At Selwyn College, at our annual service on Remembrance Sunday, the names of the college members who died in the two world wars are read out loud in chapel. The recitation takes nearly 10 minutes, even though the college was in its infancy in the first war, and student numbers were very small (only 29 students matriculated in 1914; over half of the men who came up between 1914 and 1917 lost their lives in that war). Every year we invite students of other denominations and faiths to read texts from their traditions so that the service speaks those of all faiths and none. The tone is sombre and prayerful, rather than military or civic.

This introit was composed with that particular mood in mind, using hopeful and inclusive words from the Old Testament which focus on a longing for peace and an end to conflict.