A Litany of Remembrance
God the Father,
have mercy on us.
God the Son,
have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
have mercy on us.
We remember all Australians and New Zealeanders who served
in the army, navy and air force during the first World War.
Make us good stewards of the freedom they won.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
We remember those of other nations who fought beside them,
and those who fought against them for their own countries.
Bring us all to the day when nation no longer makes war against nation.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
We remember the physically wounded and the shell-shocked.
Bring healing and peace for body, mind and spirit
to all who are scarred or disabled by war.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
We remember the nurses, ambulance officers,
orderlies and doctors who eased pain and saved lives.
Renew among us the vocation to heal the victims of violence.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
We remember the prisoners of war
and those who sheltered and sustained them.
Bless the work of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in war zones today.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
We remember the mothers, wives, sisters, children and sweethearts
who prayed and grieved for the missing and the lost.
Comfort all who mourn.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
We remember the homes, livelihoods and communities
destroyed by bombs and gunfire.
Have mercy on all who still live in the shadow of war.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
We remember the conscientious objectors and anti-war campaigners,
reviled or imprisoned for their principles.
Give respect and a hearing for those who ask difficult questions.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
We remember the chaplains who showed the love of Christ
when danger and death were all around.
Give us faith strong enough to share with the fearful and the dying.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
We remember those interned and vilified here
for their birth or ancestry in countries with whom Australia was at war.
Save us from valuing national identity more highly than shared humanity.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
We remember the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander volunteers
who fought for a nation that did not recognise them as citizens.
Lead us towards true reconciliation with Australia’s First Peoples.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
We remember the friendships formed in the turmoil of war
and the loyalty and love that comforted the injured and the dying.
Give us grace to be such friends to one another in times of crisis.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
We remember the peacemakers who prayed and worked
to end the violence and destruction of the First World War.
Raise up peacemakers in all the war zones of the world today.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
We remember the good neighbours, supporters and advocates
for returned service men and women, war widows and fatherless children.
Make us generous in providing for all the survivors of war.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
We remember those who died in battle or from their wounds,
and those who took their own lives in agony or despair.
Bring them, in Christ, to resurrection life.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
We remember those whose names are recorded,
who went from this community to serve or to die in World War One.
As you were with them in all that they suffered,
bring them, with all the redeemed, to eternal life in Christ.
God of peace, hear our prayer.
O God, as we remember the terrible cost of this and every war, renew in us the longing for peace and the will to work for it in the strength of Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
1st Photo used: Australian artillerymen dragging guns into position after the landing at Gallipoli, Turkey on 25 April 1915. Public domain photo by CEW Bean.
2nd Photo used: Members of 13th Battalion, AIF, occupying Quinn's Post on the heights above Anzac Cove. Public domain photo by CEW Bean.
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