Frauenkirche

Commemorative Ceremony in Kralupy nad Vltavou

The candle with ‘Peace be with you’ in German & Czech © Ricky Yates

Kralupy nad Vltavou is a city with a population of around 20,000, situated on the Vltava river, sixteen kilometres north of Prague. On 22^nd March 1945, it was subject to a devastating bombing attack by USAF planes. The two reasons given for the attack were the presence of an important oil refinery and the city being a key railway hub. The aim was to disrupt the ongoing Nazi war effort.

The first wave of bombers successfully hit the refinery, setting an oil storage tank on fire, from which erupted a very large cloud of thick black smoke. This left the follow-up wave of bombers with very poor visibility to see their targets. As a result, further bombs were dropped fairly randomly, hitting residential areas of the city.

Of the 1,884 buildings in the city at that time, 117 were completely destroyed and another 993 were seriously damaged. 248 people lost their lives in the immediate aftermath of the bombing of whom 145 were Czechs. The remaining victims were mainly German soldiers. The devastation was so great that Kralupy earned the nickname of ‘Little Dresden’. The allied bombing of Dresden, with the massive destruction of its central area including the Frauenkirche, and the death of around 25,000 people, had taken place only five weeks earlier on 13^th – 14^th February 1945.

In January this year, the director of the city museum in Kralupy, wrote to the director of the city museum in Dresden, with what he admitted was a somewhat unusual request. He was planning a commemorative ceremony on 22^nd March to mark the 80^th anniversary of the bombing of Kralupy. He wrote that since a large number of German citizens also lost their lives in those bombings, he planned that a large candle—an Easter candle—be lit for all the victims during the ceremony. He wanted the candle to be donated by a German city that had suffered a similar fate, hence his request to the city of Dresden. This would be an act of reconciliation and shared remembrance.

The director of the Dresden city museum sought the help of the Frauenkirche who arranged for the production of the requested candle. Then, just over a week before the commemorative ceremony, I got an email from Maria Noth, the Geschäftsführerin / CEO of the Stiftung, the charitable foundation that runs the Frauenkirche, asking whether I would be willing to travel to Kralupy, representing the Frauenkirche, and present the candle on their behalf. Her reasoning for doing so was because of my strong ties to the Frauenkirche, (her words, not mine), because I live in the Czech Republic, and because of originally coming from Coventry & its experience of aerial bombing.

Fortunately, I was at the Frauenkirche on Sunday 16^th March, conducting my regular monthly English-language Anglican service of Evening Prayer. I was therefore able to pick up the heavily packaged candle from the vestry that evening, together with my black cassock which normally lives there, and carry them both to my car following the service, ready for onward transportation to Kralupy, on Saturday 22^nd March.

At the request of the Kralupy museum director, Maria Noth sent the following message to accompany the candle, which I reproduce here in full. A Czech translation of it was printed in the programme for the Commemorative Ceremony.

‘Kralupy nad Vltavou was severely damaged on March 22, 1945 – just over a month after the City of Dresden, Germany, and the Frauenkirche, located in the heart of our city, were also devastated by Allied bombers. By commemorating the destruction of Kralupy and acknowledging the shared experiences of pain and loss in both our cities, the peace candle the Frauenkirche Dresden Foundation is dedicating to Kralupy today symbolizes the power of reconciliation and healing across nations and generations. At the same time, we remember the victims of World War II on all sides, as well as those who continue to suffer from wars in Europe and around the world today.

Furthermore, we in Dresden and Germany humbly remind ourselves that the war that led to the destruction of both Kralupy and Dresden was initiated by Germany and a dictatorial regime. The Frauenkirche in Dresden was painstakingly rebuilt between 1994 and 2005, and today it stands as a strong symbol of reconciliation, a beacon of hope, and a place where we advocate for an open and democratic society. The candle serves to unite our two cities in friendship and their shared quest for peace. It will be handed over by Reverend Ricky Yates, an Anglican priest with strong ties to the Frauenkirche in Dresden, who originally comes from Coventry – the first English city to be heavily damaged by German bombs in 1940. His presence at the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Kralupy’s destruction delivers a message of unity, humility, and collective hope for a peaceful future.’

Kostel Nanebevzetí Panny Marie a sv. Václava, Kralupy nad Vltavou © Ricky Yates

The Commemorative Ceremony took place in the Roman Catholic Kostel Nanebevzetí Panny Marie a sv. Václava, amazingly one of the few historic buildings not destroyed in the bombing. The ceremony began with the sounding of a siren followed by the playing and singing of ‘Kde domov muj?’, the Czech National Anthem, which I managed to sing completely 🙂 Then I was invited to light the candle, assisted by Hana Matoušková, a ninety years old survivor of the bombing.

