Dear Friends
November has always been a time of festivals and celebrations marking the end of Harvest and beginning of Winter. In this Parish, it is also a time where through baptism we become members of one another in Christ and also of a company of saints whose mutual belonging goes beyond death. We celebrate this shared longing on Sunday 2nd November for Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day) and Remembrance Day on Sunday 9th November. Finally, the season of Advent begins on 30th November in the countdown towards the Christmas season of next month.
All Souls Day allows us to remember with thanksgiving before God those who have died – those personally known, those who gave us life, made sacrifices for us and who nurtured us in our faith. On Remembrance Day, we explore the theme of memory, both corporate, personal and individual, as we confront the ongoing issues of war and peace, loss and self-sacrifice, memory and forgetting. We then come to the perpetual memory of Advent before the Christmas season. Here, we remember the traditional themes of Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell, all underlined within the theme of expectation (anticipation).
Cesane Pareso shared: “We do not remember days, we remember moments”. During the above events, we commemorate those precious and painful moments but also celebrate departed lives. The laughter, the sadness, the challenges and, most importantly, journeying together. We remember with thanksgiving those moments of lives lost in world wars and conflicts, past and present, which have been given and sadly taken away. We still hear of the ongoing sacrifices of our soldiers and impact on families. May God continue to help them all through the calming of storms and provision of rest for restless spirits. In Advent, we remain in a state of readiness for the Lord’s return, the second coming of Christ, not just for this season. The Lord qualifies us daily during this time of waiting. According to Richard Parker: “God doesn’t call people who are qualified, He calls people who are willing, and then He qualifies them.” Yes, you and me!
In our collective remembering, we call on the peace of God to sustain our lives using the words of 14th chapter of John’s Gospel: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid”. Precious words of hope and expectation.
Stay blessed with love
Reverend Rickey Simpson-Gray
Parish of Wokingham St Sebastian’s
A prayer for November
Sovereign Lord
God of Jacob,
when the earth shakes
and the nations are in uproar,
speak, and let the storm be still.
Prepare our hearts too during Advent
as we await your return for us
through Jesus Christ our Lord
Amen