laudable Practice

The picture is of this year's annual Lantern Service in Old North Church , Boston. The service commemorates the lighting of two lanterns in the church's steeple on 18th April 1775, leading to Paul Revere's famous midnight ride before the Battles of Lexington and Concord. In the 50 years since the bicentennial celebrations in 1976, the service has been an annual fixture. In the words of the Old North Church website: [it] recalls the lights of liberty that shone from Old North’s steeple on April 18, 1775, while reflecting on the meaning of faith, freedom, and American democracy today. The service culminates with the lighting of the church's two historic lanterns. When I looked at photographs of this year's service, what immediately struck me was this photograph. It encapsulates the 'Publick Religion' that traditionally has been part of the Anglican vocation: surplice, tippet, hood, bands - noble and modest; a historic church; a national commemoration.  It is,...

There are six stained glass windows in the nave of the parish in which I minister. Five of the windows are dedicated to sons of the parish who died in the Great War. As I stand in the pulpit, to my right is the Roll of Honour of those of the parish who responded to the call of King and Country in 1914. Engraved crosses beside the names of the fifteen parishioners who fell in that conflict. On the cover for the font is a plaque holding the thirteen names of those from the parish who died in the Second World War.  Each Remembrance Sunday, the names of fallen parishioners from both world wars are read. A poppy wreath is placed before the war memorial. Still silence is observed between the Last Post and Reveille. Such is the case with very many parish churches across these Islands. Our churches prayerfully hold the memories of the fallen. Memorials in stained glass and stone are found in our churches. Mid-November is marked by the solemn rituals - communal and national - of Remembrance...