Lighting the candle with Hana Matoušková © Anicka Guthrie

With Hana Matoušková following the ceremony © Ricky Yates

The ceremony continued with a speech from the mayor, the singing of the song ‘To Místo’, which had been especially composed for the occasion, and prayers led by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Plsen. There was a poetry reading and an interview with the artist Martin Frind, who had produced a painting entitled Rekviem/Requiem, containing all of the victims names.

For me, one of the most moving parts of the ceremony was the reading by two local teenage girls, of all the names of the victims. Several times, the same name was repeated twice and occasionally three times. Many Czech men have the same name as their father and Czech ladies, the same name as their mother. A reminder that whole families were eliminated – two, or even three generations. The reading of the names was then followed by a one minute silence.

Memorial on the outside south wall of the Church © Ricky Yates

Floral tributes & candles laid under the memorial © Ricky Yates

We were then invited to go outside and lay flowers or lighted candles below the memorial on the south wall of the Church. Here, I was spoken to by numerous people either in Czech, German or English. Each one expressed their grateful thanks that I had come and participated in the ceremony and the expression of peace and reconciliation conveyed by the candle. Throughout the day, if I did have any Czech language difficulties, I was accompanied by the friendly and helpful fluent English-speaking Hana Bozdechová, the wife of the Deputy Mayor.

In conclusion, I have to say that I felt very honoured to be asked to take part in this Commemorative Ceremony, representing the Dresden Frauenkirche. On my emails, I sign myself as ‘Coordinator of English-language Anglican worship in Dresden’, because that is what I do. But it isn’t an official position at the Frauenkirche or within the EKD. Likewise in the Church of England, I function purely by holding ‘Bishop’s Permission to Officiate’ (PTO). My Archdeacon kindly says that he regards me as the Chaplain of Dresden, but I’m not, as Dresden isn’t a Chaplaincy.

However, my involvement with the life and ministry of the Frauenkirche during these past nine and a bit years, albeit in an unofficial capacity, has been extremely meaningful to me. Taking part in last Saturday’s ceremony was one additional moving experience.

Hanging decoration inside the Church © Ricky Yates

How I became a hymn book smuggler into the EU

Smuggled hymn books in the boot of my car © Ricky Yates

As I posted here a year ago, since May 2023, I have been officiating at a monthly English-language Anglican service of Evening Prayer held on a Thursday evening in the Unterkirche of the Dresden Frauenkirche. This is in addition to the monthly Sunday evening service in the Hauptraum for which I’ve had responsibility since January 2015.

For my monthly Sunday evening service, the Pfarrbüro produce a twelve-page complete Order of Service based on the text I send them at least a week earlier. Hymns are taken from ‘Hymns Ancient & Modern New Standard’, published in 1983, with the melody line of the tune, as well as all the words, reproduced. As I understand it, the Pfarrbüro was given a copy of this hymn book by the late Rev’d Dr Irene Ahrens when the monthly Sunday evening service began in June 2006. I presume that this was the hymn book used by St George’s, Berlin where she was the Assistant Priest.

For the German-language services held on the other three or four Thursdays each month, only a simple four-page folded A4 sheet with limited text, is produced, with hymns being sung from the Evangelisches Gesangbuch, copies of which are kept on a mobile bookcase in the Unterkirche. I was asked whether I could obtain some English-language hymn books so the same procedure could be adopted for my services.

The Church of England’s Diocese in Europe, has a Dresden Fund, which I can tap into for anything that is ‘ministry in Dresden’. So the cost of purchasing hymn books could be covered. But I had two decisions to make. Which hymn book to choose and how to get copies from the UK to Dresden without incurring huge costs.

Two revised and updated editions of Hymns Ancient & Modern (A&M) have been published since ‘New Standard’ was produced forty-one years ago. ‘Common Praise’ was published in 2000 to coincide with adoption by the Church of England of Common Worship, the liturgy in contemporary English. Then in 2013, reverting to the original title, ‘Ancient & Modern – Hymns & Songs for Refreshing Worship’, was published.

