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CHAIRMAN’S e BULLETIN JUNE 2015

SEEING THE SUTHERLAND WITH NEW EYES

The Friends Lecture

At work on the back of the Tapestry

Tickets £12.50 from the Community Table, or the Cathedral Website on-line tickets: https://www.tickettailor.com/all-tickets/570/5f2d/

FRIENDS SPECIAL PRICE TICKETS Members of the Friends can purchase tickets for the Sutherland Lecture at the special

price of £10.00 (including the wine reception) from the Community Table after the 10.30 am Sunday Eucharist, or by sending a cheque made out to the Friends of

Coventry Cathedral, with an SAE to Sutherland Lecture Tickets, c/o 2 The Arboretum, Coventry CV4 7HX

ARE YOU A CARD CARRYING MEMBER?

Members of the Friends are strongly encouraged to carry their Membership Cards (Life or Annual) with them when visiting the Cathedral. Production of the Membership Card entitles you to free entry to the Cathedral (with a guest), a 10% discount at the Shop (when you spend £10.00 or more) and a special ticket deal at Saint Michael’s Singers Concerts.

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Tuesday 30 June 2015 at 7.00 pm

Alison Lister will give an illustrated lecture in the Cathedral Nave about the recent month-long conservation work on one of the most iconic images of the late twentieth century.

She will reveal what has been discovered about Sutherland’s great Coventry Tapestry ‘Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph’.

After the lecture there will be a reception in the Chapel of Christ the Servant and the Lady Chapel, when guests will be able to meet and talk to the conservators about the secrets of the Tapestry.

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Citizens of Dresden participating in the ‘human chain’, on the night of the commemoration of the bombing of the City

DRESDEN REMEMBERED A Friendly Monday

Monday 8 June 2015 at 11.00 am

The next Friendly Monday offers the chance to hear a first-hand account of the memorable February visit to Dresden, by a dozen Members of the Friends, for the Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the destruction of the City and the Frauenkirche. We will also see an illustrated presentation telling the remarkable story of the special relationship, which has grown up over half a century between the Frauenkirche and the Cathedral.

Not to be missed. Tea and Coffee in the Undercroft Lecture Room, from 10.30 am

To reserve a place, sign up on the Community Table on Sunday morning, or e-mail: welcome@friendsofcoventrycathedral.org.uk

THE STONES SPEAK TO US

Last month a Service of Thanksgiving was held in the old Cathedral, to commemorate the completion of the seven-year project to stabilise the walls of the Ruins. The Mayor read the lesson and the Dean blessed the completed works. The Dean reflected on the extraordinary way in which the stones speak to people, about ‘honesty, healing and hope’. ‘We are challenged and moved by the Ruins’, he said ‘to turn, not inwards, but to be open to others, and to God’.

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OUT AND ABOUT

The Dean has just returned from Rotterdam, where he was participating in the remembrance of the 75 Anniversary of the destruction of the City by the Lutwaffe. He is currently in the United States, presenting a Cross of Nails in Tarrifville, Connecticut, renewing links with our CCN Partners in Massachusetts, preaching in the Cathedral in Denver, Colorado speaking to the Diocese of Texas and meeting the clergy of Trinity Wall Street New York.

We send our best wishes and assurance of our prayers for a good recovery to Heather Wallace, a Vice-President of the Friends, who has recently been in hospital and to Gren Hatton as he receives further treatment in Manchester

The Church Commissioners have just announced their financial results for 2014, posting a total return on investment of 14.4%, growing their funds from £2.4bn at the start of 1995 to £6.7bn at the end of 2014. Last year the funds spent £215 million (16%) on the Church’s overall mission and ministry costs.

The Archbishops’ Council has begun a process of consultation across the country for spiritual Reform and Renewal. Every Diocesan Synod will be visited to discuss the proposals, which were set out during the last sessions of the General Synod. The dedicated web page is: www.churchofengland.org/reform-renewal

The Church of England has launched a new national resource to help churches get people talking about death and dying. GraveTalk provides resources for churches to create a relaxed environment for people to explore questions about death and dying, funerals and loss. For more information visit: www.gravetalk.org

COME AND SEE

This year Birmingham Cathedral is celebrating the 300th anniversary of the church building. They are taking as their theme, the invitation of their patron saint, St Philip to ‘Come and see’. The year’s programme of activities and events tell the story of how a church became a cathedral and a West Midlands town became a great city. You can download the tercentenary programme as a pdf at: http://www.kingsnorton.org.uk/pdf/events/cathedral-tercentenary.pdf

We send our sincere sympathy to the family of Alan Edwards, who died at the beginning of last month, aged 92. Described by the Dean as ‘a giant in the history of the Cathedral’. Alan was Head of Maths at King Henry VIII School, Coventry, one of the founder members of the Chapel of Unity and the City’s oldest peace activist.

