Advertisement
Published: September 11th 2015
Edit Blog Post
Well summer has officially ended here in the UK, the Ashes have been played, and won or lost depending on who you support. The weather has turned cooler, the days are getting shorter. The children have returned to school after their 7 week summer holidays and we hope for an Indian summer before winter arrives. Life is good, God continues to be good to us and provide all we need.
We continue to enjoy living in Albrighton, living in our flat on the high street and being not only part of the United Benefice for our church life but being part of village life in general.
Jess has been busy working in the local menswear shop covering days for people on holidays as well as continuing with his gardening work.
We have both been involved in church services with readings and prayers and our development of St Chads ‘Quiet Days’ has proved both challenging and rewarding and we are both excited as to where God will lead us with this Mission.
Monday 31st August was a ‘Bank Holiday’ and like all long weekends the weather did not cooperate and it was a cold and wet day. However
we decided not to be defeated by this and headed off to Coventry by train. We caught the train from Albrighton to Wolverhampton then a train from Wolverhampton to Birmingham which connected with a train to Coventry. Again our experience with the UK train network has been great and all trains connected as in the timetable.
Coventry is a city of contrasts between the old and the new having been heavily bombed during WWII German bombing raids. The city centre, which is a short walk from the station, is a mass of pedestrian malls and shopping complexes with old buildings dotted throughout reminding people of it’s past.
The best example of the old and new is to be found at Coventry Cathedral which has a ‘New’ Cathedral built in the 1960’s which has been built in the shadow of the old Cathedral which was bombed in November 1940 and so is just a shell containing the imposing bell tower, built between 1373 & 1394, and outer walls but not much else. The new Cathedral is an engineering marvel and a very spiritual place inside.
We arrived at 1.00pm just in time for a lunchtime organ recital by
Coventry Cathedral
Ruins of bombed Cathedral Kerry Beaumont who is currently the Director of music at the Cathedral. These recitals are free and they give you a great perspective on the size of the building as well as the opportunity to listen to some wonderful music.
After the recital we spent a few hours walking through the Cathedral looking at what it had to offer.
The Cathedral is an impressive building containing many treasured items such as: -
The
Font, which is a boulder from the hillside near Bethlehem
The
Czech Cross was carved in Czechoslovakia and brought to Coventry a few weeks before the Russian invasion in 1968
The
Baptistry window, which represents the light of God, Jesus Christ, breaking into the world
There are eight
great sayings of Jesus around the walls
The High Altar
Cross of Nails The
Tapestry of Christ in Glory is the world’s largest tapestry in the world. It is made up of more than 900 different colours and measures 74 feet by 38 feet. In the picture of the tapestry on this Blog page you will notice the figure of a man standing between Jesus’s feet, this is the size
Coventry Cathedral
Ruins of bombed Cathedral of an actual man.
The
Charred Cross is made from two medieval roof-beams that were found in the rubble of the bombed Cathedral, they were in the shape of a cross when found.
The beams were originally held in place within the old Cathedral roof by roof nails, two of which now form the
‘Cross of Nails’ in the centre of the
High Altar Cross.
In the
Chapel of Christ the servant we find the altar with the suspended crown of thorns
In the
Chapel of Christ in Gethsemane we find the mosaic of Archangel Michael
The
Chapel of Unity is shared by all Christian denominations and its circular shape indicating that all are equal here and represents the unity we are all seeking. The focus is Christians praying together. The chapel has a theme relating to the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima and concern for an end to nuclear weapons. The chapel is separate from the Cathedral both in administration and finance and operates on a 999 year lease. It is a very moving and inspiring place.
Outside the Cathedral we find the bronze statue of St Michael and the devil depicting the
final triumph of good over evil as described in Revelations.
What a very special and moving visit this was.
After a late lunch in one of the food halls, necessary due to the rain, we headed back to Coventry station to retrace our train journey back to Albrighton and once again all connections were on time and as scheduled.
Saturday 5th September had been scheduled as a ‘Super Shopping Saturday’ in Albrighton which is an attempt by the local Traders Association to encourage people to shop in Albrighton. The day was chosen due to RAF Cosford Approbation Ceremony. This ceremony is held every two years by the Parish Councils of Albrighton, Donington and Boscobel to honour the Royal Air Force Cosford by allowing Station personnel to march through Albrighton
‘with swords drawn, bayonets fixed, drums beating, bands playing and colours flying’.
The ceremony stems from the rights conveyed on the Station by the Grant of Approbation made on 08 August 1998 ‘
as a tribute to the glorious traditions of the Royal Air Force and in recognition of Sixty Years close association between the Royal Air Force Station, Cosford and the village of Albrighton’. For the participants,
Coventry Cathedral
Ruins reflected in new Cathedral glass council officials and village residents, the parade, symbolises the very close links between parishioners and RAF Cosford personnel.
The day saw an increase in visitor numbers and a bonus to the high street businesses
Sunday 6th September was our family day service at St Chads. The service was led by Jess with prayers and the Gospel reading by Evelyn. It’s always an honour to participate in the church services.
Working for God is never easy and it certainly is never dull, Just when you think you are on top of things He sends you something out of left field which totally turns your life upside down.
We have been busy developing our new Ministry at St Chads, The Quiet Days. This is where we will be offering Quiet Days to the Christian Community. The use of our renovated Church and it’s new space in its idyllic country setting in order to take time out and reconnect with God. As part of this offering we have developed 4 off the shelf Quite Day themes, The Power of Prayer, Walking with the Lord, The Power of the Cross & Greed and Grace. The next step is to offer
Coventry Cathedral
bronze statue of St Michael and the devil depicting the final triumph of good over evil as described in Revelations these at the next Synod meeting to be held on
29th September by way of our newly developed brochure and flyer which will advertise Quite Days for 2016.
But wait God still has more for us to do.
You may have seen on the news the huge number of asylum seekers and refugees heading across Europe in search of safety and a better life. You may have also seen the refugees in Calais trying to get to the UK via the Channel Tunnel. These Calais refugees are caught in a no man’s land and live in a camp known as the Jungle. They need help. An organisation in London Calaid has started delivering donations to the refugees and a local group ‘Shrewsbury Donations to the Calais Refugees’ has opened up donation collection centres across the county, you can find them on Facebook. We have linked in with these organisations and are in the process of setting up a collection centre at St Mary Church Centre for our United Benefice. The ‘Shrewsbury Donations to the Calais Refugees’ have a donation delivery schedule on
30th September, with a delivery to Calaid on
4th October. As this is a very short
Coventry Cathedral
Two Crosses an the entrance that link the old and the new time frame we hope to have whatever we have collected included in this schedule if not we will target the next available delivery dates.
So stay tuned for our Blog updates on this new Ministry. Working for God is so rewarding and not because of what God can give us but what we can give back to God for what He does for us.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.113s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 11; qc: 27; dbt: 0.0479s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Bob and Phyllis Collie
non-member comment
We've been to Coventry Cathedral
Thanks again for your blog. Good to know that your Quiet Days are going well. Keep up the good work. Now you are involved with the refugees. What a calamity this is. So many people on the move across Europe looking for a place to live. In Australia we are taking 13,000 Syrian refugees. Love to you both, Bob and Phyllis.