Armistice Day Centenary Celebration in St Anne's

Lord Kitchener (Secretary of State for War) was the face behind recruitment for WW1 soldiers

“The war to end all wars,”  was how the first world war was perceived at the time. The world, in its shock at the extent and the cost of WW1, thought humanity may have come to its senses with this war. Sadly, this war did not end wars. If anything the terms of settlement ensured that WW2 would follow after a short time.
 
It is the nature of people, that we fight for what we believe is right, and sometimes that results in physical confrontation. Other times, as our gospel today asserts we, “cheat widows out of their homes” (Mark 12:40) or, otherwise dispossess the oppressed unjustly. The capacity of humans to be inhumane knows few bounds.
 
Today, as we celebrate  100 years since the WW1 armistice on 11 November 1918 we are compelled to  continue praying for peace. Peace for ourselves including peace of spirit; peace for our closer ones. Peace in the nation and world peace. Wherever there is absence of peace we pray God of all, may swords continue to be turned into ploughshares and sophisticated armaments into food for the hungry and justice for the needy.

This Sunday 11 November 2018 marks the centenary of the first Armistice day - the day when WW1 ended. To celebrate we are invited to do four things at St Anne's, Porirua:

1. Bring personal memento/s relating to our family's experience of WW1 - medals, pics, clothing, other military hardware, writings, etc. with a view to displaying them in or after the service;
2. Join us in keeping silence for 2 minutes at 11am;
3. Participate in the 'roaring chorus' which will begin with the ringing of the church bell at 11:02am;
4. Pray for peace, especially where we understand there to be a lack of it currently.

PLEASE DO JOIN US FOR THIS HISTORIC EVENT.

---