We must go live to feed the hungry - Stand beside the broken - We must go - Stepping forward keep us from just singing -Move us into action -We must go (Lord of Justice – Tim Hughes)

CCN International Youth Gathering: Generation of hope

I was standing with people from 9 nationalities in Coventry Cathedral and together we were singing the song “We must go”.
ARSP offered the opportunity to the Volunteers from GB to take part in the Conference “Generation of Hope” organised by the Community of the Cross of Nails (CCN) at Coventry Cathedral. The gathering was held from the 5th to the 10th July 2012.Three Volunteers from ARSP came to join the conference for one day or longer. Moreover one ARSP Volunteer, who is working for Coventry Cathedral, organized a big part of this conference.

The Community of the Cross of Nails, established after WW2, is a community that prays and works for peace, justice and reconciliation.
In worship, small group Bible study, workshops and keynote sessions we listened to each other’s stories and learned some of the skills and knowledge to build a culture of peace.
Furthermore we dealt with the subjects ‘healing the wounds of history’ and ‘learning to live with difference and celebrate diversity.’ Therefore we visited different places of worship of other religions; for example we went to the Coventry Hindu Temple and a Gurdwara (Sikh temple) in Leamington It is important to share, discuss and practise with each other how peace is developing in some areas but also where today’s world needs us to establish peace and reconciliation.
I especially liked the evening of reflective worship with speaker Krish Kandiah, who is the Director for the UK Evangelical Alliance. We sang the song I spoke about at the beginning and we were thinking how we personally can bring peace to the world. I personally enjoyed the conference a lot, especially as it gave me the opportunity to talk to people who had come from Belarus, Israel, Palestine and South Africa.
The CCN Youth Gathering takes place in a different country every 3 years. This year we were happy to have it in Coventry because of the Golden Jubilee of the Coventry Cathedral.

Written by Josephine Merkel ARSP Volunteer at Coventry Mind