On the night of November 14th, 1940
there was a night of bombing
during the Blitz, during World War II.
Incendiary bombs fell and
the cathedral burnt, as the City of Coventry
burnt all that night.
The medieval cathedral we are standing in
was destroyed.
The city of Coventry is located
in the West Midlands region of England
near Birmingham
At the beginning of the Second World War
it was one of the most important industrial regions of the country
with a number of armaments factories.
This is why the Nazi regime decided
to conduct the series of air raids as part of
its psychological warfare against Great Britain.
The air raid of 14 November 1940
destroyed a substantial part of the city centre
including the historical Cathedral of St Michael
while also causing many casualties.
The next morning Provost Howard
the leader of the cathedral community
walked out into these ruins and said two words:
He said: "Father, forgive!"
In the acknowledgement that we're all in need of God's forgiveness
everyone of us, victim and perpetrator alike.
He didn't say: "Father, forgive them"
he didn't say: "Father, forgive the Germans who've bombed us"
he said: "Father, forgive all of us".
And that was a crucial message
and it was the start of our peace and reconciliation work
here in this place!
"Father Forgive"
They found two of the medieval roof beams that had fallen
in the shape of a cross
and they bound them together into the cross
which you see behind you in the sanctuary of the ruined cathedral.
They set it up over the altar made of rubble.
They also found three medieval roof nails
and bound those together
into the cross of nails.
The day after the bombing
the decision was taken to rebuild the cathedral
as a sign of faith, trust and hope
in the future of humanity.
The ruined shell of the medieval cathedral remained open
to the elements and the new cathedral, which was built alongside it
was consecrated in 1962.
The entire site has become a place of pilgrimage
that is visited by thousands of people each year
seeking peace and reconciliation.
So I came into reconciliation ministry
I think the way many people
who are reconcilers, or try to be reconcilers do
and that is from living it, or living in a place of conflict.
I think it gets inside you.
Sarah Hills is "Canon for Reconciliation"
a special ministry linked to the Coventry Cathedral.
She is a priest, like more than 5,000 women today in the Church of England
this Church having opted for the ordination of women priests and bishops.
The Church of England is part of the Anglican Communion.
Having been raised in South Africa
her parents were committed to the struggle against apartheid.
They relocated to Northern Ireland in 1971
at the height of the conflict between Republicans and Unionists.
This is the environment in which she grew up
before choosing to study medicine in England
and become a psychiatrist.
And when I was working with patients
some of whom had suffered severe traumas
psychological traumas as well
I started wondering about the concept of forgiveness.
Some people seemed to get better
when they forgave their attacker, or forgave the perpetrator
and other people didn't get better, even if they had forgiven.
So I started thinking really about
all of these concepts of forgiveness and reconciliation
and justice and repentance, then as a doctor.
And then I had a calling to become ordained
and started then thinking,
more and more theologically about these concepts.
As Canon for Reconciliation at Coventry Cathedral
I lead our reconciliation ministry along with my colleagues
the Dean and my other cathedral clergy colleagues.
We believe here
that reconciliation is the heart of the Cathedral.
It's the heart of what we're called to
as Christians through our mandate
the mandate that we're given in 2 Corinthians 5, 18:
we're called
we're given the message and the ministry of reconciliation.
That's what we base our whole work in the Cathedral on.
Coventry's cross of nails
has become a symbol of forgiveness and reconciliation
first and foremost in Europe and particularly in Germany
but also throughout the entire world.
Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of the Anglican Communion
took this symbol for his pectoral cross
and this is the cross that he gave Pope Francis
on the 5th of October, 2016 at the meeting in Rome
celebrating the 50th anniversary
of the rapprochement between Anglicans and Catholics.
The "Community of the Cross of Nails"
founded in 1974
is made up of a group of people who share this commitment
to reconciliation and peace
and which currently has 200 partners in 35 countries.
The Community of the Cross of Nails has three priorities:
past, present and future
so we heal the wounds of history in the past
in the present we learn to live with difference and celebrate diversity
and in the future we attempt to build a culture of peace.
St Michael's House is our world centre for reconciliation.
To this building we bring people
who are in need of, help with reconciling
people in conflict from all sorts of places
from the church and from the world,
between Christians, and between Christians and other faiths
and between people of no faith, as well.
We aim here to create a safe space
a space, as we say, a space for hope to flourish
because reconciliation is about hope
hope of the end of a conflict
and hope of relating better to our fellow humanity.
Because I am really interested
in how the stories of conflict are told
and how we remember a conflict
in a way that might be beneficial as opposed to harmful
the Coventry story appeals to me
because they took a terrible event, the destruction of the Cathedral, the bombing
and turned it into something beautiful
by which we can remember and bring people together.
Still 50, 60, 70 years after the conflict,
people are coming together,
brought together by this way of telling the story
in such a way as to bring reconciliation and build peace.
Reconciliation is a long journey.
