Veterans Day Thursday Nov 11, 2021

Veterans Day in the US, Remembrance Day or Armistice Day elsewhere, is remembered on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month – since 1918, when “the war to end all wars” came to an end.

Veterans are just ordinary people who served this country with honor. They are ordinary people who may have unglamorous assignments but still they served; whose lives are sometimes disrupted and still they served; whose health may be compromised and still they served. Just ordinary people doing their duty so that this Nation can thrive and stand by its declaration of “liberty and justice for all.”

Across the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, congregations are engaging in ministry with veterans and service persons. At the time of this writing, 7 congregations from Bonita to Del Mar are praying for our deployed service members, networking with Chaplains, providing meals and facilities for workshops on marriage, and caring for their families and veterans.

As worship leaders in this Diocese, we want to remember those ordinary people living among us today who served and are still serving.  The Sunday before Nov 11 or the Sunday after is an opportunity to remember those who are current members of the armed forces and veterans who worship in our churches and live in our communities.  You will also find below a link to the ECF Vital Practices website with a wealth of more information you can utilize in your liturgical planning.

We ask you to look over the prayers and liturgical resources we have linked and prepared for you so that you may honor all these ordinary people who serve and have served their country in the armed forces. You will find a variety of prayers that can be incorporated into parish liturgies as well as collects that can be used in the “Prayers of the People.”

We ask you also to pray for healing for the young men and women who have been wounded, in body and soul, in conflicts around the globe.  And finally, we ask you to pray for peace to honor all veterans of past wars.

Visit our Episcopal Diocesan website at https://edsd.org/ministry-to-armed-forces/ for more information on how to begin a ministry to the Armed Forces and Veterans in our community. Becoming a Veteran/Military Friendly Congregation (VMFC) is the first step and begins by going to this link and registering your parish. Complete the appropriate VMFC enrollment form at https://vmfc-usa.org/.

For additional resources, consider the excellent resources from Episcopal Café (link: https://www.episcopalcafe.com/how_is_your_church_remembering_veterans_day/) and this 2017 Veteran’s Day Meditation from The Rt. Rev. Carl Walter Wright (Bishop Suffragan for the Armed Forces and Federal Ministries) [link:https://www.episcopalchurch.org/federalministries/veterans-day-meditation/].

To learn more, contact the Rev. Dr. Frank Munoz, fmunoz@edsd.org.