The Month of the Dead

[cambrensis]

November is regarded as "The Month of the Dead" in the Church. The month begins with "All Saints" on the 1st and is followed by "All Souls" on the 2nd. This follows the traditions of Celtic forebears who regarded the month as the first month of Winter and therefore the beginning of the New Year. In Welsh, as i have said elsewhere, the season is called "Gaeaf" (Summer is closed) and October the 31st is "Nos Galan Gaeaf"; this was the equivalent of New Year's Eve in my Great Grandfather's time.

Yesterday was the Day of the Dead and the Bereaved, for those who have died in the Parish during the year, and as usual there was a special Mass said.

Normally, I should not be bothering to mention this. We all suffer bereavement and have our own ways of remembering. However, last night's Mass moved me much more than usual. As I live only about two miles away from where they found the 39 Vietnamese refugees, dead in that container recently,it was much more like the bad old days when we'd hear a list of miners lost underground. The London Vietnamese Community was approached via their Parish Priest and we had several minibus loads of Vietnamese and five of their priests present.

The emotional charge was there from the beginning and most of us wound up with tears running down our cheeks. In all we had six extra priests concelebrating Mass with our Parish Priest. The standard prayers (Lord's Prayer, the Ave and the commital), were said in English and in Vietnamese. The homliy was given by one of the visiting priests, Father Simon. He told us that they had set up a charity to help support the three very young chidren left behind with grandparents and to pay the levy demanded by the Vietnamese government. Unbelievably they wanted a tax of about £2000 per body and £1000 per urn to land them back in Vietnam. This is nothing whatsoever to do with transportation!

As a consequence, at the end a collection was made to kickstart this. Normally this would be done with plates, but it stopped almost immediately, as the plates were not large enough, and large baskets were passed around as the notes were thrown in. The Vietnamese in the congregation were putting in large handfuls of notes, so they were not relying simply on us. I'm sure that in no time at all they will have raised enough in their own community to complete this.

Afterwards there was coffee/tea and biscuits in the Croft below the Church; I spoke with many - a horrifying revelation which I shall not go into.

When I had finished my coffee and stopped shaking I left and drove home. We have so much for which to be thankful - so very much.

May they Rest in Peace.

[HerMajesty]

Thank you for your post, and your kind heart. You are such an interesting person - I always learn something when you post one of your informative offerings. And when you got your little dog, I knew there was a big heart inside.

Thank you for sharing about the service. No doubt the guests felt very welcomed and appreciated knowing that others feel their grief. What a wonderful outpouring of compassion from you and your church. Sometimes just knowing someone else really really cares makes a huge impact.

You are a good man. I listen to too much political news, so it's nice to be reminded the real world and really kind people are around.

[Tropical_Trish]

This has almost moved me to tears - what wonderful sentiments from you both.
Thank-you Cambrensis and Your Maj, it is heartening to read such lovely posts.
Yes Cambs, we do have so very much to be thankful for.
I echo your words, may they Rest in Peace.

[cheaver]

HerMajesty's words say it all for me.

Such a moving post. Thank You for posting Ian.

[sucadot]

Thank you for such a moving post Ian, as you say we do indeed have "so much for which to be thankful - so very much."


I share your sentiments HerMajesty.

[cambrensis]

Thank you all for being so kind to me - but it is not I in need of kindness. Like many others I have moaned about "illegals", forgetting that all immigrants are illegal unless proven otherwise - these people run because they are in fear of the law in their own country. I'll leave you to guess what those laws are.

Speaking with our guests I felt guilty and extremely humble. There was a young woman of about 25 or so with a little girl of about 2 in her arms. She had lost a brother and a sister in that fatality and regarded their deaths as her fault. Her English, by the way, was perfect. She had let them know that there was plenty of work where she was....and nobody would arrest them for their words or their beliefs....fill in the rest yourselves, please, and be proud that they feel safe with us - that they know they are free to hire minibuses and travel where they wish here-and that they may worship any gods with which they feel comfortable without being imprisoned. Thank you UK. I moan about you sometimes - but that's usually when I am being selfish.