I have a music edition of ‘Common Praise’ but have only once briefly seen the A&M 2013 edition when attending a service at Wimborne Minster in April last year where it was in use. So I sent an email to Norwich Books & Music, the umbrella organisation for A&M, asking if they could send me a complete list of all the hymns contained in the 2013 edition. A prompt reply promised to send me a free sampler booklet, produced back in 2013, which included an alphabetical list of all the hymns.

Before Brexit, that sampler booklet would have dropped into my mail box, five to seven days later. But instead, what did drop into my mail box was a registered letter saying that my free booklet was held by Czech Customs in Prague. If I wanted to have it delivered, I needed to pay CZK 334/GBP 11.25/EUR 13.30 in customs duty and to gain customs clearance. Yet another example of the wonderful benefits of Brexit!

Having reluctantly paid up and then studied the sampler booklet, I decided this was the hymn book I wanted to purchase. But my mind boggled as to what customs duties might be levied on twenty-five copies of the melody edition and three full music editions. And of course, there would be legitimate carriage costs too. Therefore I decided that I would become a hymn book smuggler into the EU 😉

I have to say that Norwich Books & Music were extremely helpful and cooperative. They agreed to treat my services at the Frauenkirche as though they were a congregation in the UK, providing five of the melody editions free – I only had to pay for twenty copies. They also happily agreed to deliver them to my son’s home address in Nottingham. And because of the value of the order, delivery within the UK was carriage free.

In July this year, I drove to the UK to visit my children and grandchildren and to spend a most enjoyable week, exploring sites of religious and historic interest in the Northeast of England with a small group, led by my good friend Ken Dimmick. Whilst staying with my son Phillip, I loaded the two boxes of hymn books into the boot of my car.

I returned to continental Europe by overnight ferry from North Shields to IJmuiden in the Netherlands. At Dutch customs, all the officer wanted to know was whether I was importing large quantities of alcohol. I assured him I wasn’t and, after that, I was free to travel onwards with my hymn book booty 😉 It was a pleasure to sing from these hymn books for the first time at my service on Thursday 1^st August.

I’ve written this post to illustrate once again, the absurdity of Brexit and the lengths one now has to go to, in order to mitigate the innumerable problems it has created. Why is it beneficial to the UK for me to be forced to pay CZK 334/GBP 11.25/EUR 13.30 in order to receive a free booklet? Can Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage, the Daily Fail, the Daily Excrement, the Daily Torygraph et al, please explain.

My ongoing ministry at the Frauenkirche, Dresden

Walking towards the Frauenkirche © Ricky Yates

I’m very conscious of two things. That I haven’t posted here for two months and that most of my more recent posts have either been about my disputes with UK banks or about the renovation of my house. So here is a new post about my ongoing ministry at the Frauenkirche in Dresden, a topic I haven’t written about since February 2020, except for briefly mentioning it in my post about last winter.

The day after our December 2022 service of ‘Nine Lessons & Carols for Christmas’, my Archdeacon Leslie Nathaniel and I had a most useful meeting with the two Frauenkirche clergy – Pfarrer Markus Engelhardt and Pfarrerin Angelika Behnke. Archdeacon Leslie asked about the possibility of having a second English-language Anglican service each month, on a weekday, with it being held in the Unterkirche, beneath the main Hauptraum of the Frauenkirche. They promised to consider this idea and get back to me in due course.

There is a regular Ecumenical Evening Prayer service held at 18.00 each Thursday in the Unterkirche. Early in 2023, one of the groups who have normally led a service each month, withdrew, because of lack of personnel. Asking me to take over their timeslot both solved a problem for the Frauenkirche authorities and gave a positive answer to our request. Therefore, on Thursday 25^th May, I held my first Thursday English-language Anglican Evening Prayer service in the Unterkirche.

The Unterkirche was the first part of the Frauenkirche to be rebuilt and was completed and consecrated in 1996. It was used for regular Sunday worship whilst rebuilding continued above it. Now, when the main Hauptraum is open for visitors, the Unterkirche is kept as a place to sit quietly and/or pray. It is a wonderful venue in which to conduct worship with a relatively small congregation.

To gain access you have to walk down a flight of stone steps. Unfortunately, in advance of my first service, I managed to trip on my cassock whilst descending the last few steps and ended up in a heap on the floor. There were no broken bones but plenty of swelling and bruising. It took over two months before my right leg finally returned to its normal shape and size. I now walk down those steps very carefully, lifting my cassock as a go!

