Memorial Day 2025

“One a year say a prayer for me

Close your eyes and remember me” – Joseph K MacKenzie

This is a day specifically set aside for honoring those Americans who died in service of their country while on active duty in our military.  This is a day designed to bring all Americans together in gratitude for those who laid down their lives to preserve our liberties.  A simple act – “close your eyes and remember me” requires but a few seconds out of our holiday schedule to give thanks for their sacrifice.

In Flanders Fields BY JOHN MCCRAE

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

This is a poignant poem often recited on Memorial Day to honor fallen soldiers. It describes the vivid image of poppies blooming among the graves in Flanders, a region in Belgium heavily affected by World War I. The poem speaks of the dead, urging the living to carry on their fight and hold the torch high.

God bless you & let us remember and honor those who sacrificed for our freedoms, Pastor Larry