A lovely service on 30 October in a small, ancient country church seating about 75 - there were about 80 of us! How appropriate that it falls so near Remembrance Sunday - we all sang lustily "For all the Saints" which I always confuse with "O Valiant Hearts".
Next is All Souls - but I will not be praying FOR my loved ones, I will be asking them to pray for me, and to forgive all the opportunities I missed to demonstrate my love for them whilst they were still with us. My brother Colin was my most recent loss: he was exactly a year and four days younger than me and we grew up almost as twins. He was heartbroken when I had to leave him to go to school, so Mother had a word with the headmistress and he was allowed to start with me. Later that first morning Mother heard a tapping at the front door and there was Colin - he had walked home from school, only about a quarter of a mile, no busy roads, but Mother was surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "I've finished" said Colin. "What do you mean, 'finished'?" "I've learnt everything" he said with confidence. He was like that: he used to say - in fun of course - "If I had a fault, which I haven't, it would be modesty". May they all rest in peace.
Thanks for this post. I'm joining you.
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