Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's RE lesson.

I'm Miss Marx, and I'm going to be your teacher today.

I'm so excited that you've decided to join me.

Today's lesson is called Coventry Cathedral and Reconciliation Today.

It's in an RE unit called Forgiveness: Is Reconciliation Possible? Are you ready to listen hard and work hard? Are you ready to learn lots of new knowledge and information? If you come to any part and you're finding it tricky, remember that you can stop the video, rewind it, and replay any of the explanation to help you understand.

Remember, if you need more time to answer a question or to complete a task, you can always press pause and press play when you're ready to start again.

Are you ready to start learning? Let's get started.

The outcome of today's lesson is, "I can explain how Coventry Cathedral fosters peace in its local community and across the world." And here are four keywords for today's lesson: reconciliation; forgiveness; symbol; and peace.

Every time you see these written in bold, you'll be able to remember what the definition of them is, 'cause I'm going to tell you now.

Reconciliation means fixing a broken friendship or making peace after a disagreement.

Forgiveness is letting go of hurt and choosing kindness instead of anger.

A symbol is a picture, object, or sign that stands for something else.

And peace is living happily with others without fighting or hurting each other.

Today's lesson has two parts.

In the first section, we will learn about how is Coventry Cathedral a symbol of peace, and in the second part of the lesson, we will find out how does Coventry spread its message of peace? Let's get started with the first part.

Aisha explains theology in Religious Education.

She says, "Theology is about looking at stories and texts and learning about when, why, and for who they were written.

We can better understand people's worldviews by examining how they've been interpreted both in the past and today." In this lesson, we will be examining how Coventry Cathedral's work on reconciliation links to the teachings of Jesus on forgiveness.

You can see two of our keywords are in bold there, reconciliation and forgiveness.

Izzy and Laura are discussing Coventry Cathedral.

Izzy says, "The story of Coventry Cathedral is incredible.

It is inspiring how it was rebuilt after the destruction of the bombing." And Laura says, "I want to find out more about the new building and how it symbolises peace and reconciliation.

Let's look at the cathedral in more detail." Here we have a photograph showing the ruins of the old cathedral that have been left to help us remember it.

Coventry Cathedral is not just a place of worship, it's a global symbol of peace and reconciliation, teaching that love and forgiveness are stronger than hate.

After being bombed during the Second World War, instead of seeking revenge, the people of Coventry chose forgiveness and worked to bring people together.

The ruins of the old cathedral are a symbol of remembrance and resilience.

The ruins were left standing as a reminder of the destruction of war, but also as a symbol of hope and rebuilding.

The charred cross is a symbol of faith and forgiveness.

You can see it here on the altar in the photograph.

After the bombing, two burned wooden beams were found in the ruins and placed on the alter as a symbol of survival and God's presence, even in destruction.

The words, "Father, forgive" or a symbol of forgiveness and reconciliation.

These words carved into the wall of the ruined cathedral remind us to forgive all people, not just those who hurt us, but everyone.

You might just be able to see the words etched into the wall behind the altar.

Here's a check for understanding.

Why was the charred cross placed in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral? Was it A, to symbolise faith and forgiveness, B, to show how old the church was, or C, to encourage people to rebuild quickly? It was A, to symbolise faith and forgiveness.

Well done if you got that correct.

Grace and Andrew both have a Christian worldview.

They are discussing the symbolism of the charred cross.

Andrew says, "The words, "Father, forgive" remind me of the story of Jesus and Peter.

Jesus tells Peter he must forgive not just seven times, but 70 times seven." And Grace says, "Yes.

Those words were also some of the last words Jesus spoke on the cross.

The charred cross shows Christians that everyone needs forgiveness, and Christians should never think someone is beyond forgiveness." Here's another check for understanding.

What is the significance of the, "Father, forgive" inscription at Coventry Cathedral? Is it A, that it tells people to rebuild the cathedral, B, it is a message of forgiveness for all people, or C, it is a prayer for better weather? It is B, it is a message of forgiveness for all people.

What can you see in this photograph? How might it connect to the story of the cathedral? And how might it connect to peace? This is the Baptistry window, and is by the artist John Piper.

It's one of the stained glass windows in the new cathedral.

It is made of 198 brightly coloured glass panels.

You can see all the different-colored panels of glass there, and it is 26 metres high.

Try and imagine how tall that is.

It represents the light of the Holy Spirit, new life, and hope.

The large stained glass windows fill the new cathedral with colour and light, showing that hope and beauty can come from destruction.

Grace and Andrew are discussing the symbolism of the Baptistry window.

Andrew says, "I love the way the window looks like a sun is rising.

It makes me think of hope and the beautiful cathedral coming from the ashes of the old one." And Grace says, "I think about my belief that Jesus rose from the dead.

I believe that Jesus taught forgiveness and peace.

The window shows that peace is more powerful than war." Here's a check for understanding.

True or false: the stained glass windows in Coventry Cathedral represent destruction? Is that true or false? It's false.

Do you know why? Stained glass windows in Coventry Cathedral show that hope and beauty can come from destruction.

And here is our task at the end of the first part of today's lesson.

You've been asked to help write a new guidebook for Coventry Cathedral.

Select either the charred cross, there's a photograph of it on the left, or the Baptistry window, there's a photograph of it on the right and explain what it symbolises.

