Reflection in words & music – Remembrance Sunday 9th November 2025

Join The Revd Canon Dr Alison Joyce, Rector of St Bride's, and St Bride's Choir for this week's reflection in words and music. This week we mark Remembrance Sunday when we as we gather, along with others across the nations, to pay tribute to those who lost their lives fighting for peace. In church, St Bride's Choir & Orchestra will perform Duruflé's Requiem as a mass for the fallen and this reflection opens with the first movement of that piece. Our reading is the famous passage from St John's Gospel proclaiming the commandment to "love one another as I have loved you" and its particularly poignant assertion at this time that "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Alison then reflects on these themes of love, sacrifice and remembrance — from Christ’s command to love one another to wartime memory and hope. We close with the patriotic hymn "I vow to thee my country" published in 1921 after the Great War finally ended. The tune, by Holst, is an adaptation from his Planets Suite and sets a two stanza poem by Cecil Spring Rice, who served as British Ambassador to the United States during the war. Information about our weekly Sunday services in St Bride's of Choral Eucharist at 11am (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-eucharist/) and Choral Evensong at 5:30pm (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-evensong/) can be found on the website. Find out what's happening at St Bride's at https://www.stbrides.com/whats-on If you enjoy listening, please leave a comment below or subscribe to our channel. It is great to get your feedback. SUPPORT ST BRIDE'S ================== We are hugely grateful for people's generosity which we wholly rely on to continue our work, maintain our wonderful architectural heritage and support world-class music-making. People are often surprised to learn that St Bride's receives no external funding. If you would like to make a donation, you can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/stbrideschurchfleetstreet