Sunday, 14 November 2010

Remembrance

Remembrance Sunday is always an important one. The community of Bethersden stood together in pouring rain and remembered; the little cubs, brownies, beavers and rainbows looking soggier by the second. Fortunately the church was good and warm and I kept the sermon short in the hope they wouldn't catch a chill.  The realities of life and loss seemed combined and it was healthy. But, just as 70% of the UK population say they are Christian but only 5% or so attend church, so, too, the statistical truth is - most people weren't there, either at the Memorial or in Church. I think we have to be careful - the greatly increased coverage of Remembrance which Tony Blair seemed to energise is good, but we mustn't make it a test of a point of view. In a very new-Labourite way, the poppy seems almost to have been "rebranded" - (I'm not sure about this but what do others think?) , and the rise of the new charity 'Help for heroes' somehow suggests the poppy brand isn't working for everyone. It needs to. It's always most moving to see the politicians of all parties joining together at the Cenotaph; and Remembrance Sunday needs to be open to all. Which I believe it was at Bethersden. In a commercial world where everything is differentiated by brands and preferences, what is a unifying theme for us all as a nation?

I finished "The Vicar of Morwenstow" (see posts below) last night. In a strange way, the account of the eccentric Richard Hawker's controversial death (did he convert to Roman Catholicism or not?) has a similar disturbing quality. Having branded himself firmly as a mystical Anglican in his cliff-top parish, why did he accept those last rites of Baptism, Confirmation and Unction - against his 'brand'? I think he ceased to function mentally and his wife pushed him into it! The only reason for caring is the Remembrance Sunday question: how much does it matter what the symbols mean? What was the unifying theme of Hawker's life?

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