Remembrance-tide

I never met him. Yet I still remember him. I don’t know if he served at the Somme, in Belgium or somewhere in East Africa. Yet his service means a lot to me. I am yet to see his name on the rolls at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, but his name has a special place in my heart. 

Alec McTaggart was my maternal grandmother’s eldest brother, who served in the British Army during the Great War (more commonly known as the First World War.) When he returned from the war in 1919, my grandmother was about 7 years old. He joyfully hoisted her up into his arms as he stood at the threshold of the family home in Jamaica. But he never talked about his war experience; in those days, the veterans rarely talked about it, even to their own families. About 40 years later, Uncle Alec died of a heart attack while he was running to catch a city bus. 

From an early age, I was taught to acknowledge the great sacrifice that he and many other soldiers gave, especially the ones who never returned home and who sleep in the earth of foreign lands. It is in Uncle Alec’s memory and in memoriam of other servicemen and women that I wear a red poppy. 

Every year, I begin wearing the red poppy starting on November 1, All Saints’ Day, and every day through Veterans’ Day, November 11. I like to think of those 11 days as “Remembrance-tide,” when the Church remembers our faithful saints who died in service to God, and also embraces our loved ones who have gone on before us, including the many who died in service to our country. 

We remember the saints and those who live on in our hearts the same way we remember our Lord Jesus. For example, none of us here present lived in the first century when he walked the earth as a human being. Yet we continue to recall his compassionate actions and life-changing teachings through the Gospels. We can think of our loved ones who have died by being “rememorative,” (Kenneth Leech, We Preach Christ Crucified): remembering them by standing with them and recalling their love for us and their courageous works. 

The military tradition continues in our family with the addition of Master Sgt. Todd Johnson, my twin sister’s husband, who retired from the Army a few years ago. I salute all service members, veterans and current, and thank you for your acts of courage and sacrifice. May God bless you and keep you ever mindful of God’s faithfulness. This poppy is for you.

The Rev. Lorna H. Williams
Associate Rector for Children & Youth