The annual Remembrance service is always uncomfortable for pacifists in particular and non-conformists in general. Methodists don’t have an “official” liturgy for the occasion beyond a special collect, but we normally observe the national two minutes’ silence and may alter the order of service and even the start time to allow this to happen at 11 o’clock precisely. We sometimes invite uniformed organisations to parade with their flags, and organists will have brushed up Elgar’s Nimrod and Walford Davies’ Solemn Melody. Dress code: red poppies.
The wearing of red poppies is clearly costume de rigueur on BBC television, and many Methodists in our pews will expect people to wear them in church this Sunday, especially preachers, choristers and others in visible leadership positions. They will probably associate poppies with the (supposed) Christian virtues of patriotism, respect for authority, and support for military force as a legitimate means of defence for Western nations. And they may associate the non-wearing of red poppies as unpatriotic, disrespectful, and ungrateful for our Armed Forces – as if the freedom fought for by the fallen soldiers does not include the freedom not to wear red poppies.
But poppies are primarily for remembrance: remembering the sacrifices of soldiers (not just those fighting for “our” side), remembering the tragedy and waste of warfare, and perhaps remembering that the inexorable outcome of the recruitment, training, deployment of young men and (now) women in the military is the killing of other young men and (now) women. British Legion’s red poppies have, however, acquired a veneer of nationalism and militarism that can easily overshadow a proper focus on the personal sacrifice of individual soldiers.
Poppies don’t feature in the King James Bible, but “Thou shalt not kill” does. I will be playing Nimrod on Sunday morning, but I shall be wearing a white poppy, promoted by the Peace Pledge Union.
