Chairman's Newsletter - January 2025

 

New Year 2025
 

 

  Baby Shark in Cathedral

   “BABY SHARK” WAS rewritten to become part of the nativity story told to children (and their accompanying adults!) on Christmas Eve afternoon.  
     Cathedral ministers wore reindeer antlers and angel wings as the action-packed telling of the story put Christ back into Christmas.   Children dressed as angels and shepherds and wise men gathered around Mary and Joseph on the chancel step in the Christmas tableau shown above.
     As the story reached its climax everyone joined in singing “Baby Shark”, which was transformed by the addition of appropriate new lyrics and a series of lively actions.   I never imagined that one day I would hear that children's song in the Cathedral sung with such enthusiasm to the accompaniment of the great Cathedral organ.  
     FOOTNOTE: If you are not already familiar with it, “Baby Shark” is a children’s song that with over 15 billion plays is currently the most watched Youtube video there has ever been right across the world.  
 

   BISHOP RUTH WORSLEY has been the Acting Bishop of Coventry during the interregnum that followed the move to Windsor of Bishop Christopher Cocksworth.   She is pictured above as she led the vestry prayers on Christmas Eve before her final service as Acting Bishop and her return to her duties as Bishop of Taunton.
     The Rt Rev Sophie Jelley, the newly appointed Bishop of Coventry, is expected to take up her post in May/June 2025, and in the interim Bishop Tim Thornton (formerly Diocesan Bishop of Truro) has agreed to be the temporary Acting Bishop.

           

          
 

A Model Cathedral
 

     AT CHRISTMAS AS I watched excited children putting together Star Wars figures in LEGO I suddenly remembered that Coventry Cathedral has also been modelled in LEGO.
     I have only a dim recollection of my visit to see the LEGO model Cathedral in Barnbys toy shop back in 1962 during the Consecration Festival.   I can remember being impressed at the time.  
     LEGO has become much more sophisticated since then, and back in 2016 the Herbert Museum unveiled a very detailed cutaway LEGO model that is pictured here with Tim Latham from the Dean’s office.                 
     This model of Coventry Cathedral was used to launch the Diocesan challenge for each parish church to create a model of its own church building in time for the Diocesan Centenary Celebrations of 2018.   The model churches could be created from any medium, and as part of the celebrations they were all brought to the Cathedral and laid out on a huge outline map of the Diocese. 
           

 

 

   THE COVENTRY CATHEDRAL College of Canons elected Rt Rev Sophie Jelley as Bishop of Coventry at a private meeting held before Christmas.
     The origins of the election procedure for the bishop are to be found in the legislation introduced by King Henry VIII, and the word “election” is not all that it seems.
     Even before the reign of King Henry the consent of the monarch was required for the Dean and Chapter of a Cathedral to elect a new bishop when a vacancy arose.  The monarch gives written leave to elect in a document called a “Congé d'élire”.   In 1534 an Act of King Henry VIII gave power to the king to send with the Congé d'élire, the name of the man he desired to see elected.  
     That is still the situation today.  The crown grants to the dean and chapter its licence under the great seal to elect a new bishop, accompanied by a letter missive containing the name of the person whom the dean and chapter are to elect.   The election should be held within 12 days of notice published in the “London Gazette”.   In the current constitution of Coventry Cathedral the right of election is given to the College of Canons.
 

 

     Provost Howard was in post in 1942 for the election of Bishop Gorton (installed 1943).   The local newspaper photographed the Chapter processing to the Cathedral, and in the Cathedral Archives there is a copy of Provost Howard’s agenda and notes.

 

     Two years ago historic photographs of a former bishop’s election were found amongst the glass negatives of the late Arthur Cooper.   Although they suffered water damage, the photos show Provost Howard and the Coventry Cathedral Chapter in the Cathedral Ruins after their election of Bishop Cuthbert Bardsley (installed in 1956).    Provost Howard is holding the Congé d'élire.

      No stranger is allowed to be present during the election of a bishop.   In 2008 one of the members of the College of Canons present for the election of Bishop Christopher Cocksworth took these pictures of the election meeting in the Chapter House followed by prayers in the Cathedral chancel.
 

 

 

EVER SINCE ITS Consecration the Cathedral has marked Christmas Eve with a service called "The Form Of A Servant".   
     In his book "Cymbals And Dances" the story behind this service is told by Rev Canon Joseph Poole, the Precentor, who with the first Cathedral staff team devised the service .
     "When Coventry Cathedral had been consecrated on 25^th May 1962 the staff sat down together to consider how best to celebrate Christmas Eve.   There was no point in trying to emulate King’s College, Cambridge; perhaps there was another way, more immediately suited to the City of Coventry.   Here was a bustling, thrusting community, supporting no fewer than 400 different industries: what was the real need of such a community?   And what had the Cathedral, by virtue of its history, to say to the community?
     By virtue of its history the Cathedral had to speak of reconciliation: reconciliation of man with God, and of man with man.   Where men are not reconciled with God and with one another, it is because they are sinners.   The first requirement, therefore, in a service celebrating the birth of the Redeemer, must be penitence; there must be a touch of astringency about it.
     And what was the deep need of the City, the bustling, thrusting City of Coventry?   It was, we believed, simply peace, tranquillity, a quiet mind; a chance to be still.
     Out of such considerations as these came our carol service for Christmas eve; and we called it The Form Of A Servant.   For we recalled the Redeemer’s vocation; we recalled what must also be the vocation of his followers.   “I am among you,” he said, “as one that serves.”   And on the eve of his Passion he said to his friends, “Know ye what I have done unto you?   Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.   If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.   For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.”
     The service begins with penitence followed by an outburst of joy and light at the birth of Jesus.  
     It ends with The Mystery.
               
