All Souls' talk from on Sunday 3rd November

 

This talk was given by Sally Kerson at the All Souls' service All Saints.

Cathedrals are popular tourist attractions and receive many visitors each year which isn’t surprising as they are places of splendour, beauty and magnificence and were usually built centuries ago. But not Coventry cathedral which was built in the 1950s - it’s a cathedral which holds a special place in my heart as it was being built when I was growing up in Warwickshire. I visited the cathedral as a teenager to see plays and other events not usually associated with a place of worship, well certainly not in those days. The cathedral was built next to the ruins of the medieval Cathedral that was destroyed alongside much of the city at the height of the blitz in Nov 1940. Coventry cathedral is most well-known for the huge tapestry that hangs at the east end of the building. The tapestry is by Graham Sutherland and portrays Christ, seated on a throne with the symbols of the four Gospel writers around Him and is called ‘Christ in Glory.’

Interestingly the rear of the building is made up almost entirely of glass. And the glass is filled with etched glass figures of saints and angels that are flooded with the light, so as you walk from the ruins of the old Cathedral towards the new, Christ in Glory is what you see. The new building growing out from the old. As Coventry’s people rebuilt their lives there were ruined buildings scarring the city’s landscape for years to come, but the Cathedral’s message was that ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.’ 

So what has this to do with our loved ones who we have come to remember this afternoon? Well firstly, think again of those etched glass windows at the far end of Coventry Cathedral. As you look into the Cathedral from the outside you see the figure of Christ beyond, through the pictures of the saints and angels. To me this is a reminder that all our lives can reflect the image of Christ who is above and beyond us and all our lives are in some way ‘see through’ – allowing people to catch a glimpse of Christ through us.

Everyone has come here this afternoon to remember someone precious to them whose death (whether in recent months or many years ago) has left them laid low. So much that has been precious to you has gone from your lives with the death of a parent or friend, a brother or sister, a partner, husband, wife or child. Life cannot be the same again. Death robs us of so much, it steals a hoped for ‘future’ that we might have shared with our loved ones. Life has taken a different turn. Everything has shifted now Mum has gone…or Dad is no longer with us. We had not thought we would lose them so suddenly. Just like the building of the new Cathedral in Coventry, it feels like we are starting again, but rebuilding our lives is slow work, it is by no means easy, it can be painful and difficult, we can feel all at sea without the person who anchored our families and closest relationships. The past is still present to us but working out what shape our lives might take now is hard. Somehow, though, as we remember those close to us who have died, we are bringing them all consciously into God’s presence, as we shall do when their names are read out in a few moments. We remember them in the silence, and offer to God our happy memories, our love for those who have died, and any pain or unresolved issues we might have – all of these are brought into the light of God’s love, and offered to him for healing. And as a symbol of that love and healing, and of our hope for ourselves and for those who have died, we’ll all be invited to come forward to light a candle. We acknowledge that their passing has left a gap in our life and so we feel a continuing sense of loss, not for a week or a month or even a year. We will never get over that separation, not so long as we ourselves draw breath.

Our great churches (Coventry Cathedral amongst them) offer us a vision of hope and resurrection. And each week, here in church, we’re reminded that in worship we are both close to God but also close to all those who have gone before us, for we gather ‘with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven’ to show forth God’s love in our lives and to praise His name. Thank you for coming this afternoon and sharing your grief, I know it’s not easy, but I hope you will go home this afternoon with some comfort and hope in your hearts knowing that your loved ones are still very much part of you and rest in the love of God.

Love lives on (written by Amanda Bradley)

Those we love are never really lost to us –

we feel them in so many special ways.

Through friends they always cared about

and dreams they left behind,

in beauty that they added to our days..

in words of wisdom we still carry with us

and memories that never will be gone…

Those we love are never really lost to us..

For everywhere their special love lives on.