大象传媒

Choir:听 O come let us sing to the Lord 鈥� Noel de Jongh

REV CALUM MACLEOD

Scripture Sentences and Call to Worship

The Lord has become King, clothed with majesty; the Lord is robed, girded with might. (Psalm 93: 1)

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6: 21)

Good morning from the High Kirk of Edinburgh.听

As we approach St Andrew鈥檚 Day later this week, let us worship God.

Hymn:听 Jesus calls us! O鈥檈r the tumult (Tune: St Andrew)

CALUM MACLEOD

Welcome and Bidding听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听听

We are in a season of Great War centenary commemorations. Edinburgh has many notable World War One connections and we reflect on two of the most extraordinary of these in our service this morning.

100 years ago today a remarkable Scotswoman died as she made her way back to her home in Edinburgh from the war in Central Europe. Dr Elsie Maud Inglis was the founder of the Scottish Women鈥檚 Hospitals for Foreign Service which provided field hospitals to tend the wounds of injured soldiers during the First World War in Serbia, France and Greece, among other theatres of war.

She was a pioneer of women in medicine and had already made her mark in society before the war through her advocacy for, and provision of, medical care for the poor of Edinburgh. A public figure in promoting the rights of women, Elsie Inglis was prominent in the suffragist movement agitating for women to have the vote.

Wreaths will be laid at her grave in the Dean Cemetery here in the city this afternoon and on Wednesday at 2 p.m., one hundred years to the hour after her funeral in St. Giles, a service of thanksgiving for her life and the work of the Scottish Women鈥檚 Hospitals will take place here in the cathedral.

The second Edinburgh WW1 connection this morning is the friendship of the war poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen which started when they were both patients being treated, apparently for 鈥榮hell shock,鈥� at the Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh. To mark the centenary of the war, violin maker Steve Burnett fashioned two violins from a pruned branch of a sycamore tree which still stands in the grounds of what was the hospital; the violins are named for Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon in the hope that they will be envoys for peace. We now hear Steve with Thoren Ferguson playing the Sassoon and Owen violins. The tune is Brother James鈥� Air.

Brother James鈥� Air:听 Violins 鈥� Steve Burnett and Thoren Ferguson听听听听听听听听 听 听 听 听 听 听

REV HELEN ALEXANDER听 Prayer听 听 听听听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听听

As we pray this morning, we bring before God the tragic suffering and loss of life in Egypt.听

Mighty and tender God, voice of the voiceless, power of the powerless, we pray for your sorrowing people, and we praise you for your vision of a community of wholeness, a realm of peace, in which all who hunger and thirst are nourished, in which the stranger is welcomed, the hurting are healed and the captive set free. Guide us by your truth and love until we and all people make manifest your reign of justice and compassion.

We pray in the name of your anointed one, our servant-king, to whom with you and the Spirit, one Holy God, be honour, glory and blessing this day and for ever. 听Amen

Our Gospel reading by Craig Meek is from the Gospel according to Matthew, Chapter 25.

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CRAIG MEEK听听Reading Matthew 25: 31- 46听 听 听 听 听

31听鈥榃hen the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.听32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,听33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.听34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 鈥淐ome, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;听35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,听36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.鈥澨�37Then the righteous will answer him, 鈥淟ord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?听38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?听39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?鈥澨�40And the king will answer them, 鈥淭ruly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,*听you did it to me.鈥澨�

HELEN
On this Feast of Christ the King, we now sing 鈥楾he King of Love my Shepherd is鈥�.

Hymn:听 The King of Love my Shepherd is听听 (Tune: Dominus Regit Me)

HELEN

When they met at Craiglockhart Hospital, Owen and Sassoon formed a friendship in which the older Sassoon became a mentor to the younger poet. We know that Sassoon suggested amendments to Owen鈥檚 poem Anthem for Doomed Youth, which we hear now read by John Francis now, accompanied by the Owen and Sassoon violins playing the Gaelic tune 鈥楾aladh Chriosta鈥�, 鈥楾he Christ-Child Lullaby鈥�.

Taladh Chriosta (The Christ-Child Lullaby):听

Violins 鈥� Steve Burnett and Thoren Ferguson

JOHN FRANCIS听听 Anthem for Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen.听听

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, -
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing down of blinds.

CALUM MACLEOD听听听 Sermon听听听听听听听听听听听
The recitation of Owen鈥檚 鈥楢nthem for Doomed Youth鈥� with the accompaniment of the Owen and Sassoon violins in this ancient Cathedral brings front and centre the paradox of war. The horror experienced by those at the front听

No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;听
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,鈥斕�
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;听

And yet here at St. Giles鈥�, we are surrounded by memorial plaques bearing the names of the brave ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice in war, exhibiting courage and the best human values in the face of the tragedy of war.

In the Albany aisle at the west end of the cathedral is a memorial to The 16th Royal Scots who served during the Great War. 鈥楨dinburgh鈥檚 Finest鈥�, they called them 鈥� Scotland鈥檚 鈥楽porting Battalion鈥� and the first of the so-called 鈥楩ootballers鈥� battalions. But most folk knew them simply as 鈥楳cCrae鈥檚鈥�. They were named after their charismatic founder, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir George McCrae, who stood on a recruiting platform on a chill November Edinburgh evening in 1914 and invited the young men of the city to join him in serving for the cause. 鈥業 cannot ask you to go鈥�, he told them, 鈥榠f I鈥檓 not prepared to share the danger at your side.鈥�

Within a week Sir George had his men 鈥� 1,350 of them. The first recruits were eleven players from the Edinburgh team Heart of Midlothian.

