Memorial Day
KNOW YOUR HISTORY:
Memorial Day was started by former slaves on May, 1, 1865 in Charleston, SC to honor
257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison
camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for 2 weeks to give them a proper burial as
gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of 10,000 people led by
2,800 black children where they marched, sang and celebrated.
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Memorial Day
Memorial Day honors sacrifice of nation’s war dead
“God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him,” says today’s
passage from the First Letter of John. When we observe the nation’s 140th Memorial Day
on Monday, we are aware of the paradox that though war is perhaps the greatest human
evil, our faith teaches us that humans can have no greater love than to lay down their
lives for another.
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The Defense Department counts more than a million Americans who have died in the
nation’s armed conflicts, starting with the American Revolution. In modern times, it’s
hard to appreciate that only about two-thirds died from battle wounds and that the
remainder were victims of the soldier’s universal enemy—diseases such as typhoid fever,
dysentery, pneumonia, malaria, and influenza.
As an illustration that remembrance is never finished, a stonecutter in Washington, D.C.,
recently added the names of a handful of soldiers to the black granite expanse of the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Almost every year just before Memorial Day, a few more
names are inscribed with Defense Department approval, based usually on restoration of
missing documents or correction of some other oversight.
Americans typically view Memorial Day as the unofficial beginning of summer, a time
for picnics, family gatherings, and sporting events, including the running of the
Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911. In
recent years, a movement has grown to reemphasize the original meaning of the day, with
commemorative parades, ceremonies, services, and visits to cemeteries and monuments.
A National Moment of Remembrance takes place at 3 p.m., and the U.S. flag is flown at
half-staff from dawn until noon local time.
John Rollefson, pastor of Lutheran Church of the Master in Los Angeles, also suggests
that religious communities honor the dead by committing themselves to offering
assistance and advocacy to living veterans. “Far too many seriously and variously
damaged veterans wander the streets of our cities alienated from their families, their
hometown folks, their religious communities, and their pre-service lives,’’ Rollefson
wrote recently. “Regardless of where we stand, we can be united in advocating for quality
care and support for our veterans.”
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Source: Articles by Sue Anne Pressley Montes for The Washington Post, the U.S.
Department of Defense, John Rollefson for The Lutheran, and Wikipedia
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MEMORIAL DAY:
A Prayer for Those Who Have Lost Loved Ones in Military Service:
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Heavenly Father who sees all of the hurt, comfort the hearts of those who have lost loved
ones in the military. Let us remember those families are still grieving today. Remind
them of Your love for them. Their loss provides for us a safe place to live and worship
You. Keep those families close to Your heart today. Comfort them, be with them and let
them know we do not forget their loved one’s sacrifice. We pray with a grateful heart.
Amen!
Wednesday, May 22 –
