Broadcast August 4 2009
If I am honest, I have to admit I am not good with birthdays and anniversaries. Ask anyone in my family and they will tell you. I always remember my own birthday but beyond that I struggle. It’s not something I’m proud of, although I know I am not alone.
Of course, not all anniversaries are causes for celebration.
This week there are a couple of dramatic examples. Today marks the 95th anniversary of Britain declaring war on Germany, and Thursday the 64th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Two very sobering memories indeed.
Anniversaries are necessary for us as human beings whether they are positive or negative. We mark births and deaths, tragedies and achievements. We remember a fateful date and we remind ourselves we need to learn lessons from the past. Or we remember a positive date and we give thanks for a wonderful event or a particular person who is special to us.
Today the Lodging House Mission in Glasgow are holding an Open Day as part of their centenary celebrations. For 100 years they have been providing support to the homeless in Glasgow. If you ask the staff the precise date of the anniversary they can’t tell you.
Its not that, (like me), they are forgetful – it’s just that looking back it’s impossible to identify a date. What they do know is that the year they began was 1909, and they want to celebrate and give thanks for the countless lives that have been helped through this work, as well as look to the future and gather new support – for the homeless are still with us in Glasgow.
As well as acknowledging the more sobering anniversaries and the birthdays of our families and friends, it’s important for us to mark the anniversaries of the projects and charities that work so effectively with those on the margins, and look for ways to continue the work into the future.
They may not hit the newspaper headlines, but they are proof that (despite our faults) we humans are able to work together to make the world a better and more compassionate place.