reconciliation

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

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.

Versöhnung leben – Living reconciliation

As I have previously written, the evening services at the Frauenkirche, Dresden, follow a theme over a period of several Sundays. The monthly English-language Anglican services of Evening Prayer for which I continue to have responsibility, are not regarded as an exception, but rather as part of the agreed theme. The themes are agreed at a meeting of the Predigerrunde/Preachers round, which is attended by several German Protestant pastors and theologians who, between them, conduct and preach at the evening services; and me!

At a meeting of the Predigerrunde last Autumn, it was agreed that in the period from Sunday 10^th February through to Passion Sunday (7^th April) we would preach our way through the Coventry Litany of Reconciliation, stanza by stanza, with our theme being Versöhnung leben – Living reconciliation. The litany is used regularly at the Frauenkirche, in particular, at midday prayers each Friday. Its use is part of the very strong links between the Frauenkirche and Coventry Cathedral, established through the Community of the Cross of Nails.

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 you, Father, forgive.

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

Therefore, after Superintendent Christian Behr had begun the sermon series on Sunday 10^th February, preaching on the opening verse of scripture, ‘Alle haben gesündigt und ermangeln des Ruhmes, den sie bei Gott haben sollten‘ / ‘All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.’ (Romans 3. 23), it fell to me last Sunday, 17^th February, to preach on ‘The hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class’.

In the opening part of my sermon, I explained the origin of the litany, written in 1958 by Canon Joseph Poole, and the thinking that lies behind it. As is explained on the Coventry Cathedral website, ‘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.’

I also pointed out how appropriate it was to be reflecting on, ‘The hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class’, when the previous week had seen the 74^th anniversary of the bombing of Dresden which commenced on 13^th February 1945 and resulted in the destruction of the Frauenkirche. But it was also the 60^th anniversary of the twinning agreement, signed in 1959, between the city of Dresden and the city of Coventry, a civic move towards reconciliation which had been commemorated during the German Lutheran service that morning.

For the evening service, I had to choose two passages of scripture. For the second reading, I chose the familiar story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10. 25-37). I pointed out that, whilst the expression ‘Good Samaritan’, easily trips of our tongues, to the first century Jews listening as Jesus told the story, it was a contradiction in terms. For first century Jews, ‘good’ and ‘Samaritan’, did not belong in the same sentence! Samaritans were a mixed race, they worshipped at Mount Samaria and not in Jerusalem, and didn’t keep laws relating to ritual purity.

But for the upstanding Jewish lawyer who asked, ‘Who is my neighbour? – the one I should love as myself, Jesus told this story. ‘Loving your neighbour as yourself’, includes loving those who are different from us – not hating them because they don’t behave or conform in the way we think they should.

The other passage of scripture I chose was Galatians 3. 23-29. I explained that in the life of the early Christian Church, there were disputes as to whether gentiles who had become Christians, needed to be circumcised, just like male Jews. The Council of Jerusalem, (Acts 15. 1ff) had clearly decided that the circumcision of gentile converts was not required. But there remained a ‘circumcision party’ who thought they should and it was clearly active in Galatia.

St Paul’s letter to the Galatian Churches was written partly to rebuke the ‘circumcision party’. He declares, using a favourite phrase of his, ‘in Christ’, that once someone has ‘faith in Christ’, has been ‘baptised into Christ’, has ‘put on Christ’, there should no longer be any distinctions. No one is better than another and no one should be shunned. ‘There is no longer Jew or Greek (gentile), there is no longer slave or free (no class discrimination), there is no longer male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus’.

‘Hate’ and ‘hatred’ are strong words. Maybe we don’t necessarily hate but we do very easily ‘blame’. I reminded the congregation that Hitler and the Nazis blamed the Jews. From various quarters these days it is ‘blame the Muslims’.

Addressing the issue that is currently making the United Kingdom look stupid in the eyes of most continental Europeans – Brexit – I pointed out that the vote to leave the EU was driven by politicians blaming the country’s problems on immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe for which, blame the EU. This despite nearly all of them being in work, paying taxes and often doing the jobs that British people don’t want to do.

The EU may not be perfect – it is a human institution. But it 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!

I ended my sermon as I end this blog post, with a challenge to those who wish to re-erect barriers that divide people and nations. As Christians, we are called to the ministry of reconciliation – Versöhnung leben – Living reconciliation. We are not to be putting up barriers of whatever form to divide groups of people, just because they are not exactly like us.

For the hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class, Father, forgive.

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 28^th October – Monday 3^rd November, in the UK, visiting my new grandson and his parents, and slightly belatedly celebrating my son Phillip’s thirtieth birthday. Whilst in the UK, I also re-visited the city where I was born and spent the first eighteen years of my life – Coventry, and in particular, Coventry Cathedral.

The laying of the foundation stone of the new Coventry Cathedral by HM Queen Elizabeth the Second on 23^rd March 1956, is the earliest memory that I have. 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 just four years old and didn’t recognise the Queen on the first occasion she passed by, as I was looking for a lady with a crown on her head 🙂

Czechoslovak carved wooden crucifix © Ricky Yates

Sadly, since I last visited nearly ten years ago, an entrance charge of £6.00, (recently reduced from £8.00), has been introduced for the new Cathedral, unless someone just wishes to pray or attend a service. The friendly lady on the reception desk kindly asked me if I had come to visit or to pray, to which I replied, “Both!” When I further explained, aided by my business card, that I was the Anglican Chaplain in Prague, originally a native of Coventry and that I had contributed six old pence towards one of the nave windows, her response was, “Well I’d better then let you in for free!”

I was very pleased to discover within the new Cathedral, a Czech connection of which I was previously totally unaware – this carved wooden crucifix. The adjacent notice in the photograph below, explains about the artist who created it and gave it to the Cathedral.

Explanation of the Czech Cross © Ricky Yates

Chapel of Christ in Gethsemane © Ricky Yates

Other parts of the Cathedral were just as I remember them. One that I find particularly moving is the small side chapel of Christ in Gethsemane. The mosaic illustrates the prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Take this cup of suffering from me”. Yet the chapel is screened by an iron grill in the shape of a crown of thorns, a reminder that Jesus was obedient to his Father’s will.

However, much as I like the new Cathedral, it is the ruins of the original mediaeval Cathedral – what remains following its destruction by Hitler’s incendiary bombs on the night of 14^th November 1940, that speak most powerfully to me.

'Father Forgive' © Ricky Yates — ‘Father Forgive’ © Ricky Yates

As I explained in a post in May 2012 when I appeared on Czech TV to speak about the fiftieth anniversary of the consecration of the new Cathedral, not long after the bombing raid that destroyed so much of the mediaeval Cathedral, the Provost made a cross from two of the charred roof beams and erected it behind the altar and had the words. ‘Father forgive’ carved on the east wall of the old sanctuary.

For me, this is such a powerful symbol of the Christian message of reconciliation. Reconciliation between God and humankind – but also, reconciliation between nations and peoples who have previously been at war with each other. Therefore, I end this post with the words of the Coventry Cathedral 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’.

The ruins of the original mediaeval Coventry Cathedral © Ricky Yates