Page 22 & 23 of ‘Leben in der Frauenkirche September-December 2023

A full colour magazine entitled, ‘Leben in der Frauenkirche‘ is published three times a year. The current September-December 2023 edition features a two page bilingual article, written by me, about English-language Anglican worship at the Frauenkirche which I reproduce here. I’m hoping it will help make the new Thursday evening services more widely known as well as giving some background and history to the regular monthly Sunday evening services.

One thing this double-page spread confirms, is something I already knew from my career in publishing, before I was ordained. German needs up to 20% more space than English 🙂 On page 25, the German column starts higher up the page than the English column and my last paragraph has not been translated in full, in order to make things fit 😉

HM Queen Elizabeth II – Ambassador for reconciliation in Europe

Since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, much has been written about her life and legacy. Living in Central Europe and with my ongoing ministry at the Frauenkirche in Dresden, two articles have particularly resonated with me. The first, written by the Anglo-German historian Katja Hoyer and published in ‘The Spectator’, has the subtitle, ‘She (QE2) understood the importance of reconciliation’. The second, written by +Robert, my Diocesan Bishop, has the title that I’ve stolen for this post 😉

Both articles mention that the Queen paid an eleven day visit to the former West Germany in 1965, twenty years after the end of the Second World War. Katja Hoyer goes on to say that the Queen ‘did not shy away from making difficult trips to places that had seen large-scale devastation through RAF bombing campaigns.’ She cites the visit to Düsseldorf where 90 per cent of buildings had either been damaged or completely destroyed and 5000 civilians killed.

Hoyer rightly says that the visit was not an easy one to sell back in the UK. Many British cities had experienced bombing by the Nazi Luftwaffe causing serious damage and loss of life, including my own home city of Coventry. But the Queen was determined to move forward and help establish good relationships with the German people, who in turn, warmly welcomed her on that first visit.

Hoyer then recalls a visit in 1992 to Dresden, less than three years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Inner German border. Her Majesty visited the ruins of the Frauenkirche, destroyed by allied bombing raids in February 1945. I can do no better than to quote from her article.

‘Ignoring a number of people jeering and whistling, the Queen stoically took in the site and concentrated on the quiet majority of Dresdeners who had come to thank her for attending a reconciliation service nearby. The following year, the Dresden Trust was set up in Britain, collecting donations of over £1 million, including contributions from Her Majesty herself, to rebuild the famous church. Dresden and its partner city Coventry have been powerful symbols of post-war reconciliation – a process that the Queen and her family have lent their invaluable support.’

The Queen’s support for the work of reconciliation between two nations, previously at war with each other, stands in stark contrast to the words and actions of many right wing British politicians and much of the UK tabloid press. They portray modern-day Germany as the enemy that still needs to be fought against. Margaret Thatcher, for quite some time after the fall of Communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe, was strongly opposed to the reunification of Germany that finally took place thirty-two years ago yesterday. She expressed the fear that a united Germany would be too powerful.

Part of the Brexit campaign was based on the premise that the EU was run by Germany and that the UK should ‘take back control’. In particular, the then German Chancellor Angela Merkel, was portrayed as someone to be disliked, even hated.

The tabloid press forever harks back the Second World War, which of course, the Brits won single-handedly. It is as though the UK is still fighting, seventy-seven years after the Second World War ended. As I wrote and preached back in February 2020, ‘the EU was founded in part, to prevent a repetition of the two World Wars which had laid waste the continent of Europe in the first half of the twentieth century, something which the city of Dresden and my own city of birth, Coventry, know about all too well. Seventy-five years of peace have ensued!’

So I am thankful for Her Majesty being an ‘Ambassador for reconciliation in Europe’, especially in Germany, where it is still my privilege to minister once a month in the Dresden Frauenkirche. As Bishop Robert writes, when opening a meeting of General Synod in 2015, the Queen quoted St Paul writing in his second letter to the Corinthians – ‘As ambassadors for Christ [we] are entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation’.

Living Reconciliation – 75 years after the bombing of Dresden

On Sunday 16^th 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 75^th anniversary of the bombing raid by British and US forces, on Dresden. Those bombing raids, on the nights of 13^th and 14^th 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!

What follows in this blog post, is the bulk of the text of my sermon. Several people who could not be present at the service, have asked me for the text of what I preached. And whilst I normally preach from handwritten notes, rather than a typed out text, I believe what follows is a fairly accurate account of what I said.

I have been responsible for the monthly English-language Anglican service of Evening Prayer at the rebuilt Frauenkirche, since the beginning of 2016. I’m into my fifth year. I regard coordinating English-language Anglican worship at the Frauenkirche as a great privilege – it is an amazing place in which to lead worship and preach. But it is particularly meaningful to me because of my background.

