Interview with Reverend Vivian Sockett: Episode 5 of Coffee with the Canons

We live in divided and uncertain times. Conflict and suffering dominate the headlines, and many of us are left asking the same urgent question: What can I actually do? How do we resist injustice without perpetuating the cycle of harm? How do we build something better? And how do we love our neighbour when division feels so deep?

These aren't abstract questions for us at Coventry Cathedral. They're woven into our very foundations – literally and spiritually. Our Cathedral was destroyed in the Blitz of 1940, and in the rubble, Provost Dick Howard spoke words that would define us: "Father forgive." Those two words became our calling: to be a place and people of reconciliation, healing the wounds of history one encounter at a time.

But what does that look like in practice? How do we live out that calling in a world that often feels more divided than ever?

Interview with Reverend Vivian Sockett

In Episode 5 of Coffee with the Canons from Coventry Cathedral, Canon Nitano Muller sits down with the Reverend Vivian Sockett, who joins us on placement for a week from St Michael's Church, Paris, in the Diocese of Europe.

In this episode we invited Reverend Vivian Sockett to share her calling, and advice for those asking big questions including how to be reconcilers in the world today with so much conflict and suffering.

Why This Matters Now

If you're asking these questions – if you're wondering how to be a force for good in a broken world – this conversation is for you. At Coventry Cathedral, we are¬ a living community rooted in the belief that reconciliation is possible, that healing is possible, however first comes the hard part of learning to be better neighbours to each other to allow space for truths to be spoken from all sides.

Listen In

Whether you're new to these conversations or you've been following Coffee with the Canons from the start, listen to the full episode on Spotify here or Apple Podcasts.