SOLITARY candles burned across our church communities, in our churches and in our cathedrals to mark the 100th anniversary of the moment Britain entered the First World War and to remember all those caught up in current conflicts across the world.d
The national Lights Out campaign caught the imagination of hundreds of thousands of people across the country, including many of us here in the Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales.
Bradford and Ripon cathedrals and many of our churches opened their doors for vigils, candlelit services and to offer quiet reflective space for people to come together in silence.
At All Saints, Silkstone and St James, Hoylandswaine in the Wakefield Episcopal Area over 40 people turned up to the two churches. The vicar, Revd Maureen Browell had only expected a handful and had to move the service into the chancel, hurriedly set up a new candle stand and print off more service sheets.
Said Maureen: “We had young and old joining us and the atmosphere was amazing: respectful, peaceful and thoughtful.
The service was based on the Westminster Abbey service with poetry, letters and music – and it ended spot on at 11pm.
“This commemoration really captured the imagination of people, there were lights burning in many of the houses in the villages,” said Maureen.
“With the news full of reports on conflicts across the world, it makes us not only appreciate the peace that we enjoy but also remember that 'the war to end all wars' failed to stem humankind's apparent propensity for conflict. May God forgive us,” she added.
In the Huddersfield Episcopal Area, St Peter’s Church, Hartshead was one of the many churches that opened on Monday night to mark the anniversary.
Sixty members of the communities around the four churches in Hartshead, Hightown, Roberttown and Scholes were killed in action in the First World War and this loss, said the vicar, the Revd Richard Burge, had a massive impact on the local communities.
The service was designed around stillness for peace and Richard said he wanted people to feel able to come and pray or sit and think.
“There weren’t many words – just space to remember what was such an enormous change for our country and our local communities.”
“And in the fifteen minutes before 11pm, the lights in the church were gradually turned off, to leave a single candle burning and the bell for the clock was muffled.
“We held a minute’s silence and then the clock struck ten times, once for each decade since that day when the First World War started.
“When the clock at Hartshead struck 11pm on that day a hundred years ago it heralded the start of a change for our villages here,” he said.
“And a hundred years later we still see wars and violence as the top story on nearly every news bulletin.
“So often such news goes on around us while we carry on with trivial activities, but on Monday evening we took a few moments to stop and reflect,” he said.
In the Leeds Episcopal Area, an ex service man who has seen action in three conflict areas gave his testimony at the WW1 Commemoration Service at St Philip’s Scholes, Leeds on Sunday.
Eighty seven men left the small village on the outskirts of Leeds to serve in the First World War – fifteen did not return.
And on Sunday Jason Roberts, an ex-service man who has seen action in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan, wanted to tell his story to remind those gathered to remember those who came back as well as those who fell.
St Philips’ Scholes and its sister church at Barwick in Elmet had a full programme of community events over the weekend to mark the anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War including parades to both the village war memorials, a parade and charity BBQ at the Buffers and the unveiling of a two new WW1 memorial benches for both Scholes and Barwick in Elmet’s war memorials.
On Monday there was a lights out service between 10 and 11pm to mark the time Britain entered the First World War and the then Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey uttered the now immortal words: “the lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our life time.”