For I come from a city in England which also suffered from a serious bombing raid during World War Two, which resulted in a major loss of life and the destruction of its Cathedral – the city of Coventry. It is where I was born, lived and was educated up to the age of eighteen. I am proud to call myself a Coventrian.

And out of their mutual experience of the horrors of war and aerial bombing, there are now strong links between the cities of Dresden and Coventry, and particularly between the rebuilt Frauenkirche and the new Coventry Cathedral. These links express a desire to build peace and work for reconciliation.

Coventry

I want to start with Coventry as its experience dates from over four years earlier than that of Dresden. On the night of 14^th November 1940, the Nazi Luftwaffe carried out a major bombing raid on the city which resulted in the death of 568 people – a far lower number than in Dresden, but the highest casualty figure for one night’s bombing of any English city. And the destruction of Coventry’s mediaeval Cathedral with its wooden roof and interior being set on fire and destroyed. Amazingly, the tall spire survived, along with most of the outside walls.

The Provost of the Cathedral, (who would now be called the Dean), was a man called Richard Howard. At Christmas 1940, only six weeks after the bombing, Provost Howard spoke on BBC national radio, not of retribution, but instead, that once the war was over, his vision was to work with those who had been enemies, ‘to build a kinder, more Christ-Child-like world’.

The charred roof beam cross & ‘Father, forgive’ © Ricky Yates

Provost Howard also did three significant physical things. He made a cross out of two of the charred roof beams of the Cathedral and erected it behind the altar of the ruined building, now open to the skies. And on the inside of the east wall, behind the altar, he had the words, ‘Father forgive’, carved in the stonework. Both are still there and can be seen today.

I will come to the third thing that Provost Howard did, shortly.

After the end of World War Two, the decision in Coventry was to leave the ruins of the old Cathedral intact, and to build a new Cathedral alongside. The new Cathedral is at a right angle to the ruins, which most unusually means it has a north-south axis, rather the traditional east-west axis.

The foundation stone of the new Coventry Cathedral © Ricky Yates

The foundation stone of the new Cathedral was laid by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 23^rd March 1956 and is my earliest memory. For as well as laying the foundation stone that day, the Queen, along with the Duke of Edinburgh, also visited the Jaguar Car factory in Browns Lane, the street where I lived until I was ten. Thus, the royal motorcade drove past our house twice – first on its way to the factory and then the later return journey. At the time, I was a four year old boy who didn’t even have a television, so you can imagine the impact this had on me!

Just over six years later, on 25^th May 1962, the new Cathedral was consecrated. As a ten year old schoolboy, a few weeks later, I attended a Cathedral service for children from Church of England schools within Coventry Diocese.

But back to the third physical act of Provost Richard Howard. Out of three mediaeval metal roof nails, he made a simple cross, of which the one on the Frauenkirche altar immediately behind where I was preaching, is a replica.

The Cross of Nails on the Frauenkirche altar © Ricky Yates

The original sits on the high altar of the new Coventry Cathedral. And this cross is now the symbol of what is known as the Community of the Cross of Nails, linking Churches together, committed to working for reconciliation between those formerly in conflict.

The original Cross of Nails on the high altar of the new Coventry Cathedral © Ricky Yates

Frauenkirche, Dresden

Because at the end of World War Two, Dresden was in the Soviet zone of occupation, which became the satellite communist state of East Germany, despite the desire of the Lutheran Church authorities to do so, the communists were not interested in rebuilding the Frauenkirche. Instead, in 1966, they declared the ruins as a ‘memorial against war’. A few years earlier in 1959, a twinning agreement was signed between the communist authorities in Dresden, and a fairly left-wing Labour Coventry City Council, both vowing to work for peace.

Only after the fall of communism, just over thirty years ago, could the desire to rebuild the Frauenkirche be realised. Work began in 1993 and was completed in 2005. The rebuilt Frauenkirche will celebrate its fifteenth birthday on 30^th October later this year.

The Frauenkirche has what in English we would call a ‘Mission statement’. It consists of only six words and is sometimes displayed on a banner outside, on the Neumarkt.

‘Building bridges, living reconciliation, strengthening faith’ © Ricky Yates

Brücken bauen – Building bridges

Glauben stärken – Strengthening faith

Versöhnung leben – Living reconciliation

And it is the work of reconciliation, symbolised by the Coventry cross of nails on the altar, that I want to focus on.

