Wellingborough Remembrance Sunday - Hundreds gather at war memorial to pay respects
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00:00It's good to see so many people here today. We're here to do two things.
00:08First of all, we remember. Remembering is a fundamental part of being human.
00:15And we do this not just on our own, with our personal memories, but by joining together with others.
00:23Just like we do on happy occasions, as when we remember a birthday by inviting others for a party,
00:32so we do on sombre occasions when we give thanks for someone's life with a funeral or memorial service.
00:41This is a sombre occasion when we come together as a community here in Wellingborough,
00:49just as communities all over the country are coming together to remember those who died or were wounded
00:57in the two great wars of the 20th century and all the conflicts since then.
01:05There will be some here who will have poignant personal memories of the effect of those conflicts,
01:13as well as those whose families and friends' lives have been changed because of war.
01:20We do not talk easily of duty or sacrifice these days, and I'm sure those who volunteered or were called up to fight for their country
01:31had the usual mixture of motives that we all have. But part of that mixture was a sense of duty,
01:39a feeling that something very big was at stake, a desire to do what they could to stop the spread of tyranny.
01:48And this morning we recognise that the fundamental rights and freedoms we take for granted in this country
01:56were fought for and safeguarded and continue to be by them.
02:04But while we acknowledge our debt to the past, we must also acknowledge our duty to those yet to be born.
02:12Blessed are the peacemakers, said Jesus, for they shall be called children of God.
02:19And there is nothing wishy-washy about this peace.
02:22When Martin Luther King was in prison because of his work to secure basic human rights for black people,
02:29a group of pastors wrote to him to tell him to tone it down.
02:34He wrote back, peace is not the absence of tension, but the presence of justice.
02:42To oppose bullying, to stand up against name-calling on social media,
02:48to bring a calm voice into the abusive debates of our time, is to be a peacemaker.
02:56So as we remember today, we are called in honour of the men and women who gave their lives
03:03to root ourselves and our community in the calm and strength of peace.
03:10For those yet to be born, those of all faiths and none,
03:15we must strive to work together for justice, for reconciliation and for an end to all wars.
03:24We will remember them.