Litany of Reconciliation

Last Sunday I worshipped at the Cathedral of St Paul in Dunedin. Instead of Choral Eucharist there was a Special Service for Remembrance Sunday. This was also the case on my previous visit in 2006. This year saw a larger congregation and more participation by the military, I guess because it is now 90 years since the end of World War I. I was with my sister. We both have made it a custom to attend the Dawn Service in Sydney on Anzac Day but I have missed the last two years being in New York (with her) in 2007 before going onto the Somme, our Uncle's grave and the service at the Menin Gate in Ypres. This year I was in Austria.

Australia and New Zealand share a common war history (except for Iraq) as seen in the name ANZAC (Australia & New Zealand Army Corps).

I was especially moved to see the Litany of Reconcilation from Coventry Cathedral in the service sheet.

For the hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class,
Father forgive.

For the covetous desires of people and nations to possess what is not their own,
Father forgive.

For the greed which exploits the work of human hands and lays waste the earth,
Father forgive.

For our envy of the welfare and happiness of others,
Father forgive.

For our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned, the homeless, the refugee,
Father forgive.

For the lust which dishonours the bodies of men, women and children,
Father forgive.

For the pride which leads us to trust in ourselves and not in God,
Father forgive.

I visited Coventry Cathedral way back in 1974 and was deeply moved by the ruined cathedral next to the (then) very modern new cathedral.

In 2000 I visited the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin where at noon the litany is also read (in German)

Vater Vergib.

All these occasions have been very moving for me.