2 Corinthians 5. 11-21

This was the first Biblical reading I chose for the service, part of what is probably the most passionate of St Paul’s letters. In this passage, Paul speaks of reconciliation between us human beings and God. Humanity is fallen/sinful, exemplified by resorting to violence/war to gain what we want.

But ‘one has died for all’ (v14) – Jesus Christ. And anyone who responds to what Christ has done for us on the cross; they are ‘in Christ, there is a new creation.’ (v17) ‘All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ’. (v18a) When we recognise our own failures, then recognise the work of Christ and respond to it in faith and trust, we can be reconciled to God.

But – as a result of all this, ‘he has given us the ministry of reconciliation’ (v18b) and has ‘entrusted the message of reconciliation to us’. (v19b) Christians – followers of Christ, are to be people ‘Living reconciliation’; to be setting an example of reconciliation in practice.

My being able to stand in the pulpit of the Frauenkirche, leading worship and preaching, is reconciliation in practice. It has been made possible because of the Community of the Cross of Nails and because of the ecumenical Meissen agreement between the Church of England and the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland. Two Churches from two countries who 75 years ago were at war with each other.

Sadly, at a political level, Brexit is starting to undo all the good work achieved by the EU and its predecessor the EEC. For it was set up to prevent further conflict and war, after two World Wars had devastated the continent during the first half of the twentieth century. Yet the British right-wing press in calling for Brexit, still uses the language of fighting World War Two, 75 years after it came to an end.

It is the voice of reconciliation, not division that so needs to be heard. Christians individually, and the Church corporately, need to be that voice.

Matthew 5. 21-24

But reconciliation needs to happen, not just between nations, peoples, Churches – it needs to happen at an individual level. The second Biblical reading I chose for the service is a small part of what we know as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus gives us the picture of the good Jew who has travelled to Jerusalem to worship at the temple and offer a sacrifice for his sins. ‘So when you are offering your gift at the altar’, seeking reconciliation with God, ‘if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you’, leave your gift there, go and be reconciled, ‘and then come and offer your gift’. (v23-24)

We cannot expect reconciliation with God if we have not first sought to be reconciled with our fellow human beings, especially those we see as enemies or those we find difficult. It is what we pray when we say the Lord’s Prayer. ‘Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us’. And in the Greek text of the New Testament, the sense is, ‘as we have already forgiven those who sin against us’.

We cannot ask or expect God to forgive us our past wrongs and failures, if we have not first sought reconciliation with our fellow brothers and sisters, regardless of nationality, race or colour.

Conclusion

In 1958, some eighteen years after the destruction of the mediaeval Coventry Cathedral, the first Precentor of the new Cathedral, Canon Joseph Poole, wrote a Litany of Reconciliation. As is explained on the Coventry Cathedral website, (and as I have previously explained in this blog), ‘While framed around the seven deadly sins, it serves as a reminder that when we pray about the problems of the world around us, we need to begin by acknowledging the roots of those problems in our own hearts.’ The Litany is said on weekdays at 12noon in Coventry Cathedral and in member Churches of the Community of the Cross of Nails at midday on Fridays, as it is at the Frauenkirche each week.

Therefore my sermon ended by me using the Litany and inviting the congregation to respond to each stanza with ‘Father, forgive’, or if a first language German-speaker, ‘Vater, vergib‘.

The Coventry Litany of Reconciliation

‘All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

The hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class, Father, forgive.

The covetous desires of people and nations to possess what is not their own, Father, forgive.

The greed which exploits the work of human hands and lays waste the earth, Father, forgive.

Our envy of the welfare and happiness of others, Father, forgive.

Our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned, the homeless, the refugee, Father, forgive.

The lust which dishonours the bodies of men, women and children, Father, forgive.

The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves and not in God, Father, forgive.

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.’

Postscript

Following the service, shaking hands with members of the congregation at the door, I received many expressions of appreciation for my sermon. One lady told me that she had been bought up in the former East Germany, but about thirty years ago, soon after the collapse of the Inner German Border, she had been able to travel to Coventry. She recalled how moved she was to stand in the ruins of the old Cathedral before walking through into the new Cathedral. I have also had expressions of thanks online.

I am very aware that many people were specifically praying for me that day and I felt very much upheld by those prayers. If you were one one those people, please accept my grateful thanks.

Finally, it was encouraging to have a larger congregation than normal on a February Sunday evening. I think that many came specifically because the service was marking the 75^th anniversary of the bombing raid and the theme of reconciliation.