I remember my first Remembrance Sunday at Baddesley Clinton and Lapworth in 2010. At that time many former service people from the second world war were still alive. That made Remembrance very relevant, even if the prospect of any future war seemed remote. Sadly, in 2026, very few people who served in the war are still with us, yet Remembrance seems more relevant than ever as wars are ever more common and seem to be getting ever closer.

I find I pray routinely for peace between Russia and Ukraine, in Isreal, Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, in Sudan and other place in Africa, in Yemen, between America and Iran, in the Middle East and the Straits of Hormuz. But the situation seems to get worse rather than better, and the number of potential flash points is always increasing.

It is easy, and convenient, to blame this situation of world leaders such as Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu. But all of these people were elected, or came to power, because of widespread support in their home counties. I think that social media has been a big factor in developing warlike thinking. It is far too easy for social media to become an echo chamber, constantly reinforcing our own opinions and prejudices without allowing truth or just thinking or different perspectives to spoil the party. Power has become profoundly linked to one-sided thinking and dramatically alienated from dialogue and peace.

When power becomes corrupt, we often feel a desire to raise up a new power, that is not corrupt. We want this new power to overcome the old power and to install new arrangements of justice in peace. But the track record of such initiatives is not good. To become powerful the new order must engage in the ways of power, and all to easily this leads them to become part of the problem, rather than a solution.

Against this background I was delighted to hear about “Micro Actions for Peace”. These are small personal or group actions for peace which are humble and lowly enough to pass completely under the radar of power. A micro action for peace might be listening to a difficult neighbour, giving money to the poor or praying for peace. Of course, their smallness means that their impact is limited, but they look to God for their fulfilment. The approach is heavily commended by the Psalms (Ps 20.7-8, 33.16-18, Ps 118.8-9, 146.2-4). When the mighty powers have done their worst, these micro actions for peace suddenly come to the fore, like nature reclaiming an abandoned industrial site.

We certainly should be doing what we can to push back the threat of war. This means promoting dialogue and listening to the voices which are not heard. But especially when our impact is limited, we need to have the humility and trust to work on micro actions for peace. The true value of these will be seen in the longer term.

With prayers and best wishes, Canon Patrick