Remembrance Day 2026

Yesterday, I braved the elements and joined about 100 people on a walk through time at Waddesdon Manor. We set off at 07.30 am on a cold and foggy morning, which I can only say enhanced the experience leaving an icy chill in the air. To read some of the soldiers last letters home felt overwhelming but written with such eloquence and gratitude for their lives and what they were about to leave behind was hard to comprehend. Many were just teenagers writing home to their parents.  We owe each and every one of them a debt of gratitude and give thanks to those who allow their memories to live on.    Anon

Rev'd Kathy Flynn from Carterton Church in the West Oxfordshire Circuit has written the incredibly moving reflection and prayer below ahead of Remembrance Day. Do join us in taking a moment of silence to pray and reflect.

In 1988, I was on mission in Belfast, staying with the Christian Brothers on the Falls Road. On our first night, the Troubles flared up. The sound of gunfire outside the house filled us with dread. We were ushered beneath the kitchen table and, huddled together, I wrote my first song: "Oh Lord, what have we done, put a gun in the hands of the little ones?"  This is the closest I have ever come, or would ever wish to come, to war. That experience gave me a deep gratitude for those who serve our country.

Watching the aviators from RAF Brize Norton march on Remembrance Sunday often brings tears to my eyes. I am filled with humility and gratitude, struck by their youth and humbled by their courage. I am reminded both of the cost of service and of the wars that still rage across our world.

God of compassion,

We give thanks for all who have served and sacrificed for our freedom. Today we lift before you their families and friends and pray for your comfort and peace to surround them. We give thanks also for those who continue to serve with courage and dedication for a safer tomorrow.  May your Church play its part in building a better world, speaking and acting for justice and peace, and offering sanctuary, welcome, and hope to all who are in need. As we look to the future, we trust in your promise that one day you will "wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Revelation 21:4).