November 2025 Newsletter

November sometimes is thought of as a month of remembering, in the life of the church and wider society. I grew up chanting Remember Remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot as we looked forward to bonfire night with bonfire toffee lollies!

In the church we begin the month with the celebrations of All Saints and All Souls when we remember the ‘great cloud of witnesses’ who have journeyed on before us. When we remember loved ones, we consciously recall memories of someone we have known and loved or an event, and in doing so we reconnect with the stories of the past.

During the second week of November, we gather with others in acts of national remembrance for those who given their lives for others in two World Wars and many other conflicts. We include remembering the many places and people who are experiencing the horror of war today. Some people will take part in acts of remembrance in their local church; others will go to cenotaphs and war memorials up and down the land.

For me the important thing is to stop for a few moments to reflect on all that is going on, all that people have done in the past and are doing today to secure our freedom and to commit myself to doing all in my power to build a more peaceful future. That means remember to pray without fail for peace in in all its fulness.

Very often silence and reflection are the most appropriate responses and there is a strength to be gained from gathering together to remember. Even if that means watching from afar on the television or listening to the radio.

We are told many times in the Bible that God does not forget... God remembers. ‘I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. (Is 49: 15-16)

As we pause to remember this November, we do so knowing that we worship God who remembers, God who is present and with us as we pray for peace.

Revd Selina Evans