THE LORD Mayor of Coventry, Coun Michael Hammon and the Very Reverend John Witcombe, Dean of Coventry are preparing to welcome Minister Motohiko Kato, the Deputy Ambassador of Japan to a peace service at Coventry Cathedral to mark the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing.
Minister Motohiko Kato will join with other dignitaries and members of the public at the Chapel of Unity at Coventry Cathedral at 6pm on Thursday (August 6) for a brief service to remember the impact of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima on the 6th August 1945 and Nagasaki three days later.
“As a city of peace and reconciliation, it is right that we continue to pause and remember the impact of the atomic bomb on the people of Japan,” said the Very Reverend John Witcombe, Dean of Coventry.
“This annual event, which is now in its 26th year, brings together people of all faiths and none.
“Some may say it was a long time ago and half way across the world but it is part of our role in Coventry to look back, reflect, pause and look forward by strengthening our relationships with those who were our enemies and are now our friends.”
The service will be led by the Dean of Coventry and Mrs Sandra Noel a Reader on the Baptist Circuit.
It will begin with a message of greeting from the Mayor of Hiroshima which will be followed by a reply from the Lord Mayor of Coventry.
Coventry Poets Antony Owen and John Marshall will also speak.
There will also be prose readings, reflective silence and one hymn; and the congregation will join together to make Japanese origami cranes of peace.
After the service there will be soft drink refreshments and a chance to talk to those present.
Everyone is welcome.
