What Colour is your Poppy?

A friend sent me a white poppy on Friday… although I don't think he expected me to wear it.

Incase you haven't come across one before they are produced by the Peace Pledge Union… You can read a little about their history here.

My first encounter with such a thing was on the lapel of a member of the church we attended in Edinburgh, a bearded, sandal wearing gentleman who was a member of CND, Amnesty International, and took part in every peace protest going. But I never asked him where he got one for fear that he might sign me up for something.

There are many Christians who do not wear the red poppy because they believe it celebrates militarism and glorifies war… And certainly some of the military trappings of Remembrance Sunday tend towards that... Although talking to many serving soldiers they are the last to glorify war…

And for that reason some wear a white poppy instead of a red one…

In some places (including Canada) that has produced a backlash from those selling the red poppies, who have seen these interlopers as insulting the memory of the dead and infringing their copyright (and fund-raising powers).

But actually, I see nothing wrong with wearing both red and white poppy.
The white poppy as a prayer for peace… But the red poppy as a reminder of the bloody cost of war… and a means of raising money for the care of those who have paid that cost. Those who laid their lives on the line for their family, their friends and their country.

So... Whatever colour your poppy, wear it... not so much with pride, as with prayerful humility...

ps. I did wear the white poppy, with the red one.

Shalom

Comments

Anonymous said…

good on ya man. Mrs Crookedshore did exactly the same

Sunday, November 09, 2008 2:05:00 PM

A Woman of no Distinction

Don't often post other people's stuff here... But I found this so powerful that I thought I should. It's a performance poem based on John 4: 4-30, and I have attached the original YouTube video below. A word for women, and men, everywhere... "to be known is to be loved, and to be loved is to be known." I am a woman of no distinction of little importance. I am a women of no reputation save that which is bad. You whisper as I pass by and cast judgmental glances, Though you don’t really take the time to look at me, Or even get to know me. For to be known is to be loved, And to be loved is to be known. Otherwise what’s the point in doing either one of them in the first place? I WANT TO BE KNOWN. I want someone to look at my face And not just see two eyes, a nose, a mouth and two ears; But to see all that I am, and could be all my hopes, loves and fears. But that’s too much to hope for, to wish for, or pray for So I don’t, not anymore. Now I keep to myself And by that

Psalm for Harvest Sunday

A short responsive psalm for us as a call to worship on Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday, and given that it was pouring with rain as I headed into church this morning the first line is an important remembrance that the rain we moan about is an important component of the fruitfulness of the land we live in: You tend the land and water it And the earth produces its abundance. You crown each year with your bounty, and our storehouses overflow with your goodness. The mountain meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are filled with corn; Your people celebrate your boundless grace They shout for joy and sing. from Psalm 65

Living under the Empire... (2) Where is Babylon?

We were driving back from school last week, talking about books that we had been reading and my younger son, Ciaran, asked me "Where is Babylon?" I have to confess that my history is better than my geography, and I said that it no longer exists as an inhabited city, but its ruins were to the north west of the current capital of Iraq, Baghdad. When I checked however, I discovered that it is actually about 50 miles south of Baghdad and the modern town is the administrative centre of the province of Babil... But just as the modern city is but a shadow of the historic capital of 2 ancient empires, first under Hammurabi in the 18th century BCE and then the "Neo-Babylonian" empire (under Nebuchadnezzar etc) in the 6th century BCE, so the earthly Babylonian empire/s was/were fleeting in comparison to the enduring metaphorical idea of Babylon. The original Empire under Hammurabi was probably the ultimate origin of some of the early Biblical stories, including the &quo

Virtual Methodist

Search This Blog