St Clare's Parish
Thomastown West
Victoria, Australia
ANZAC DAY SERVICE
ANZAC DAY SERVICE
NEARER MY GOD TO THEE
ANZAC day, above all days, is when we remember those men and women, from Australia and New Zealand,
who fought, suffered or died in the great tragedy of war.
April 25th, 1915, Australian and New Zealand troops landed under fire at Gallipoli, and it was then
and in the violent campaign which followed, that the ANZAC tradition was forged.
The elements of that tradition have inspired and offered an enduring example
to later generations of Australians.
Each year we pay homage, not only to those original ANZACs,
but to all who died or were disabled in their service to our country.
They enrich our nation’s history.
Their hope was for the freedom of all and we remember with pride their courage,
their compassion and their comradeship.
They served on land and sea, and in the air, in many places throughout the world.
Not only do we honor the memory of those who have fallen in battle;
we share the sorrow of those who have mourned them and of all who have been the victims of armed conflict.
On ANZAC Day we remember with sympathy those Australians
who suffered as prisoners of war, and those who, because of war,
had their lives shortened or handicapped.
We recall staunch friends and allies, especially those of the first ANZAC day.
May we and our successors prove worthy of their sacrifice.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
ADVANCE AUSTRALIA FAIR
PRAYER
God of love and liberty, we bring our thanks this day for the peace and security we enjoy,
which was won for us through the courage and devotion of those who gave their lives in time of war.
We pray that their labor and sacrifice may not be in vain,
but that their spirit may live on in us and in generations to come.
That the liberty, truth and justice which they sought to preserve may be seen
and known in all the nations upon the earth.
This we pray in the name of the one who gave his life for the sake of the world, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE
REFLECTION … THE ODE
THEY SHALL GROW NOT OLD, AS WE THAT ARE LEFT GROW OLD;
AGE SHALL NOT WEARY THEM, NOR THE YEARS CONDEMN.
AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING -
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.
LEST WE FORGET.
LAST POST … ROUSE
I AM YOU ARE WE ARE AUSTRALIAN
A TRIBUTE TO ANZAC DAY
With their hair a little whiter,
their step not quite so sure
Still they march on proudly
as they did the year before.
Theirs was the hands that saved us,
their courage showed the way.
Their lives they laid down for us,
that we may live today.
From Gallipoli’s rugged hillside,
to the sands of Alamein
On rolling seas and in the skies,
those memories will remain.
Of airmen and the sailors,
of Lone Pine and Suvla Bay
The boys of the Dardenelles
are remembered on this day.
They fought their way through jungles,
their blood soaked desert sands
They still remember comrades
who rest in foreign lands.
They remember the siege of old Tobruk,
the mud of the Kokoda Trail
Some paying the supreme sacrifice
with courage that did not fail.
To the icy land of Korea,
the steamy jungles of Vietnam
And the heroic battle of Kapyong
and that epic victory at Long Tan.
Fathers, sons and brothers,
together they fought and died
That we may live in peace together,
while at home their mothers cried.
When that final bugle calls them
to cross the great divide.
Those comrades will be waiting
when they reach the other side.
Ken Bunker.
JUST A COMMON SOLDIER
(A Soldier Died Today)
by A. Lawrence Vaincourt
He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.
And tho' sometimes, to his neighbours, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.
He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won't note his passing, though a soldier died today.
When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?
A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.
It's so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,
That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?
He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.
If we cannot do him honour while he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,
Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.