On 11 November 1928, Remembrance Day, from the fireside of his home in North Berwick, George McCrae wrote a short note to D.M. Sutherland, who had enlisted as a private in McCrae鈥檚 in December 1914 and who won the Military Cross as a captain with the battalion in October 1917. In the note, McCrae reflects on this paradox.

In the flames I see the faces of my boys. So young and full of promise. The sorrow and the pride are overwhelming. Sorrow at the loss and pride in the manner of their dying. They never flinched. Faced by a veritable storm of shot and shell, they marched towards the guns beside their friends. In remembering them, we must acknowledge our debt and find some way to justify our own lives so that when we meet our comrades in that better place we are able to say with a brave heart that we did not let them down.

At the other end of the Cathedral, in the Holy Cross aisle is a beautifully designed plaque in memory of Dr Elsie Inglis. On the top part are three elongated almost art nouveau style angels holding the symbols of faith, hope and love. Below, it reads:

To the beloved and honoured memory of Elsie Maud Inglis - Surgeon - Philanthropist - Founder in 1914 of the Scottish Women鈥檚 Hospitals for Service with the allies in France, Serbia and Russia 鈥� Born 1864 鈥� Died on active service 1917.

For the people of Edinburgh, Elsie Inglis was the name of the maternity hospital in the city where generations of children were delivered 鈥� 鈥楤orn in the Elsie Inglis鈥� was how her name lived on in folk consciousness. As one biographer, Leah Leneman, puts it, 鈥淓lsie Inglis is a woman commemorated for the second most important thing she ever did.鈥澨�

She was indeed a woman who as a doctor in the years before the war had a particular passion for the medical care of poorer women and had established in 1899 a hospital for women with a midwifery department in the city centre.

The first most important thing she did, as it were, was to found the Scottish Women鈥檚 Hospitals for Foreign Service. It is an extraordinary story.

At the beginning of the war, Elsie walked to Edinburgh Castle to offer her services as a surgeon to the British Royal Army Medical Corps stationed there.

The officer responded to her request to serve by saying 鈥淢y good lady, go home and sit still.鈥�

Elsie Inglis, as we have noted, was an agitator for women鈥檚 suffrage 鈥� the right to vote - so perhaps not surprisingly she ignored the patriarchal put-down and went to London where she began to raise money for a women鈥檚 volunteer medical outfit to travel to the places of greatest need in the war.

She said, 鈥楾he need is there and too terrible to allow any haggling about who does the work.鈥� For Elsie, it didn鈥檛 matter if the doctor was a man or a woman if healing had to be delivered to the wounded combatants.

The organization, run and staffed only by women, sent over a thousand women to the World War One battlefront as doctors, nurses, administrators and orderlies, caring, on, and behind, the front lines for soldiers wounded in the conflict.

Elsie Inglis was awarded the Order of the White Eagle by the Serbian government for her work running the hospital on the Serbian front 鈥� the highest honour that country could bestow.

Serbian soldiers carried her coffin and laid it in the grave at the Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh.

The gospel text for this Sunday, the Reign of Christ, or Christ the King, speaks of a world in which the love and care of the neediest neighbour is the mark by which a person鈥檚 faithfulness in response to God鈥檚 grace is assessed.

New Testament scholar, Carla Works writes about this text:

鈥淭o be a messenger of this kingdom is to love and serve others and thereby to profess the invasion of God鈥檚 loving reign.鈥澨�

After Elsie鈥檚 death, her sister wrote that 鈥榟er vision was that of a follower of Christ, the vision of the kingdom of heaven upon earth.鈥�

I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me.

Well done, good and faithful servant. Amen听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听听

Anthem:听听 Give us wings of faith听听听 (Bullock)

HELEN ALEXANDER AND KENNETH BOYD

Kenneth Boyd now joins me in leading our prayers.听

Let us pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, you have willed to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, our Lord and King. Grant that the people of the earth, now divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under the gentle and loving rule of Christ.

KENNETH听听

And in his name we pray for the Church and the world.

Bless our nation Lord; give wisdom and compassion to the Queen and those who govern us. May the life of our nation be an example of welcome, tolerance, and justice for the world. Bless those who serve in the forces; defend them in danger and guide them to serve the cause of peace in your name. Bless our young people 鈥� may they never see the flames of war, or know the depths of cruelty to which humanity can sink.

SUNG
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.

KENNETH听

May peace be known in those places of our world where conflict reigns. Deliver the people of the world from violence whether it is carried out in the name of religion, politics or economic power. Inspire the community of nations to work together for the relief of suffering of the poor and marginalised throughout the earth.

SUNG
Save thy people and bless thine inheritance: feed them also and life them up for ever.

HELEN

Remember, O Lord, your children who live in or on the edge of hardship and poverty, who are ill at home or in hospital, who are mourning the loss of a loved one, who have still to come to any real understanding of your love in their lives.

Be a source of comfort, healing, guidance and strength.

We pray for the healers; doctors, surgeons, nurses, midwives; use their sympathy and skill for the relief of suffering and the restoration of health.

And we remember with thanksgiving your servant Dr Elsie Inglis and the work of the Scottish Women鈥檚 Hospitals for Foreign Service during the Great War. May their example inspire us to acts of healing and service in our time.

SUNG

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever; and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.

All:听 Our Father, which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy Kingdom come.

thy will be done

in earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive our them that trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil,

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory

for ever and ever.听 Amen

Hymn:听 For all the saints听听 (Tune: Sine Nomine)

CALUM MACLEOD

Benediction

Go out into the world and be of good courage. Render no one evil for evil, but hold fast to the good. Honour all of God鈥檚 children; love and serve the Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit, and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you this day and for evermore.听听 Amen.

ORGAN VOLUNTARY 鈥� Peter Backhouse

Widor, Symphony No 2:听 Publisher: Alphonse Leduc

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