought can deform the human race
Like to the armour's iron brace.

When gold and gems adorn the plow,
To peaceful arts shall envy bow.
A riddle, or the cricket's cry,
Is to doubt a fit reply.

The emmet's inch and eagle's mile
Make lame philosophy to smile.
He who doubts from what he sees
Will ne'er believe, do what you please.

If the sun and moon should doubt,
They'd immediately go out.
To be in a passion you good may do,
But no good if a passion is in you.

The whore and gambler, by the state
Licensed, build that nation's fate.
The harlot's cry from street to street
Shall weave old England's winding-sheet.

The winner's shout, the loser's curse,
Dance before dead England's hearse.

Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born,
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.

Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.

We are led to believe a lie
When we see not thro' the eye,
Which was born in a night to perish in a night,
When the soul slept in beams of light.

God appears, and God is light,
To those poor souls who dwell in night;
But does a human form display
To those who dwell in realms of day.

Good morning :-)


Thank you for those words Dermot - interesting reading and another side to the man who is so famous for writing 'Jerusalem'- the hymn which is lustily sung on many occasions.

The Collect

Heavenly Father,
whose blessed Son was revealed to destroy the works of the devil
and to make us the children of God and heirs of eternal life:
grant that we, having this hope, may purify ourselves
even as he is pure; that when he shall appear in power and great glory
we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom;
where he is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever.
Amen.



With love to all Cx :-)

Amen

Remembering all who need support at this time
in my thoughts and prayers as always.

xx

Good morning :-)


My husband managed to come to church with me yesterday and stayed for the whole service. The other folk were thrilled to see him and he was hugged and kissed by so many women What it is to be popular!! :-D

It is our annual Christmas Fair on Saturday - can't believe it has come round so quickly. The theme this year is based on the years 1914-18 and, as I do a coffee stall, I have opted to portray the Lyons Corner Houses.......complete with 'Nippies' :-D


For today:


Lord,
Open my eyes so I may see
and feel Your presence close to me.
Give me strength for my stumbling feet
as I battle the crowd on life's busy street.
And widen the vision of my unseeing eyes
so in passing faces I'll recognize
not just a stranger, unloved, and unknown,
but a friend with a heart
that is much like my own.

~Helen Steiner Rice


Remembering our friends.................Cx :-)

Such good news Cynthia, so pleased for
your husband and yourself.
A very popular man indeed :-D
Long may it continue. x

For my darling husband who died three years ago today xxxx

Good morning :-)


Hello Tenerife Sun - lovely to see you - and on such a very special day for you. Sending love and prayers your way. <3



For today, some thoughts about silence. Such a busy world we live in and we forget how wonderful silence can be.



Silently the green leaves grow,
In silence falls the soft, white snow,
Silently the flowers bloom,
In silence sunshine fills a room~~~
Silently bright stars appear,
In silence velvet night draws near,
And silently God enters in
To free a troubled heart from sin . . .
For God works silently in lives.



Remembering those who have asked for prayer. Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


I was thinking about what to put on here this morning and realised we haven't had a good old sing for a bit......so, to cheer us through the day, how about......


The Battle Hymn of the Republic.....

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord....."


Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.

(Chorus)Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
His day is marching on.
(Chorus)

I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal";
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,
Since God is marching on.
(Chorus)

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.
(Chorus)

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me.
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.
(Chorus)

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is Wisdom to the mighty, He is Succour to the brave,
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of Time His slave,
Our God is marching on.
(Chorus).



There are many versions on Youtube - by some famous people. This is a version sung by a Welsh Male voice choir...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTaoLEhIbU8


With love to all. Cx :-)

I have been in Wales for a few days so am only just catching up

Tenerife Sun, a belated hug for you <3

I am pleased your husband managed to get to church with you Cynthia. That must have made you both very happy.

I love your words about silence but am not so sure about today's offering! It's certainly a rousing hymn but it's been going round and round my head all day.

Keeping Kandj and her OH and Emma's young friend in my thoughts, together with our other friends in need of strength at this time