Martinmas
About us
The idea for the Martinmas website came out of my annual wrestling with how I should lead my congregation and community in Remembrance in a way that met the pastoral needs of the people I am called to be with, was faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and was historically truthful.
When I was granted a period of sabbatical leave by Chester Diocese, I thought I could devote that time to reading and reflection, share some of my thinking with a wider audience and maybe get some feedback.
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Who edit’s Martinmas?
Reverend Robin Pye
I am the vicar of St Philip & St James Church in Alderley Edge and St Catherine’s Church in Birtles in Chester Diocese in England.
I have always had an interest in remembrance since I began as a small boy, listening to stories about war and peace told to me by my German grandfather.
I studied History at Cambridge University and I still spend a lot of time trying to understand more about the history of humanity’s search for peace with justice.
Now my interest in peace is even stronger since the birth of my grandchildren
What you will find on this website?
Theology
What does God call us to share with each other on Remembrance Sunday?
How are we to talk about peace and about war in a way which is faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
History
What is it that we are remembering?
When we decide what it important to remember, have we made the right choices?
And are we remembering honestly? Are we also remembering the pain of others?
Pastoral Reflection
What do people need to hear on Remembrance Sunday?
Especially people who have experienced conflict as participants and victims.
What can we say that will bring healing and nourishment?
Remembrance in my Community
Like most ordained ministers in the Church of England, I am called to lead my community in acts of remembrance which are shaped by a national tradition of remembrance.
This is a tradition based on the experience of extreme trauma of the First World War viewed through the prism of the struggle against fascism in Europe and the defence of Empire in the Second World War with a pastoral focus on the needs of members and former members of the British armed forces including those with direct experience of recent conflicts.
I am called to lead my community in this context, knowing that what we choose to remember shapes our identity.