The Roll of Gratitude
November 11, 2007
As part of our celebrations of the 150th Anniversary of Glenburnie United Church, we wanted a way to honour those from our congregational family who have served in the Armed Forces of Canada and/or our Allies, in war-time and in peace-time. Thus, we invited members of the congregation, through our congregational newsletters and by other means, to submit information about those who have served, either themselves, or in the case of deceased members, their families or loved ones.
The Roll of Gratitude is a work in progress. There are members of our church community who have served, or are still serving, who have yet to provide information. There may be people who missed the invitations given, and presumably there will be others from our midst who may serve in the future. Our gratitude is as deep to those whose names do not yet appear on The Roll as to those whose information is printed on it. We encourage everyone to provide information to add to The Roll as they see fit.
In publishing The Roll of Gratitude we acknowledge with grateful hearts those who served in uniform and all who served (and serve) in other ways. These people include:
- Those who are life-partners of service personnel
- Those who as children said farewell to a parent or sibling as they went away, first for training and then for deployment abroad
- Those who as parents have experienced the intense anxiety of their children volunteering to be sent into harm's way
- Those who served, and who serve, in training roles in Canada
- Those who in wartime kept the nation fed and clothed, and those who laboured in manufacturing and service industries
- All who, in wartime and in peacetime, continued to raise up and educate children, who served in the church and who at all times strived to keep this a community worthy to welcome returning heroes
Thus, in words inspired by King George V, speaking at the end of the First World War:
These are the Names of those who, at the call of their Sovereign and their Country, left all that was dear to them, endured hardness, faced danger, walked the path of duty and self-sacrifice... that others might live in freedom:
The Roll of Gratitude
The Roll of Gratitude hangs
in the Narthex of Glenburnie United Church.