Presented to Alberni Valley Community at the Field of Honour by Legion Padre Captain Michael Ramsay, Legion Branch#293
1. O CANADA
2. INVOCATION: Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father,
and our Lord Jesus Christ. The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God.
Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth forever more.
At
the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th
month, time stands still for a moment; and we remember those who died, not for
war, but for a world that would be free and at peace.
3. OPENING REMARKS
·
MC
·
Mayor
4. SCRIPTURE READING: A Reading
from the 23rd Psalm.
The
LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He
maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he
leadeth me beside the still waters.
He
restoreth my soul:
he
leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
for
his name's sake.
Yea,
though I walk through the valley
of
the shadow of death,
I
will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy
rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou
preparest a table before me
in
the presence of mine enemies:
thou
anointest my head with oil;
my
cup runneth over.
Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in
the house of the LORD forever.
5. PRAYER: Almighty God. You are our refuge and strength; we
humble ourselves in Your presence, and, remembering the great things you have
done for us, we lift up our hearts in adoration and praise. As you have
gathered us together this day, we give You thanks for all who served their
country in time of trial.
In
remembrance of those who made the supreme sacrifice, make us better men and
women, and give us peace in our time, O Lord.
6. LAST POST
7. SILENCE – 2 MINUTES
8. REVEILLE
9. LAMENT
10. ADDRESS: Today I have with me my Grandmother’s brother’s Bible
that he was issued when he joined the Royal Navy in the Second World War. This
week at a prayer meeting one of our members read to us from a Bible his father
received in 1918 as a prisoner-of-war in England.
Today
things are very different than past Remembrance Day ceremonies. Covid-19 has
affected every aspect of our lives – separating us from friends and family.
People have not been able to be with loved ones as they passed on from this
life to the next one. People are dying. We hear of outbreaks in different
cities and other places where our family is and we worry and we wonder. I have
a daughter on the mainland working with vulnerable people and so we follow
reports closely. 1914-1918 and 1939-44 there was a large sense of worry and
loss and grief and fear that gripped our world, our country, and even our
valley here more than 100 years ago and more than 75 years ago in the world
wars.
Today
we are standing outside in the cold, the damp, the wind, the rain. 100 + years
ago today many of our service people, our family members, were standing and
living outside in the cold, the damp, the wind, the rain; in trenches,
trembling while they were shooting and being shot at by others who were
standing outside in the cold, the damp, the wind, and the rain, equally
trembling from the cold, the fear, what they saw, what they felt, and what they
did. Many young people went from their home here to serve us and our country
there and many never did return home here to see their families again.
When
World War One broke out Canada was a country of just over 7 million people. 619
000 Canadians served in WWI and 66 976 never returned. That was almost
1-out-of-every-5 boys aged 16-24.
In
the Alberni Valley, of the 1600 people who lived here at the time 116 of them
signed up to go overseas in just the first few months of the war alone.
Today
we are here to remember them. Today we here to remember those who lived, died,
and served in the First World War. This year is the 75th anniversary
of the end of WW2. Today we are here to remember those 1 million Canadians who
served and the 45 000 Canadians who lost their lives in the Second World War.
Today we are here to remember those who served in the Korean Conflict, the UN
peacekeeping missions, other conflicts, and our servicemen and women who are
still serving and seeing and experiencing many things that thankfully you and I
can probably not even imagine. Our veterans are still passing on from this world
to the next. Let us remember them.
In
the Christian faith, of which I am a pastor, we have a hope for a future where
there will be no more wars, no more death, and no more sorrow – only peace. May
that day come soon! And let us always remember all those who have lived
and died so that you and I could have a chance, even now, to live out our lives
in peace and security. Let us remember.
We
will remember them.
11. LAYING OF THE WREATHES
12.
BENEDICTION: Almighty God, as
You have gathered your people together this day in hallowed remembrance, we
give You thanks for all who laid down their lives for our sake, and whom You
have gathered from the storm of war into the peace of Your presence. Let the
memory of their devotion ever be an example to us, that we at the last. Being
faithful unto death, may receive with them the crown of life; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
13. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN
Posts
