Minister’s Letter: 9 November 2025
Dear friends,
I was just eleven years old when my parents took me to visit St Michael’s Cathedral in Coventry. My mother had been there just the night before the Coventry Blitz and our visit was to see the new cathedral which had risen like a phoenix from the ashes. That visit has had a profound effect on my thinking ever since those days. Such a beautiful building, but more importantly, a wonderful symbol of faith and reconciliation that looks forward to a positive future.
I was just a few years older when I first sang Benjamin Britten’s ‘War Requiem’ which was written for the opening of the new Coventry Cathedral. Again, this experience had a profound effect on my thinking, especially as we all listened to the words of Wilfred Owen that say ‘I am the enemy you killed, my friend. I knew you in this dark, for so you frowned yesterday through me as you jabbed and killed. I parried, but my hands were loath and cold … let us sleep now’ In that first performance they were sung by a German baritone who was joined by a British tenor for the last four words.
Today we remember, and we give thanks for the sacrifices that were made, and are being made, for our freedom. And we look forward with faith and hope to a positive future that will rise like a phoenix from the ashes of our past, a future where our enemies will become our friends, and all will be united in Christ.
With love and blessings,
Marion
Categories: Minister's Blog