Alan is shown (left) participating in the vigil at the Cathedral for peace in Syria in September 2013

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MAGNA CARTA CONFERENCE

Tuesday 23 June 2015

The Seal of King John

AN OFFER YOU CAN’T REFUSE

Amici, the highly acclaimed Chamber Choir is now booking concert dates for 2016.

Would your Church be interested in hosting them for a fund raising concert?

Amici (the Latin word for Friends) is an informal group of leading singers, led by Kerry Beaumont the Cathedral’s Director of Music, who perform as a small ensemble to support the Friends and the Cathedral.

They offer several seasonal concert programmes, including their signature work: ‘Inspiration from Coventry Cathedral’ in words, music and stunning images.

In the last six years Amici have performed at venues including Blenheim Palace Chapel, Hatton, Kenilworth and Holy Trinity, Coventry.

If you would like to know more please contact the Honorary Secretary, Julie Barnes julie.barnes2108@gmail.com

Although Coventry Cathedral doesn’t boast an original copy of Magna Carta, like Salisbury, Lincoln, Durham and Hereford, it is to host it’s own Magna Carta Conference, on Tuesday 23 June in St. Michael’s House, commencing at 10.30 am.

As part of this year’s 800th Anniversary Celebrations for Magna Carta, Bishop Christopher and Dean John will be hosting a one day event: ‘The Allure of Magna Carta: Freedom, Democracy and Reconciliation’. Tickets are £25.00 from the Cathedral Gift Shop or on line at www.coventrycathedral.org.uk

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RUTTER UK PREMIERE An International Gala Concert Saturday 4 July 2015 In a unique event, two hundred voices, the English Symphony Orchestra and four conductors will raise the roof of Coventry Cathedral on 4 July at 7.30 pm.

John Rutter's will be conducting the UK premiere of his new work ‘The Gift of Life - six Canticles of Creation’

Bob Chilcott will conduct extracts from his Requiem and St. John Passion. Paul Leddington Wright, Musical Director of Saint Michael's Singers, will conduct his Te Deum written for the Choir's 50th anniversary in 2010. For this Gala Concert two choirs from America will join the Saint Michael Singers. The Special Ticket prices (including a reserved seat) for Members of the Friends are:

£30 – Friends price £27 (normal concessionary price £28) £25 – Friends price £22 (normal concessionary price £23) £20 – Friends price £17 (normal concessionary price £18) £15 – Friends price £12 (normal concessionary price £13)

As usual, Friends tickets must be bought direct from Jill Pacey – they cannot be bought at the special price on-line, or through the Cathedral. Jill Pacey, 6 Clive Road, Balsall Common, Coventry CV7 7DW Telephone: 01676 532436 jill.pacey@btinternet.com Cheques payable to Saint Michael’s Singers and enclose a stamped addressed envelope.

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The new a rising plinth for the nave altar in Lichfield Cathedral

EXCURSION TO LICHFIELD & THE NMA

Saturday 5 September 2015

The Friends are organizing an all day excursion to the National Memorial Arboretum and Lichfield Cathedral on Saturday 5 September. The coach will leave Coventry Cathedral at 9:00 am for the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, Staffordshire. There will be a guided tour of The Arboretum and free time to explore the memorials and the shopping and catering facilities. The coach will arrive in Lichfield about 1.00 pm. After a guided tour and free time to visit the souvenir shop and "Chapters - The Café in the Close", the party will return to Coventry, arriving at the Cathedral at about 6:00pm. There are just 30 places and bookings are open now. Pick up a booking form from the Community Table, or email: welcome@friendsofcoventrycathedral.org.uk

The National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire, seen from the Hill for Heroes

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ANDREW L PAINE CHAIRMAN The Friends of Coventry Cathedral Charity Number 1061176 chairman@friendsofcoventrycathedral.org.uk