R W Provincial Grand Master R W Bro. Thomas Quinn and a Delegation visit Eclectic and Empress Britannic Lodge No. 410 on 11th November 2019
As well as this being a special day for the Lodge with the Installation of a brand new Commander and the Advancement of three candidates into the Mark Degree, the 11th November remains a ‘special’ day in the hearts and minds of every Brother. To commemorate Remembrance Day, the Provincial Grand Master had invited the Provincial Grand Chaplain to give a short address and offer up an appropriate Armistice Day prayer. The text of which was …..
Last year, the world commemorated the end of the Great War with an appropriate blend of solemnity, gratitude and even celebration. “There but not there” silhouettes were displayed in many places – there have been several around this building in recent days – to remind us of the sacrifices of the fallen and the legacies of a war which did not end all wars. One of these legacies is remembrance itself – today’s two minutes silence marked one hundred years since the first such silence was held.
On May 8th 1919, the Australian journalist Edward Honey wrote to the London Evening News proposing that the first anniversary of the armistice be commemorated by a five minute silence. In October 1919, George V made an official proclamation: “I believe that my people in every part of the Empire fervently wish to perpetuate the memory of the Great Deliverance, and those who have laid down their lives to achieve it… it is my desire and hope that at the hour when the Armistice came into force, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, there may be for a brief space off two minutes a complete suspension of our normal activities… I believe that we shall gladly interrupt our business and pleasure whatever it may be and unite in this simple service of Silence and Remembrance”
Let us pray
Great Overseer of the Universe on this day of remembrance we give thanks for the sacrifice of so many, who gave their all in the service of humanity and for the cause of freedom and liberty. May we be inspired by their giving so that we in turn would spend ourselves in the service of others.
We pray for peace in this war torn world. Give us peace in our own hearts so that we may be at peace with our neighbours, and that peace and reconciliation between man and man may finally grow into peace between nation and nation. Grant that the work of reconciliation may bring lasting peace where there has been strife, and justice and security for all the peoples of the earth.
So mote it be