ANZAC Services

This morning I had the privilege of leading an (early) ANZAC service at Alwyndor. Many of the residents are veterans and ex-servicemen and women, and they were joined by staff and friends from Holdfast Council and the RSL. We even had a bugler (well, cornetist) from Marion City Band to help us.

It truly was an honour to serve this group by helping with their memorial service, given the service that they have given us. It was also good to have a BBQ with them afterward and here some of the WW2 diggers tell their stories. When you think that WW2 ended 65 years ago, and they were in their teens or twenties when they enlisted, none of them are a day under 80 now. Yet, they remember the war as if it were yesterday - and why wouldn't they when you consider what they experienced. Any viewers that saw the first week of "The Pacific" last week got a bit of a glimpse into the horror of the Pacific War.

I encourage everyone to participate in ANZAC Day. Use it as a day of thanksgiving and a day of prayer for peace. Pray for the Austrlian and foreign soldiers who still serve in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Solomons, Egypt, Malaysia, Timor and in many other diplomatic missions. Pray for the UN peacekeepers that are in so many countries at the moment (including Haiti!). Pray that we will never see the horrors of the World Wars again. Give thanks for our nation and the security and freedom that we have. Thank God for the confidence in movement we have here, the relative prosperity (which is really for us to use in service of the rest of the world) and the freedom of choice and worship. Thank those that served our country, and still do so.

We will have a time of remembrance in our worship here at Marion Salvation Army, during the 10am service. The band will also participate in the Dawn Service at Brighton Jetty at 6:30 am (Get there if you can - it's a great experience). I will be leading the dawn service for the officers, soldiers, staff, cadets and recruits and their neighbours at Hampstead Barracks. We will not glorify the horror or evil of war, but we will remember those of all nationalities that fought.

Peace be with you.