Today, as I do when I am not preaching on a 'second Sunday' I was helping with out Messy Sunday School - we use Messy Church (and other) resources and adapt them for out context.  Today the children had opportunity to make poppies from play-doh and from paper, among other activities designed to help them engage with Remembrance.

We learned about the meanings of different colours of poppies, and why people might choose to wear them.  I learned something new too - as black poppies weren't something I could recall hearing about before...these recall the lives of African, and African heritage people whose lives were lost in wars.

Today I stumbled across this tweet from RBL about poppies which seems helpful...

We live in a world marred by violence... whether that is drone strikes in Ukraine, bulldozers in Gaza, shootings in north Amrican high schools, stabbing on trains or high streets in the UK, or domestic violence hidden behind closed doors.

We live in a world where peace, however we describe it, is in short supply.

And so I think it is important to remember... not to glorify (the Great War poets debunked that myth long ago) not to celebrate 'us' beating 'them' (because 'they' are, after all, 'us') but with sobriety and sadness to keep in mind both the devastation of war and the hope of peace.

This year, my 'Poppy Scotland' poppy came from Edinburgh, my 'RBL' poppy from Crewe railway station (where they seemed to have uncovered a stash of poppies with plastic stems), the 'Peace Pledge Union' is an old one, stored away each year.

I remember and honour conscripts and volunteers who served and serve in the armed forces
I remember and honour those whose consciences meant and mean refusal to serve in armed forces
I remember and honour the animals - horses, dogs, pigeons and cats - who found and find themselves conscripted for military service

I remember - and choose never to forget - both the potential for human inhumanity and the hoped for promise of eternal peace.