Column: The Very Rev John Dobson's monthly reflection - Remembrance prompts us to do our bit for peace

These were children of service families, people who know more than most the price paid by some for the defence of this nation and its contribution to world security.

These young people marked the beginning of our season of remembrance, taking lessons from the past and praying for peace in the future.

The services in the cathedral and other churches last weekend reminded us that there is no need for despair, even in a world that seems incapable of living at peace.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ gives hope, speaking of love conquering hatred, of life overcoming death, of God’s faithfulness to us banishing all those forces that would diminish our lives.

As we approached the anniversary of the armistice and Remembrance Sunday, Ripon was once again decorated generously and proudly with thousands of knitted poppies and wooden silhouettes of soldiers crafted by the Jennyruth workshops.

This is thanks to the Ripon Community Poppy Project. It is this same organisation, in partnership with the cathedral and others, which organised Thursday evening’s ‘A concert of Remembrance’.

And like many churches in the towns and villages across the region, we in the cathedral observed the brief time of remembrance on 11th and hosted a Remembrance Sunday Service on Sunday 13th.

When I was a choir boy, I always found this service very powerful and couldn’t quite understand those who dismissed it as an unhelpful harking back to the bad old days.

Even as a child, it seemed to me that spending time remembering was a valuable way of learning from the experiences of previous generations.

When I was first ordained in the late 1980’s, I found myself defending the annual observance in my Remembrance Sunday sermons. As the years went by the need for such defence disappeared.

A whole series of painful conflicts grew in number, conflicts in which our military personnel were being scarred, physically and mentally.

Lamentably, too many paid the ultimate price and made the supreme sacrifice. The number of people attending services and standing at war memorials therefore grew significantly. This year, our observance becomes even more poignant.

Once again, war casts its lamentable shadow over Europe. Why has the world not learned the lessons of the past?

We might be tempted to ask this, noticing how war in Ukraine impacts on us directly; displaced families needing our hospitality; appalling rises in fuel prices hurting our pockets.

Remembrance becomes more personal - the need to learn more obvious.

Our Remembrance services included an act of commitment.

We pledged ourselves to serving God by doing all we can to serve the cause of peace, and the relief of want and suffering.

Let us keep this to heart as we begin to look forward to Advent and Christmas, seasons which also give us great hope for the future.