Reconciliation

The Cathedral in Coventry has a long (1000 years or so) history starting as a former house for nuns and a Benedictine community. This cathedral became a symbol for forgiveness and reconciliation on November 15, 1940...the morning after it was bombed and destroyed. The cathedral took 22 years to build and in 1962 was opened - keeping the destroyed ruins in place next to the modern cathedral...a juxtaposition of old and new, faith and defiance when most would give up.

Coventry is a beautiful and very calming setting, which might seem surprising given its history. Check out the photos and see for yourself (password england). This is the last entry before returning home, so it is also your chance to catch up on all of the photos and entries before I return and start to quiz you all on the journeys!!

The Queen told us that she was in town for the wedding of her grandson on Saturday, so we were invited over to Windsor Castle for a spot of tea. We had a bit of driving to do to get over to Windsor, so we skipped out on tea with the queen but made a quick tour of the castle. There are a lot of rooms for a lot of stuff, but you have to love the pomp and circumstance of the British Monarchs!

We shared our final English dinner, communion, slide show (we have taken over 7000 pictures as a combined group - I'll bet you can't wait for that album to be shared!!) and thoughts on the trip together this evening. The common theme for all is that this has been an incredibly powerful, meaningful and impactful trip for each of us for different reasons, but ultimately the purpose of our pilgrimage has been met and will continue to live on even as we return to our 'regular' lives.

Thanks to all of you who have shared this journey and taken the time to read the entries, I hope that you have enjoyed reading through this blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it! Tomorrow it is off to Oxford college for a brief tour of some of John Wesley's haunts and history as he began sharing his beliefs and practices with fellow students. It will be back to Heathrow airport by lunchtime and then a thrilling 11 hour flight home...see you all in a couple of days!