“..to the silvery tones of the harpsichord, the choir, still carrying lighted tapers, withdraws eastward by the middle alley of the nave to the chancel, where the two sides of the choir divide to move through the Lady Chapel, and so disappear.   By this time the whole building is wrapped in a profound peace; the quiet, the tranquillity, the chance to be still, has been brought about.   When the choir has vanished, it is some time before anyone stirs; and only the electric lights over the doors at the west end are turned on, to show people the way out.  
The mystery lingers.”
     The service has changed over the years just as the Cathedral staff have changed, but the shape of the service has remained the same.   In the early years the sense of The Mystery was often summoned by the haunting sound of a flute solo in the darkness.  
      I remember in particular the Christmas Eve when instead of the flute the Cathedral Choir gathered at the west screen around the Christmas tree and to a simple guitar accompaniment sang “Silent Night”.    It had been bitterly cold when I arrived, but as I left the darkened building, heavy snowflakes had started to fall.   A magical white Christmas to add to The Mystery.
     For me the magic of the service lay (in the words of Joseph Poole) in “the quiet, the tranquillity, the chance to be still.”    That is what I seek on Christmas Eve.

On National Thanksgiving Day, 1919, members of the Cathedral Sunday School joined the 20,000 strong Sunday Schools procession through the streets of Coventry.
 

     LITTLE HAS BEEN written about how Coventry Cathedral emerged from its first big test, so I will try to set the record straight.
     In 1918 when Coventry Diocese was revived the ancient Parish Church of St Michael was consecrated a Cathedral.   What no one knew at the time was that within months the Cathedral would be called upon to respond to three days of serious rioting in the streets of Coventry.
     World War I ended on Armistice Day, 11^th November 1918 with the signing of the agreement to stop fighting.   From then onwards servicemen began to return home.  On their return they found themselves in a country exhausted by war.    They found few jobs available, as a result of which many of them were forced to rely on charity.   This was a long time before the Welfare State came into being.
     When war ended Coventry was hit harder than many other places.   The city’s factories had all been turned to the production of armaments and war materials, so now they had to find other purposes if they were to survive.   This was a slow process.  
      In the meantime the veterans were asking Was this what we were fighting for?   A general sense of unease spread across the country, with many rumours about the wealthy who had profited from the war, whilst the veterans who had risked their lives were now rewarded with poor housing and poverty on their return.
     On 28^th June 1919 the Versailles Peace Treaty was signed after many months of negotiations between the Allies and Germany.   The British government was aware of the mood in the country so it took immediate steps to re-focus the nation on the successful Peace by declaring 19^th July 1919 a public holiday - National Thanksgiving Day.  
     There was no time to waste in planning the Peace celebrations.   Up and down the country local planning committees met together to make their plans.   Most official celebrations marked the day with military parades of bands and marching veterans.
              
     The Coventry Peace celebrations were different.   They were organised by the City Council made up of the leading citizens, professionals and industrialists from Coventry’s pre-war past.   Now that the War was over they decided to revive the Coventry tradition of a Godiva Procession.   This would help Coventry to return to its pre-War normality.  
      As had been the custom the Godiva Procession would include not only Godiva but also taking part in the parade would be floats organised by companies and firms involved in the city’s traditional trades and industries, each of them depicting an episode from history.   The Pageant would encourage civic pride by invoking the past glories of city and nation.   Some 150 historical figures would be played by the leading Coventry citizens. (photo above)   Gladys Mann, the daughter of a Coventry councillor, would play Lady Godiva.   (To the relief of many clergy, Gladys opted to portray Godiva dressed in the gold-coloured dress and spiked coronet of a Saxon countess.)
     What was overlooked in all this planning was any role for munition and other war workers, of whom there were many thousands in the city.   Nor were the war veterans considered.   The organisers were mistaken to think that the revival of a Godiva Procession along pre-war lines would return Coventry to its pre-war status.
     The National Thanksgiving Day was part of a weekend of Peace celebrations, so on National Thanksgiving Sunday the Rt Rev Yeatman-Biggs, Bishop of Coventry, (photo right) decided to throw open the doors of the Cathedral to the citizens of Coventry.   All were invited to the first major service in his Cathedral.   It was his Cathedral because in those early years the Cathedral constitution appointed the Bishop as its Dean.  
     National Thanksgiving Saturday.   That morning members of the Cathedral Sunday School joined members of other Coventry Sunday Schools in the city centre.   A crowd of some 20,000 joined in hymns and prayers before processing through the city streets watched by crowds of onlookers lining the pavements.
     In the afternoon the Godiva Pageant processed through the city and the streets were once more lined with spectators.   Shop stewards had complained to the Council organisers about the exclusion of war workers and veterans, so with just days to go they were invited to walk alongside the principal players dressed as their supporters.   There was not a great response to this last minute adjustment.   Most veterans felt that they should be allowed to march together in acknowledgment of their service, as was happening in most other towns and cities.   The lukewarm response of the organisers to the complaints may have arisen because the veterans’ leaders aligned themselves with the city’s radical left, while Coventry’s Peace celebrations were organised by the more traditional members of the city council. 
     Nevertheless, there was a holiday atmosphere throughout the city.   There were many individual street parties, public bonfires and hog roasts.(photo right)   After all, it was a public holiday and no one was at work.
     Saturday riots.   As the evening progressed more and more people gathered in Coventry city centre.   It was estimated that up to 7,000 people congregated there.   There was a  general feeling of discontent that promises made to the returning soldiers had been broken.  