It's hard, it's risky.
It's not about sitting,
being nice to people.
It's a journey which we don't embark on lightly,
but it is incumbent upon us to embark on that journey,
because, if we don't, what happens?
The world is not in a good place, is it?
So we need to be working
and working towards reconciliation!
The Reverend Shane Parker
Dean of the Anglican Cathedral of Ottawa in Canada.
He came to Coventry several months after the publication of the final report
of the "Truth and Reconciliation Commission"
dealing with the "Indigenous Residential Schools".
These government-sponsored religious schools
established to assimilate Aboriginal children
began in Canada in the 1830s and ran until 1969
with the last residential school closing its doors in 1996.
150,000 children coming not only from the "First Nations"
but also from the Inuit tribe
as well as the mixed race children
were placed in these schools.
In most cases, this was done without the consent of the families,
and there were many cases of premature death
and physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
Immediately upon arriving in the schools
they were forbidden to speak their own language
or to wear their own clothing.
Their hair would be cut in a uniform style
and they were basically told to conform
to a European standard of living
of dress, of culture, of religion as well.
So the Anglican Church of Canada was one of four churches who
ran the Residential Schools, on behalf of the state
and as the truth-telling began
as we as a church allowed ourselves
to become vulnerable and not to deny that these experiences were happening
we began to hear because we began to listen
to the stories of abuse and of pain and suffering,
and alienation from culture and so on.
So it was of great concern to the church as a whole
because we recognised our complicity
in a very misguided government policy
and in 1992, the Primate of Canada, Archbishop Michael Peers
made a formal apology
to the First Nations of Canada
and we were the second Church to do so.
I am sorry more than I can say
that we tried to re-make you in our image
by taking from you, your language
and your sense of identity.
I am sorry more than I can say…
There are people who are sceptical
about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
who would see the Residential Schools
as not being entirely bad or misinformed
and we're all at different stages on this journey.
I think what's important is
to understand that reconciliation
is a process and it is also an outcome
and I would say that we are very much in process.
And an important part of that process
is to accept
where there is not reconciliation
to understand the differences,
be able to be together
and express different points of view
that is the reality that we are in.
I think when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final report,
there was a sudden upsurge in Canadians' awareness
of our indigenous peoples
and that was a positive thing.
Canadians for the most part were outraged and embarrassed
at the legacy of Residential Schools.
It is not hidden anymore
and I think there's a greater awareness of that
which I believe is appreciated by the Indigenous people of Canada.
They are no longer trying to speak
their truths and having others resist that.
There's a sense in which the story has been told,
it's indisputable.
It's true that the story of Residential Schools
is a sad one
but for us survivors
simply talking about it does us a world of good.
I'm not aware of any nation
that has forgiven the Government of Canada, for example
but I am aware of individuals
who have forgiven those who have abused them within Residential Schools.
It's a process; it will take a generation or two for us, to come
to terms with the legacy of Residential Schools.
I believe that reconciliation is not just a priority
reconciliation is the Gospel.
Reconciliation is the mission of God in the world:
"God was in Christ reconciling all things."
Christians have always responded by saying:
"Love your neighbour" in situations of conflict
but the more radical thing Jesus says is: "Love your enemy".
And that's not just our political enemy or when there is physical conflict,
that's also about our theological enemy.
Born in Belfast, David Porter has spent his entire life
working for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland
particularly through an organisation called
"Evangelical Contribution on Northern Ireland"
of which he was the co-founder and first director.
From his roots as an Evangelical Baptist
he took on the responsibilities of minister for reconciliation
at Coventry Cathedral, after which he joined the Archbishop of Canterbury
leading the reconciliation priority at Lambeth Palace, in London
where he is currently chief of staff and strategy.
My favourite definition of reconciliation
is by Stanley Hauerwas
who says that reconciliation occurs
when my enemy tells me my story
in such a way that I'm able to say: "Yes, that is my story".
So this is the Gospel
it's not just a priority or Archbishop Justin's priority
it is the priority, the mission of the Church.
I have spent most of my life
working it out, in the political domain.
So what I think about that, in terms of war and conflict is that
it's always political
because politics to me is the art of negotiating relationships.
Therefore we're always negotiating relationships with people
in our families, in our communities
in our Churches, in our nations, between the nations.
In that negotiation issues of power and identity are very important.
We can either approach our negotiation of relationship with others
trying to dominate them
and because we believe our identity is more important than theirs
to exclude them, say that they don't belong
and we meet them at the interface that becomes a barricade:
which is on the other side needs to be destroyed or dominated
Or we see it as an interface
with that which what we meet needs to be understood and celebrated
and our belonging becomes mutual.
In the words of Miroslav Volf, it's exclusion and embrace.
It's the choice we face when all the time
when we meet that which is different to us.
The second thing is
that bad religion trumps good.
We religious people don't like hearing that.
So often the good religious answer is complex.
