On Tuesday 6 August at 5.30 for 6pm, there will be a service of reflection at Coventry Cathedral and Chapel of Unity, Coventry Cathedral, to remember the dropping of the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

The service will be led by the Rev Craig Muir of St Columba and our Chapel of Unity in Coventry Cathedral. The Lord Mayor of Coventry will attend as well as Minister Takashi Okada from the Embassy of Japan. A reflection will be given by Paul Parker, the senior administrator of Quakers in Britain. Coventry poet Anthony Owens will recite one of his Hiroshima poems and six students from Cardinal Newman Catholic School will tell the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl affected by the Hiroshima bomb. We will be supported by six Coventry young ambassadors led by Rebecca Bollands of Howes Primary School. There will be music including Taiko drumming.

This year Coventry Hiroshima Day coincides with Coventry-UK Season of Culture 2019-20 and we have registered four events within our one event with the Embassy of Japan.

A memorial has been held in Coventry for Hiroshima Day every year since 1987. The two cities have developed a friendship over the years with messages exchanged between the Lord Mayor of Coventry and the Mayor of Hiroshima.

The service, which is suitable for those of all faiths and none, will include prayers and reflective silence. After hearing the story of Sadako Sasaki, the congregation will join together to make Japanese origami cranes of peace. At 7pm the service will finish and there will be a chance to talk to those present before the cathedral closes at 730pm.

The Dean of Coventry, the Very Reverend John Witcombe says:
“The annual marking of Hiroshima Day is a very important part of our life here in the Cathedral, and especially in the Chapel of Unity with its focus on reconciliation. It is always immensely moving to gather representatives of what were deeply divided communities to remember the horrors of war and to pledge ourselves again to the pursuit of peace. I am very pleased that this service is hosted by the Lord Mayor’s Peace Committee, which means that it truly belongs to all citizens of Coventry, and all are most welcome.”

We look forward to welcoming you for this special service.