School Assembly/Family Talk : Remembrance Sunday

THEME: Remembrance Day

PREPARATION: You will need:
A collection of diaries, calendars etc., on display or to hand
A pen
A pad of 'post-it' notes
Poppies

INTRODUCTION:
Talk about the importance of dates (birthdays, appointments, jobs to do etc.) and the difficulty people often have in remembering them in their busy lives. But we can rely on calendars and diaries to keep us on top of things, to make sure we don't forget.

Even those aids may not be fail-safe ... We forget to check the calendars ... We forget where the diary is ... So we can use the instantly recognisable yellow 'post-it' notes?
This demonstrates the point that a VISUAL reminder works very well.

Most things we want or need to remember are important, but there are some things in life that we will always want to remember / must never forget, not just for ourselves but for the sake of all everyone.

One such time is REMEMBRANCE DAY, when we remember all those people who died in the World Wars. Just as the little yellow note is a visual reminder of the things we need to do, the poppy is our visual reminder to remember those sad times.
In the early part of the 20th century, the fields of France and Belgium were filled with red poppies. The flowers grew in the same fields where many soldiers lost their lives fighting in World War I.
John McCrae was a Canadian surgeon in the First World War. He wrote poetry and produced a famous poem called "In Flanders Fields". The day before he wrote this one of John's closest friends was killed and buried in a grave decorated with only a simple wooden cross. Wild poppies were already blooming between the crosses that marked the graves of those who were killed in battle.
"In Flanders Fields" was first published in December, 1915 in England's "Punch" magazine. Within months it became the most popular poem about the First World War. Many people felt the poem symbolised the sacrifices made by all those who participated in World War I.
The poppy soon became a popular symbol for soldiers who died in battle. At the end of the war in 1918 Moina Michael, who worked at a New York City YMCA, started wearing a poppy in memory of those who died in the War. Other people started doing it too.
A French woman named Madame Guérin learned about the poppy-wearing custom during a visit to the United States in 1920. When she returned to France, she sold handmade poppies to raise money for children in war-torn parts of France. This practice quickly spread throughout the world.
The money raised from poppy sales today helps provide aid for veterans in financial need, and other important Legion programs.

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae ( OHP)
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

We also remember that out of that sadness and terrible events there must be a longing for peace and that we should ALL work to make everyone's lives peaceful.
We can also remember the other sign mentioned in the poem. That of the cross. It reminds us that Jesus loves us so much he died for us. It reminds us of the victory of Jesus over death because Jesus is alive today, and he gives his life to people today.

PRAYER: ( OHP)
Walk among us Jesus
and be with soldiers and peacemakers.
Walk among us Jesus
And be with the hungry in their need.
Walk among us Jesus
And be with the frightened and lonely.
Help us see them,
Hear them
And in their darkness make us part of your light.
Amen.