Inside one of my favourite churches, St. Katharinen, there is a small piece of art that’s worth a lot of emotion. At least for me. It is the Cross of Nails from Coventry. It stands for understanding between nations – the reconciliation after horrible World War 2. The Cross is part of a worldwide network of more of 330 crosses. Most of them consist of 3 nails from the ruins of the destroyed cathedral of Coventry, which means that this small piece of art made its way from Coventry, which was heavily bombed by the German airforce that destroyed the Cathedral, to Germany as a sign of reconciliation and peace.
The Cathedral in England is still in ruins but the nails from the roof truss of the old cathedral have been made into pieces of reconciliation and have created this worldwide network of churches who work for peace and understanding. Well, I get shattered in tears when I see it, as I know the backstory. Of course, I have a soft spot for all this emotionally heavy historical background, but what is more important than trust and understanding and building networks for peace?
That said: go and check the other crosses worldwide. Maybe you live near one and you didn’t know.
