Living Reconciliation – 75 years after the bombing of Dresden

Frauenkirche, Dresden © Ricky Yates

On Sunday 16th February 2020, I was once again preaching in the Frauenkirche, Dresden, at the monthly English-language Anglican service of Evening Prayer. The theme of the service and of my sermon, was the title of this blog post.

As I reminded the congregation at the beginning of my sermon, the previous week had seen the 75th anniversary of the bombing raid by British and US forces, on Dresden. Those bombing raids, on the nights of 13th and 14th February 1945, resulted in the destruction of the historic centre of the city and the deaths of about 25,000 people. As I further reminded the congregation, 75 years ago the previous day, the predecessor of the dome under which they were now sitting, collapsed!

. . . → Read More: Living Reconciliation – 75 years after the bombing of Dresden

All those things in the second half of 2015 that got missed

Before 2015 comes to an end, I want to try and write, at least briefly, about all those things that happened in the second half of this year, but which never got the blog post they deserved – a combination of my own ill health and the excessive heat we experienced during the summer months. It will take two posts, so here is the first. And the second has now been written and published.

July

Newly renovated statue of Jan Hus in Staromestské námestí/Old Town Square, Prague © Ricky Yates

Monday 6th July marked the 600th anniversary of Jan Hus, the early Czech Church reformer, being burnt at the stake in Konstanz on 6th July 1415. As I have previously explained, during the past two hundred years, Czech people have tended to celebrate Hus as a . . . → Read More: All those things in the second half of 2015 that got missed

English-language Anglican worship in the Frauenkirche, Dresden

Frauenkirche, Dresden © Ricky Yates

The Frauenkirche in Dresden is an 18th century Protestant Church featuring a 96m high dome resting on eight slender pillars. It was severely damaged during allied bombing raids on the city on 13th February 1945 and collapsed two days later. Because, following the end of World War Two, Dresden was situated in the Soviet zone of occupation which became the satellite communist state of East Germany, no efforts were made by the authorities to rebuild the Church. Instead, in 1966, the ruins were declared a ‘memorial against war’.

Following the collapse of communism and the reunification of Germany, quite appropriately 25 years ago today 🙂 , a society was formed to promote the rebuilding of the Frauenkirche and to raise funds to finance the project. Reconstruction commenced at the beginning of 1993 and was completed in 2005. The . . . → Read More: English-language Anglican worship in the Frauenkirche, Dresden

Lea Williams – an Anglican ordinand in Prague

Lea with me in the chancel of St Clement’s Church © Sybille Yates

From the morning of Sunday 5th July, through to the morning of Monday 13th July, Sybille and I had the pleasure of having Lea Williams staying with us at the Chaplaincy Flat, as part of his ‘Long Summer Placement’. Lea is training for ordained ministry in the Church of England at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, just outside Oxford. As part of his training, he is required to spend at least four weeks, gaining experience in a parish setting, in advance of his final year of theological study.

Because prior to commencing studying at Cuddesdon, Lea had worked for three years in a parish setting as a full-time Children’s Worker, it was thought that he ought to experience a contrasting setting for his ‘Long Summer Placement’. Therefore, the recently appointed new . . . → Read More: Lea Williams – an Anglican ordinand in Prague

A visit to Coventry Cathedral

The foundation stone of Coventry Cathedral © Ricky Yates

My apologies for not publishing anything new here for just over three weeks. There are two main reasons for this.

The first is that I’ve been continuing my promised ‘Summer clean’, now ‘Autumn clean’, of the Chaplaincy Flat – see my answer to question three in this earlier post. The latest place to receive my attention has been the kitchen. Every cupboard has been emptied, shelves and door-fronts cleaned, crockery and glassware which hasn’t been used for a long time, has been put through the dishwasher, and numerous foodstuffs well past their ‘use-by dates’, have been quietly disposed of. And then there was the cooker hood, the oven……

The second reason is that I spent the week from Tuesday 28th October – Monday 3rd November, in the UK, visiting . . . → Read More: A visit to Coventry Cathedral