VE Day 75: Victory in Europe Day 75th Anniversary Remembrance
We are remembering the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. On the 8th May 1945, the Allied Powers formally accepted the
unconditional surrender of the Armed Forces of Nazi Germany and the end of the
Third Reich. The surrender of Germany was authorized by, Grand Admiral Doenitz. The Instrument of
Surrender was signed at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force at
Reims in the presence of Field Marshall Montgomery. Montgomery was an outstanding soldier who served in both world wars with family ties in Moville, Co Donegal where his father, Rev Henry Montgomery was an Anglican/Church of Ireland minister.
We hand over at this point to Mr. Brian Appleton of Rathfriland Branch of The Royal British Legion to describe the events when the surrender was announced.
This year our nation is unable to attend national and regional VE Day 75 commemorations or events due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. The Royal British Legion has adapted to this challenge by providing a range of remote activities for people to participate in from their own homes. The Royal British Legion will Livestream, national moments of Remembrance, and thanksgiving. There is also an activity learning pack designed for young people aged 7-14 years old to learn about VE Day. The Livestream event will be hosted by TV presenter Sonali Shah and the programme will feature contributions from social historian Julie Summers and cook and influencer Melissa Helmsley. The stream will be live from 11.15am on the Legion’s website rbl.org.uk/veday75.
As we heard following the surrender spontaneous celebrations broke out across the United Kingdom which included Princess Elizabeth who 75 years addresses us as Queen Elizabeth II. We can listen to her address for the nation today in the video below.
In London at St Paul's Cathedral and in churches across the nation people attended church services to give thanks for the end of the Second World War. Today we could take a few minutes to read from Joshua 4:1-24 in the Bible and reflect on a short epilogue By Rev Trevor Boyd entitled, 'Memorial Stones.'
There is a natural human inclination to forget at
an individual level or at a corporate or at a national level. How often have you
heard people say, “I have a head like a sieve?” The word “amnesia” means “the
partial or total loss of memory.” God knows that as humans we are prone to
forget what He has done for us. In
Deuteronomy. 6:12 Moses issued a final warning to Israel just before they
entered the Promised Land, “be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of
slavery.” The meaning of the
Hebrew word for a memorial in Joshua 4:7 is “to remember.” Given our ability to forget it is little
wonder that, memorials have played an important role in biblical history.
In our own country after the First World War, war memorials took on a
whole new scale and relevance. They were erected in many cities, towns,
villages, and workplaces to remind future generations of those who had died at
war around the world. There was a fear that people would forget and in turn, wouldn’t learn the lessons of war.
I like the story of the Farquharson Clan who lived in N. E. Scotland just above
Aberdeen and they became known as the 'fighting Farquharsons' due to their
fierce reputation. The clan had a sacred monument called 'The Cairn of
Remembrance' which you can learn about in the video below.
To the clan, this cairn was one
of the most important places on earth. It was a loose pile of granite stones
thrown together at the top of a heather hill, but each stone had a precious
worth. Throughout the generations, as the clan went to battle each man took a
stone and placed it on the cairn. When he came back, he took his stone away or
took it home with him. The stones that were left stood in memory of those
who had been killed and would never return home. Just as the Farquharson’s had
a stone to remember each person who died, the Children of Israel had 12 stones
to remind them of how God helped them to cross the River Jordan into the
Promised Land.
In the Old Testament when Joshua instructed the people to build a
monument—a memorial—from those 12 stones. He had two things in mind: First, it
was a teaching tool for future generations. Joshua knew that the children of
another generation would look at that pile of stones and say, “What’s this all
about?” And their fathers would say, “Those stones came from the Jordan River
on the day God worked a miracle so our people could walk across on dry ground.”
Just like the
Israelites we have a sacred responsibility to see that the truth of God is
passed on to the next generation. Psalm 102:18 says, “Let this be written for a future generation, that a
people not yet created may praise the Lord.”
Those who are older have a special obligation to pass on the stories of what
God did for them. “Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me, O God, till
I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come”
(Psalm 71:18). As Joshua makes clear, parents bear the first responsibility for
teaching their children—and not just parents in general, but fathers in
particular. Dads, God holds you accountable for the spiritual development of
your children. Your sons and daughters look to you for answers. When they ask
you, “What do these stones mean?” what will you say? The Christian faith is only one generation from extinction. And every church is only one
generation away from closing. If we do not pass along the faith to the rising
generation, we have failed at our most important task. We praise God for godly
fathers and we pray that many more will become godly and will teach their
children the importance of faith and of weekly family worship.
The word “Remember” is frequently found in the Bible.
1. Remember the Sabbath day, by keeping it holy (Exodus 20:8)
2. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you...God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day (Deut. 5:15)
3. Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you after he said, 'The Lord your God will give you rest by giving you this land.' (Joshua 1:13)
4. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them." (Ecc. 12:1)
5. And He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, "This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19).
Just as God was with Israel at the crossing of the river Jordan so God promises to be with us.
“Do not be afraid for I am with you” (Genesis 26:24)
“….so they may know that I am with you” (Joshua 3:7)
“So do not fear, for I am with you” (Isaiah 41:10)
“Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you” (Jeremiah 1:8)
“'I am with you' declares the Lord" (Haggai 1:13)
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him
“Immanuel” (which means 'God with us')” (Matthew 1:23)
It is right that we should remember and that we should celebrate VE Day but it is also right that we should remember God and the victory that He gives us over death and sin through faith in Jesus Christ. God Bless you.
You can sing along with a hymn that is appropriate for today, O God our help in ages past.
Europe is a changed place from 1945 with the creation of different countries, the development of different industries, the movement of people all as a result of peace on the continent of Europe. Today in Rathfriland we have a small population of Polish people who are mostly employed by MJM Marine in Newry.
Today there is a spiritual battle to be fought in Europe as fewer and fewer people profess faith in Jesus Christ. There are many countries such as Poland where people are trying to establish churches where people can hear the Bible being taught and find faith in Jesus Christ. The European Missionary Fellowship gives us some background to the need and to what is being done in their video.
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| VE Day 75 Gospel Tract Information |
Vera Lynn livens up our blog by singing those famous words, "We'll meet again." For those who are trusting in Jesus there is the certainty of meeting again forever and ever in heaven.
VE Day Resources for Families
As we think about VE Day 75 there were many challenges during the Second World War for the people of Europe and that was true for ministers and people of Christian faith. They had many issues and questions to wrestle with, in their lives and in their churches. We should never be afraid of wrestling with the issues of our day and how as followers of Jesus we should respond in obedience to the teaching of the Bible. Take the opportunity to explore Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a minister from Germany. Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch watchmaker who hid Jews from the Nazis. Pastor Martin Niemoller from Germany who felt he should have spoken out about injustice sooner.
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Pastor Martin Niemöller |
Before you go take a tour of South Down with these World War Two photographs and maybe someday you can visit these beautiful parts of our country for yourself.
We are new to blogging so if you can leave a comment letting us know about your visit or if you can subscribe to our blog or share it that would be much appreciated.
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