Anzac Day

Apr 25, 2014

The poppy from Flanders Field in Belgium has become the most visible symbol of Anzac remembrance. When I was a very young child my father taught me the John McCrae poem: “In Flanders fields, the poppies blow, beneath the crosses…” Today New Zealanders will wear poppies in remembrance.

In just three months, at the end of July this year, we will mark one hundred years since the start of World War I. More than 1.5% of New Zealanders died in this first World War (and just under 1% in WWII).

We are slow to learn that the violence of war can never deliver the depth and stability of peace for which the human heart longs.

I have just found a website with a selection of prayers for peace. You might like to pray one of these as your Anzac Day prayer.

Prayers for Peace

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