I enjoyed reading Ted Harrison’s article “Between the crosses, row on row” (The Tablet, 8 November). I found it informative and challenging, especially last paragraph where he posed the question “How do we honour the sacrifices of those killed in war while abhorring war itself?”
In our parish we have addressed the question but not yet found an answer – but are actively searching for one. I was a little surprised however that the article did not mention white poppies.
Prior to last year’s Remembrance Mass we offered the congregation white poppies, obtained from the Peace Pledge Union, suggesting that they could be worn separately or alongside the red poppy. Our flower arrangers used a mixture of white and red flowers on the Sanctuary. This was supported by our parish priest.
At the commemoration of the start of the 1914-1918 war earlier in the year we took this a step further and whilst repeating the procedure for the Sunday Mass, we involved other churches in the area through the local “Churches Together”. Also at a civic service, our church made a wreath of white poppies which we laid amongst the red poppies at our local cenotaph.
For the current Remembrance Sunday Mass we again provided white poppies to wear, not only for ourselves, but to meet requests from local Methodists, Anglicans and the Quakers. We had white and red poppies on the altar which included a cross of red and white poppies that was placed in our church’s Memorial Garden after Mass.
This is an attempt to answer the question raised by Ted Harrison. It is a start and we hope to pursue this further supported by our parish priest, who in his homilies continues to remind us of the futility of war, and through the activities of our Justice and Peace group.
Bernard Pierce, Mytholmroyd
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