     Coventry had no Council House or Administration Building at that time so the protesters focussed on shops that were owned either by councillors or by people sympathetic to Germany (or rumoured to be).    Late that evening fighting broke out as stones and other objects were thrown and damage was caused to some thirty-five commercial premises.   Widespread looting took place, and the police who responded were attacked.   The rioters eventually dispersed in the early hours.    
     National Thanksgiving Sunday.   The next day Coventry Cathedral was the venue for the Civic Service of Thanksgiving.   All citizens were invited and the people of Coventry responded in droves.   They filled the building to capacity – and then a lot more!  
     Some hours before the Cathedral opened long queues formed at the entrance doors.   By 3.15pm there was no room left inside.   Within the building it was difficult to move.   Every available seat was occupied and there was a great mass of people standing at the west end and down the aisles.   One local newspaper estimated that there was a congregation of 4,000, which was double the normal seating capacity of the building.
     The Police halted the entrance queue once it became impossible to move freely around inside.   Those who were disappointed did not move away but packed the Cathedral churchyard.   Crowds stood in St Michael’s Avenue right the way down to Priory Street where they assembled around the east end of the building.
     It had been arranged for Holy Trinity Church to take any overflow, and that church too was soon filled with congregation.
“It had been announced that the band of the 1^st Life Guards would be present at the service, to accompany the singing and to play the Last Post at the conclusion, and this, no doubt, added to the attraction of the occasion.   …a large number remained near the Cathedral throughout the service quietly listening to the singing and the band accompaniments.”                      (Coventry Standard)
     At precisely 3.30pm the Mayor and Corporation arrived at the west door in their scarlet and blue robes to be greeted by the Bishop.   The Sword and Mace Bearers led the civic procession together with the Mayor’s Crier and the City Chamberlain, all fully robed.   The band of the Life Guards played in the Lady Chapel under the command of Lieutenant Miller.
     “Now Thank We All Our God” was sung as the processions entered.   “Seldom has a hymn been better sung, and the band accompaniment increased its impressiveness”.             (Coventry Standard)  
     There was no sermon but Bishop Yeatman-Biggs simply spoke informally and passionately to the congregation.   Aware of the rioting and conscious of the feeling of discontent in the city he reminded them that they were gathered to “praise God for the restoration of Peace, to remember with thankful hearts His goodness towards us in time of war, and to pray that we may worthily set forward His Kingdom of righteousness and peace in all the world”.  
      He invited all the congregation to throw themselves into the service with him, and to stand for a moment and make a united acknowledgment to God.   There was an immediate and positive response from those present.
     As the service reached its conclusion The Last Post and The Reveille were sounded.   The National Anthem was sung “and again the bandsmen and congregation threw themselves with fervour into the music and song; the thousands of voices once more blended with the instruments, and the uplifting of the congregation was apparent to all.”                                                                                          (Coventry Standard)
     At the close the Bishop and clergy followed by the Mayor and his colleagues processed to St Mary’s Hall, while many of the congregation waited behind in the Cathedral to listen to the voluntaries played by the band.   The local press reported that the Bishop had succeeded in uniting the citizens of Coventry in troubled times.  
     There was more street violence later that night when the premises of Dunn's hat shop and the Black Cat Cafe were singled out by the mob.
     National Thanksgiving Monday.    There were no more Peace celebrations on Monday but there was a third (and final) night of rioting.   By Monday the police had prepared themselves so they countered the violence with baton charges, an effective strategy that soon dispersed the crowds.
     The public responded to the many appeals not to congregate in the city centre, and there was no more rioting on Tuesday.   Coventry had not been the only place in the country to suffer from rioting but together with Luton, it was the worst place affected.  
      The response of thousands of Coventry citizens to the Bishop’s invitation to the National Thanksgiving Service had shown the love they felt for their Cathedral.   It also demonstrated the role of the Cathedral in bringing people together in times of trouble.
     Coventry Cathedral passed its first big test.