Can you connect it to Christian teachings about forgiveness and peace? And here are some of the things that you might have included if you wrote about the charred cross.

"One of the most important symbols at Coventry Cathedral is the charred cross.

This cross was formed from two burnt wooden beams that were found in the ruins of the old cathedral after it was destroyed by bombs in World War II.

The charred cross represents faith, forgiveness, and new beginnings.

It shows that even in times of destruction and sadness, people can choose peace over anger.

The words, "Father, forgive" were placed near the cross to remind everyone that forgiveness is stronger than hate.

Today, the charred cross remains in the ruins of the old cathedral, inspiring visitors from all over the world to choose reconciliation and peace instead of revenge." Did you include those ideas in your explanation? Did you try and include some of the key words that we've heard a lot in today's lesson? Well done if you did any of that.

Your explanation about the Baptistry window may have included some of this.

"The Baptistry window by John Piper is made of 198 brightly coloured glass panels and is 26 metres high.

It represents the light of the Holy Spirit, new life, and hope.

The large stained glass windows fill the new cathedral with colour and light, showing that hope and beauty can come from destruction." Well done for all the hard thinking and careful description and explanation that you've done to complete that task.

I'm so proud of how hard you're working today.

Let's move on to the second part of the lesson, how does Coventry spread its message of peace? Izzy and Laura are discussing the work of Coventry Cathedral.

Izzy says, "It's amazing seeing how the building of Coventry Cathedral and the artwork connects to peace and hope.

I wonder if Coventry Cathedral do anything else?" And Laura says, "Let's find out what else they do.

Understanding the work of Coventry Cathedral will help us better understand Christian worldviews about reconciliation.

This is another object in Coventry Cathedral.

What can you see? What might its link be to peace and reconciliation? Cross of Nails is made from nails found after the bombing.

Look carefully at this photograph.

Can you see the shape of a cross in the middle of the sculpture? The Cross of Nails represents healing and rebuilding.

After the bombing, three mediaeval nails from the ruins were used to make a small cross, which became a symbol of peace and unity.

Can you see it in the centre there? Christians believed that Jesus taught his followers to love your enemies, so another cross was made and sent to churches in Kiel, Dresden, and Berlin, all places in Germany.

These were places that had been bombed and destroyed in the Second World War.

The Cross of Nails shows that the people of Coventry recognised that others had suffered too.

They wanted to show peace and reconciliation can happen between people who were once enemies.

Copies of this cross have been shared with churches and communities around the world, helping people work for peace and healing in areas affected by war or conflict.

The Community of the Cross of Nails is a network of churches, schools, and organisations around the world that work for peace and reconciliation.

It helps people to learn how to forgive, heal, and rebuild communities after conflict.

Grace and Andrew are discussing the connection between the Cross of Nails and reconciliation.

Andrew says, "The word reconciliation means to bring together something that was broken.

By giving the Cross of Nails to churches in Germany, Coventry Cathedral was trying to heal the memories of the war.

It is not forgetting, but mending." And grace says, "I love the way that Coventry Cathedral has given Crosses of Nails to other countries that have faced war.

Jesus asked his followers to love your enemies, and the Cross of Nails is a powerful symbol of reconciliation." Here's a check for understanding.

Which teaching of Jesus can the Cross of Nails connect to? Is it A, love your enemies, B, love your mother and father, or C, love God? It's A, love your enemies.

Well done if you got that correct.

Coventry Cathedral works for peace all over the world.

It works with other countries to bring people together after conflict as part of the International Reconciliation Ministry.

It supports peace-building projects in places where there is war or division.

Leaders from around the world visit the cathedral to learn how to promote reconciliation.

Coventry Cathedral teaches young people about peace, forgiveness, and how to resolve conflicts without violence.

Schools around the world learn from Coventry's example to build a kinder more peaceful future.

Izzy and Laura are discussing peace, hope, and reconciliation, and Izzy says, "I think the most important thing that Coventry did was to build a new cathedral.

It offered hope to the city and shows reconciliation is possible between enemies." And Laura says, "I think the most important thing was the work around the world for peace and reconciliation.

It means the message of Coventry can help others to reconcile as well." What do you think about what Izzy and Laura are saying? Where do your ideas about reconciliation come from? Here's the final task for today's lesson.

Write a peace pledge.

Think about how can I forgive someone instead of staying angry? What can I do to help others get along? And how can I spread kindness and peace in my school or community? You might want to use the sentence starter, "I pledge to bring peace by.

." Here are some ideas that you might have included.

"I pledge to bring peace by forgiving others when they make mistakes." "I pledge to bring peace by helping my friends work out problems kindly." "I pledge to bring peace by being kind to everyone, even when it's hard." Share your peace pledges with other people.

Thank you for working so hard in today's lesson.

I hope that you now have lots of new knowledge that you can talk about.

These are the key things I want you to try really hard to remember after this lesson.

Coventry Cathedral has become a centre for promoting reconciliation around the world.

By promoting reconciliation, Coventry Cathedral are trying to enact the teaching of Jesus about forgiveness.

The Cross of Nails project is now used as a symbol of reconciliation.

Reconciliation is about building a better future based on a restored relationship of peace.

Thank you for joining me for this lesson today.

I hope we can do some learning together again soon.

Bye for now.