A Call to Observe Memorial Day

Bulletin cover for May 26, 2013

Dear Friends,

In the years following the Civil War, women from the South and the North organized to decorate graves of fallen soldiers in the spring. There’s a story of one Methodist woman, Sue Landon Vaughan of Virginia, who noticed that veteran’s graves were going untended. In April, 1865, she organized the women of her church to decorate fallen soldiers’ graves with flowers.

“Decoration Day” became official in 1868 and for many years was observed on May 30. After World War I, the day became a time to remember and honor soldiers from all wars in which Americans had fought. In 1971, Memorial Day became a national holiday and is celebrated on the last Monday in May.

Tomorrow, in local and national cemeteries, many will gather to honor members of the U.S. military who have died. Some of the memorials will be formal with speeches, prayers and a trumpeter playing “Taps”. Other remembrances will be quiet. Family members and friends will stand by the graves of loved ones and remember.

While we may not give thanks for the forces that drive war, that can lead to the diminishment and death of humanity, this day we give thanks for those who have served in response to the needs of others. We are thankful for those who give years and sometimes their lives for an ideal greater than themselves.

I invite you to visit a cemetery today or tomorrow. If you have no graves of loved ones in the area, find a grave over which a flag flies and offer a prayer of thanks for the one who has served. Pray, also, for the family and friends who remember.

Blessings,

Pastor Sherry