| | | Remembrance
Sunday - 14 November 2021 |
Air cadets on parade
 St.
Mungo's hosted the Penicuik Remembrance service, which this year saw a
return to a church service with the Royal British Legion being joined
by local organisations and dignitaries. We welcomed Rachel Oliphant,
deputy Lord Lieutenant for Midlothian, representing Her Majesty the
Queen.
The parade arrived from Kirkhill to the church in
silence, no pipe band leading them this year. The organisation
representatives filed into the church, taking us up to around 120
including our normal congregation. We still had a few restrictions,
mask wearing, social distancing, and singing with masks on, which is
somewhat limiting.
 The
Rev John Urquhart led the service, commencing with the presentation of
the colours. This was reduced from nine in ‘normal’ times
to the two from Penicuik Royal British Legion, led in by parade
commander Annell Burns to the tune of The Boys of the Old Brigade. We
used a recording of a previous pre-pandemic Remembrance service as the
Silver Band were not able to play inside the church. The remaining
organisation Colours for the Air Cadets, Scouts Association and Girl
Guiding were set up at the back of the church, so yes, all the colours
were with us in church.
John then continued the service with
opening hymn 'Praise my soul the King of heaven', hymn 160, followed by
the call to worship, and the Prayer of Confession.
The Act of Remembrance was presented by Parade Commander Annell Burns
 They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them.
 Silver
band bugler Anna Florence played last post from the gallery, followed
by the piper to play the lament, before the 2 minute silence. Anna then
played the traditional reveille signalling the end of our silence.
We
continued with the hymn God is our strength and refuge (Psalm 46),
before the first bible reading taken from James 3: 7-18 read by Linda
McDonald, leader, 1st Penicuik Rangers.
A meditative
song, ‘As the memories echo down the ages’ followed,
before the second bible reading from Mark 12:13-17, read by Rachel
Oliphant, deputy Lord Lieutenant of Midlothian.
John's address
reminded us that It is 100 years since the first Red Fabric Poppies
were sold, to raise funds for veterans of conflict and to commemorate
those who died.
John also showed us another commemorative
symbol, a round bronze plaque, about 12 cm across, which had his great
uncle’s name on it. These Bronze Memorial Plaques were sent out
from 1920 onwards to every family in what was then the British Empire
who’d lost someone in the war who’d been a member of the
services. They were made from 450 tons of bronze and 1,355,000 thousand
were issued.
Because the design incorporates the figure of
Britannia, a bit like the one on the Old Penny they became
commonly known as the Dead Man’s Penny or the Death Penny or, in
some cases, the Widow’s Penny.
 In
our bible reading from Mark’s Gospel Jesus asked for a coin, long
known in English as the tribute penny although many modern translations
call it by its proper name: a denarius. The denarius was a silver coin,
not a bronze one. The annual tribute to the Roman empire was to
be paid, not in local coinage, but by this Roman coin. It was a
tax imposed on the local people by their occupiers. It was seen as the
work of an oppressive regime who financed their empire by taxing the
people they’d conquered. The inscription on it described the
emperor as Tiberius Caesar Augustus, Son of the divine Augustus. On the
other side of the coin, was an image of a Roman god.
 Jesus
is approached by representatives of 2 different groups, working
together against him, trying to trap him into saying the wrong thing.
Jesus can see though their insincerity and turns their questioning to
his advantage, displaying the difference between what is Caesar's, and
what belongs to God.
As the New English Translation
Bible commentary says: Caesar’s image is on the denarius, so he
can lay claim to money through taxation, but God’s image is on
humanity, so God can lay claim to each individual life.
John
concluded his address, using the New Testament claims that Jesus came
to bring in God’s Kingdom: a kingdom that has a relevance in the
here and now as well as in the future.
The prayer for other
people and ourselves was led by the Rev Nick Bowry, Rector, St James
the Less, followed by our closing hymn ‘You came to raise the
last and least’.
The colour party collected their colours
dipping them for The National Anthem. The Rev John Urquhart closed our
service with the Blessing.
The
members of the British Legion, Air Cadets and organisations lined up
outside the church for the parade, led by the Pipe Band, followed by
Penicuik Silver Band to the war memorial in the park.
Here the Rev Nick Bowry took the service and presentation of wreaths and tributes.
Published - 24 November 2021
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