A Compline of Remembrance The congregation is asked to join in the responses in italics and the hymns. Sections in square brackets are suggestions only. [Introit: God be in my head] The Lord almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end. Amen Our help is in the name of the Lord Who made heaven and earth This evening, we remember the victims of the Great War, the soldiers of many nationalities who died, their families and all who mourned them; those who suffered terrible injuries from which they could not recover; those who nursed the wounded; those who suffered shell shock and all who were traumatised and who found it difficult to go on living with the memories that haunted them; those who all their lives missed sons and fathers, brothers and sisters. As we remember them, we ask forgiveness for the hatred and violence of war, then and today, and we pray for compassion and reconciliation between all nations. It is right that we should hear the words of two unidentified soldiers of the Great War as they speak of conflict and also of the need for peace. First, a soldier describes his feelings as he waits to go into the line: 'Silence was the atmosphere of all our night-work. Silence and solitude, for there is no loneliness like that felt going under fire at night. Though one could touch one s pal in front, and the man behind followed on one s heels, once the bullets flew, one was shut off from all the world oneself, a bullet and God the only real things in the great world-emptiness of the night. Life and death were in the balance for each of us; and in peace and war alike man must needs walk the Valley of the Shadow of Death alone. Life was more appreciated as death loomed near, but death itself seemed easier as we faced it squarely in the dark. So we moved over the open to the trenches, in a quick thrill of excitement, fearful lest any of our superfluous gear should rattle or come loose, yet each alone in the world of his own thoughts.' Secondly, a soldier speaks of his desire for peace: 'We shouted to the Germans to come and fetch their wounded. At first they seemed very dubious and would only show their helmets but we promised not to shoot and a man who wore the iron cross advanced boldly to our entanglements and proceeded to assist a wounded man. Another followed and, amid our cheers, they carried him off. Before going, the first man saluted and said, "Thank you, gentlemen, one and all. I thank you very much. Good day." The incident quite upset me for a time and I wished that we might all be friends again.'
Let us pray: Lord, forgive us for every act of aggression and hatred, in times of war and in times of peace. Most merciful God, we confess to you, before the whole company of heaven and one another, that we have sinned in thought, word and deed and in what we have failed to do. Forgive us our sins, heal us by your Spirit and raise us to new life in Christ. Amen. O God, make speed to save us. O Lord, make haste to help us. and to the Holy Ghost; and ever shall be, world without end, Amen. [Hymn: Be still, my soul] A psalm for today (read antiphonally by priest or officiant and people) 1 Lord, You are our God, the Holy One, With compassion on all You have made. 2 You see us in the poverty of our spirit and our failure to respond to Your love. 3 Forgive us our hate and aggression our will to destroy all You have made.
4 Forgive us the lives we have wasted, those we have robbed of their future. 5 Forgive us the tears of the fatherless and the grief of the lonely and bereft. 6 Forgive us the land that is ravaged, the beauty we have carelessly destroyed. 7 Forgive us our failure to learn from the deep sorrow of our past. 8 Lord, we acknowledge our sin and we ask for Your mercy upon us. 9 Lord, show us how to believe that in You we can find transformation. 10 Grant us the gift of Your peace that our lives may be one in You. 11 Lord, You are our God, the Holy One, With compassion on all You have made. 12 Forgive us the sins of our past and grant us Your salvation. and to the Holy Ghost; and ever shall be, world without end, Amen [Old Testament reading: Isaiah 11: 1-9] [Anthem] [New Testament reading: 1 John 4: 7-21]
[During the following responsory, the congregation sit or kneel] Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all who have died in war. Lord, have mercy upon us. Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all who today are wounded or homeless or without hope. Lord, have mercy upon us. Into your hands, O Lord, we commend those who grieve for the dead. Lord, have mercy upon us. Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all who work for peace. Lord, grant us Your salvation. and to the Holy Ghost, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen Nunc dimittis (said or sung) Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace; according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation; Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; To be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel. and to the Holy Ghost; and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.
And now, words of reconciliation spoken by Harry Patch. Harry was the last surviving man to have fought in the trenches before he died in 2009 at the age of 111. In 2004 he met the last German veteran, Charles Kuentz: 'I shall never forget the German cemetery at Langemarck and the British cemetery at Tyne Cot. I went with Charles and I put a wreath of poppies on one of the German graves. He couldn't speak English; his father was born French but he lived in Alsace and Charles was conscripted into the German army and he fought against me. We had an interpreter and we exchanged presents. Charles told me that he was ordered to fire his artillery gun; it was nothing personal, he said. I enjoyed the meeting; we had lunch together and toasted each other and shook hands. I was very happy to shake his hand. ' Let us pray: Lord, as we ask Your forgiveness for the violence of the past, we pray for those who today live with the constant fear of war or civil unrest. We remember especially [the people of Syria, Egypt, South Sudan, Zimbabwe and West Papua,] and ask that they may live in peace, with just government and equality before the law. We ask Your mercy, loving Lord, on refugees and on all men, women and children who are traumatised by the conditions under which they live, praying especially for children whose families are broken by violence and who have no education or play or a home where they may feel secure. Grant that they may have hope for a future in which they may develop body, mind and spirit with confidence. Lord, we pray for those who oppress other people, for torturers and those who imprison without cause, for those who foment division and violence. Grant that they may know Your love and Your mercy in their own lives, so that they may have compassion on others. We pray for the peace makers, for all who without care for their own well-being work for an end to conflict. Bless these Your children, loving Lord, and grant that in Your name they may turn the grief of war into the joy of peace and reconciliation. Lord, in Your mercy Hear our prayer The Collect for the day, followed by the Third Collect, spoken together: Lighten our darkness, we beseech Thee, O Lord; and by Thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of Thy only Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen [Hymn: Glory to Thee, my God, this night] We say together, (the congregation sitting or kneeling): Save us, O Lord, while waking,
and guard us while sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ and asleep we may rest in peace. [Silence may be kept.] We say the Lord's prayer together: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are Yours now and for ever. Amen In peace we will lie down and sleep; for you alone, Lord, make us dwell in safety. Abide with us, Lord Jesus, for the night is at hand and the day is now past. As the night watch looks for the morning, so do we look for you, O Christ.
The Lord bless us and watch over us; the Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious to us; the Lord look kindly on us and give us peace. Amen. The congregation is asked to leave in silence. Great War quotations are from The Last Fighting Tommy, Meeting the Enemy,(both published by Bloomsbury) and Tommy's War: the Western Front in the soldiers' own words and pictures (to be published by Bloomsbury in 2014) all by Richard van Emden. This version JvE / RvE 2013 was prepared by Joan van Emden and first used at Christ Church, Reading, on 10 November 2013. Order of Night Prayer taken from Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England (Church House Publishing, 2000) is copyright The Archbishops Council, 2000. The Lord s Prayer as it appears in Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England (Church House Publishing, 2000) is copyright The English Language Liturgical Consultation and is reproduced by permission of the publisher. This service is dedicated to the memory of my grandfather, Revd Joseph Hodson, who held services for the soldiers before they left for France, and for the rest of his life was heartbroken because so many did not come back. JvE