We live in a world
that doesn't want to listen to complexity
that responds to the slogan, the easy answer
you raise a banner and they rally to it
that accepts religious rhetoric
that says: "They're bad, we're good!".
Then we believe that somehow
our land is special, more than your land.
So we're God's special people:
Ulster Protestants, Irish Catholics, you name it…
That religious nationalism, I believe, is the great communal idolatry.
If the struggle of the individual Christian
is against the world, the flesh and the devil
the struggle of the Christian community
is against religious nationalism
and "God, Land and Nation".
The third thing is: the past does matter.
We, in our modern world, forget about the past
wounds of history that are deep
are never very far below the surface.
So the capacity of the past
to come zooming into the present
and destroy our future is massive.
It's a burden, it's a chain.
The only chain that breaks it
is mercy and forgiveness.
People say the past can't be changed.
It can, actually.
In 1987, Terry Waite was sent to Lebanon
as a special envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury
to free some hostages, when he was himself captured in Beirut.
He spent 5 years in captivity
most of the time in solitary confinement
with his hands and feet chained to the wall.
In 2012, he decided to return to Lebanon, to the place where he was captured
a spirit of reconciliation with his captors.
I went back to the place where I was captured
and I went to see the group that
allegedly were responsible for my capture.
Its here.
They were a bit surprised to see me!
This was many years later.
I think they were more nervous than I was!
They had changed, of course, over the years,
they had developed and grown
I said, "I'd like to put that unfortunate episode in the past
and build something creative from it.
And they said, "Well, what?"
And I said, "Well, I've just returned from the border
and I've seen the refugees coming across the border.
They're cold, they're hungry, they've lost everything.
At least, can you let me have
heating oil for those people?
They said, "Yes, we will do it."
Well now, I'm not a believer that
that very simple gesture
is going to bring about masses of political change
I don't believe it at all.
It may have helped some people
maybe a limited number of people.
But, if 10,000 people in Israel
and 10,000 people in the occupied territories of Palestine
were able to sit together and do that,
we would have a basis for a political settlement.
And so I would encourage every individual
to think hard
as to how they can themselves be a reconciler
and reconcile differences that exist between themselves
and people whom, perhaps, they have misunderstandings.
10 years ago
Patrick Blythe, an Irish-American sculptor
had a life-changing interior experience
in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral
which inspired one of his works.
So the name of the piece is "Reconciliation"
it is two figures coming together after a period of estrangement
and to me that symbolizes what reconciliation is all about.
And the symbolism is personal
my daughter and I were estranged for quite some time
and we've had a great coming together as well.
So in some ways I view the white figure
as representing my daughter
and the dark figure as representing me:
it looks older, it's not as beautiful
so I think, there's a very personal touch here
but it also has broader connotations.
I like that the white personnage appears young and vigorous.
I think the contrasts are very important
and that usually is something that you have to deal with
in reconciliation:
contrast in opinions, or positions on issues.
I like the fact that it starts conversations
when people come to my studio and look at it
they often share their own personal story of reconciliation
and some of the stories that I heard have been so compelling, so remarkable
that in some ways I hate to see this piece leave my studio
because it's been such an important conversation starter.
But I remember one elderly lady looking at it
she was in her mid-eighties
as she looked at the work she talked about
her relationship with her daughter
and how they hadn't spoken for thirty years
and when she left the studio she said:
"I'm going to call my daughter"
I think everybody has a story of reconciliation.
Neither of my grandfathers returned from the war
having lost their lives in the fighting.
Two of my uncles were also killed
the brother of my father and a brother of my mother.
They were killed at the very young age of 16.
As a young girl, when I would ask my grandmother:
"Who is my grandfather? Where are my grandfathers?"
She would say that they had been killed in the war.
When I grew up, I would ask her:
Granny, aren't you angry?
Don't you feel any hatred?
Don't you want revenge?
My grandmothers would always reply
"You must pray" and "You must believe" and "God is with us and God helps us!"
Ten years ago, my own son died of cancer
and it was only then that I really understood
what it means to lose a child.
For the last 10 years it has been as if I had died.
I have simply not been alive.
And for me, this journey to Coventry
has brought me back to life in a way.
It's wonderful! It's as a present of God.
Provost Richard Howard wrote the words
"Father, forgive"
on the wall behind the cross formed by the beams
found in the ruins of the Cathedral.
These words have touched generations of people
and are part of the prayers used in the reconciliation litany
that is said every day in the new cathedral at noon
and on Friday in the ruins
and in many places around the world.
This reconciliation litany, which is based on the seven capital sins
opens with the words of the letter to the Romans:
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God".
This is a timeless universal confession
of the failures of humanity
but these sins and weaknesses
are viewed in the light of the forgiving love of God.
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 for gave you.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.
The old has gone, the new is here!
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ
not counting people's sins against them.
And he has committed to us
the message of reconciliation.
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