Day 94: Remembering those who have laid down their lives for others (1967)

Join with Salvationists of the Wales Division for day 94 of 150 days of prayer.

• 'The Lord will not leave his people alone. He will not forget to help the people that belong to him’ (Psalm 94:14, EasyEnglish Bible). 

1967

Between 25 and 27 August 1967 The Beatles, along with Mick Jagger, Cilla Black and Jane Asher, came to Bangor to attend a seminar by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on transcendental meditation. 

The Beatles were iconic symbols of the swinging sixties, when people questioned long-held traditions and turned their back on the status quo and conventional authority, including the Church. However, human beings are spiritual beings. They might reject traditional forms of religion, but they still possess a spiritual hunger – a hunger that the anything-but-traditional Salvation Army met in the 19th century and was still meeting through the sacrificial giving of followers of Jesus like Winnie Davies, whose death was mentioned in the War Cry of 14 October 1967.

‘Many readers will know of the martyrdom of missionary-nurse Winnie Davies, who met her death at the hands of Congolese rebels on Sunday, May 27th, this year. Formerly a sister at Liverpool Royal Infirmary, she went to the Congo in 1947, established a hospital at Opienge and trained Congolese girls in nursing.

‘Miss Davies was born in the village of Coedpoeth, Wrexham, and the local people felt that “a fitting, visible memorial should be built to remind us of her dedication, sacrifice and courage while proclaiming the gospel of salvation to the people whom she loved so much”… Corps Secretary John H Roberts, the Salvation Army representative on the committee, tells us that anyone desiring to contribute to this memorial fund can send their donation to him.’ 

Prayer

• Thank God for those who have laid down their lives for others.