The Dean writes:
In this week when we remember the outbreak of the second world war eighty years ago, we find ourselves as a nation confronted with the urgent need to agree on the right way to maintain good relationships with our European friends and neighbours. Coventry Cathedral along with the City of Coventry has played a significant part in leading the way in negotiating difference for the sake of a shared future, and has recently been presented as a possible venue for a Citizens’ Assembly as we pursue a shared future within our own communities. We would welcome such a move.
As the Bishop of Coventry, the Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth, has said:
Coventry’s story says that where something is broken, rebuild it. When hope is running out, revive it. What conflict disrupts, let peace restore. Where there’s division, reconcile. So it’s entirely fitting for a Citizens’ Forum, chaired by the Archbishop, to come to Coventry.
My hope is that it will not only help this country to heal, hope and reconcile but will reach out to our neighbours in Europe, to mend what the last years have damaged, and to show that whatever the form of our political relationship in any moment of history, the peoples of our lands are bound together in deeper ties of common life and humanity.
If you would like to know more about the Cathedral’s international partnerships, especially with our friends in Germany, please get in touch by clicking here.
