A Morning of Reflection and Hope at City of Oxford College

This morning, staff and students gathered together at City of Oxford College to mark Remembrance. The atmosphere was one of solemnity, yet beneath that stillness there was a current of hope — a reminder that remembering is not simply about mourning, but about learning, looking forward, and working for peace.

The turnout of young people was both impressive and moving, particularly those studying Public Services qualifications, whose presence gave a powerful sense of continuity between the generations who served and those now preparing to serve their communities in new ways.

As the assembled students and staff stood quietly, the wreaths were laid in honour of those who served and sacrificed. Then we observed two minutes of silence — a powerful pause in time. The Last Post and Reveille rose poignantly on a single bugle, their notes carrying the weight of history yet pointing ahead to a better future.

Gary Headland, Chief Executive of Activate Learning, addressed the gathering with dignity and clarity. He reminded us that there is a difference between solemnity and sadness: solemnity honours the memory of what was given; sadness reflects that such things were necessary and often tragic. But he emphasised the need to look forward with hope — hope that the sacrifice of the past leads us not simply to remembrance, but to renewal.

There were two especially poignant readings. First, the poem In Flanders Fields, with its vivid images of poppies blowing between the crosses, invited us to remember the cost of war, the youth of those who fell, and the continuity of life. Then a reading from the book of Micah: “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Micah 4:3) This text brought us from remembrance of conflict to vision of transformation.

As we laid our wreaths, stood in silence, and listened to the bugle call, we offered prayer for peace — for our community, our country, and our world. We held in our minds the hope of a time when, as Micah foretold, "swords might indeed be beaten into ploughshares."

This morning’s service invited us to carry on the act of remembrance into everyday living: to treat each other with respect, to value the freedoms secured by earlier generations, to stand up for peace where there is conflict, and to look ahead with determined kindness. In honouring the past, we commit to shaping a future where peace and learning walk hand in hand.