Basic HTML Version
PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, AUGUST 20, 1982
PAGE 9
am studying more and more.
hope to see you again soon.
ON THE WORLD SCENE
I wish to go as a worker next year and
I think you're doing a wonderful job.
R.S. (Eagle Point, OR)
--Richard Rice, Mail Processing Center
IN BRITAIN
I
GOD IS IGNORED IN VICTORY
Traditionally in Britain, after
great wartime victories, majestic services of thanksgiving were given to
God in St. Paul
1
s Cathedral in London. On July 26, another memorial service
was held in St. Paul's, ostensibly to honor those who gave their lives in
the South Atlantic conflict.
The Falkland Islands service, as it was
called, was conducted by Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Robert Runcie. This
service was a rather marked departure from its predecessors. It succeeded
primarily in angering top members of the government, the Royal Family and
the public at large.
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was described as "livid" after the ser
vice. One conservative MP, Mr. Julian Amery said: "I would have thought
the sermon would have been more appropriate in Buenos Aires than here." An
other MP. Mr. Edward Du Cann added:
11
I was sad and disappointed there was
no mention during the service that the Falklands crisis was an example of
Britain standing alone for international law, freedom and democracy.
11
Said
another:
"There was insufficient gratitude shown to Almighty God for the
deliverance of our people through the victory of our arms.
11
DAILY TELEGRAPH writer Godfrey Barker describes the service which turned
the stomach of many in attendance:
Never did thanksgiving sound more sombre and grave, less trium
phant and joyful•.••
11
War is a sign of human failure and every
thing we say and do in this service must be in that context,
11
de
clared the Archbishop of Canterbury in stern keynote text••••
Right at the start•••it was clear that this was not going to be a
Thanksgiving for Victory. What it was, rather, was thanksgiving
that it was all over. The theme announced in the Bidding Prayer
of the Dean•••was that "We thank God for the cessation of hostil
ities, for the courage of those who took part and for the safe
return of many••••
11
It was a service which made emphatically clear the Church's pref
erence for a negotiated settlement. Indeed, it was as approp
riate for defeat as to victory. It had, therefore, almost !!,£
thing in common with the sort of majestic Thanksgiving which
might have honoured British naval victories in another age, or
indeed have pleased Mrs. Thatcher. Martial hymns of the "Sol
diers of Christ Arise" variety were conspicuous by their absence
(not even "O God Our Help in Ages Past" crept in).
As for the illusion, much cherished under Queen Victoria, that
God might be on our side in a just war, that he was, indeed, "Lord
of our far-flung battle line, Beneath whose awful hand we hold
Dominion
over palm and pine"--the Archbishop went out of his way
to disoel it. "Those who dare to interoret God's will must never
�
�- -�-
--
-�- -�- -��