J.S.N..MaóThe annual Service of Remembrance attracted over one hundred people to the church of Santa Margarita in Es Castell to remember the victims of past wars and the current conflicts.
The British Legion standard bearer, Gordon Pegg, accompanied by Jan Hodgson, placed the Legion´s standard on the altar at the start of last Sunday´s service. The service was led by churchwardens John Yallop and Malcolm Ellis, in the absence of the Reverend Michael Bunce, who had been taken ill the day before. Mike Martin,whose son in law has served in Afghanistan, led the Act of Remembrance.
Retired company director, Maurice Webb, Santa Margarita´s diocesan representative, gave a rousing address. He began by emphasising the role played by ordinary, humble people in the two World Wars. Men who fought and died in countries they had not even heard of before the conflict began. The pain, the loss and suffering of a whole generation during the 1914-18 war followed within just 21 years by the world being engulfed in yet another terrible war because we did not stand up to the menace of Naziism early enough. A poignant quote was read from a poem E.A. Wormsley wrote from the desert front:
"They said it shall not happen twice; we´ll fight to make the world a better place; they died and I was born; foolish, I thought them right; they lied."
Maurice Webb spent his childhood in Hampshire close to the purpose-built village of Enham Alamein, which provided a long term care and rehabilitation centre for the living casualties of both wars. He stressed how it provided for him, as a small boy, an horrific glimpse of the human price of war.
He lamented the way in which Mankind seems incapable of total restraint from wars; adding that we have enjoyed sixty one years of peace throughout Great Britain and western Europe and with luck will continue to have peace for many years to come. The congregation was then posed the question: how then can we wisely use the peace bought at such a heavy cost and thereby honour those who through their sacrifice gave us this peace?
He suggested by holding the Christian Faith and described the backcloth of history that underpins such faith in Britain. The gospel is thought to have reached British shores within just fifty years of Christ´s death. Mr Webb went on to say that we should make the very best of the peace that has been bought so dearly. We should look after the sick by comforting those in need, by holding peace dear and above all, by lobbying to spread peace and denounce dissent and discord within the UK as well as throughout the world.
Mr Webb then expressed his displeasure at learning that the Prince of Wales wishes to be known after his coronation as the defender of faiths, rather than defender of the faith. He called upon us to lobby our church leaders, or our politicians, to take action to fill the moral vacuum that they have allowed to develop, and to ensure that the morals of future generations are embedded in Christian values. A few weeks ago Faith Schools came under threat of political correctness when the Government tried to impose on them 25% of students of a different faith. It is widely recognised that the Catholic and Jewish churches made the Government change its mind by threatening that four million votes might be lost if the Government went ahead.
Concluding, Mr Webb emphasised the things that Christians can achieve if they fight hard enough for their beliefs. "To honour those who gave their lives for our freedom we must continue to fight for Christian values and committed Christian leadership. To help us focus on this we might, during the coming year, keep our poppies where we can see them each day as a reminder of how much they gave and how much we must give in return".
