On the 14^th, November 1940 the Luftwaffa managed to almost obliterate Coventry Cathedral totally alongside 4300 homes and killed some 550 people, during an air-raid code-named ‘Moonlight Sonata’. The following day the Provost Howard inspected the smouldering ruins and the decision to rebuild the Cathedral was taken that morning. In line with the vision of Provost Howard, rebuilding would not be an act of defiance, but rather a sign of faith, trust and hope for the future of the world. Shortly after the destruction, the cathedral stonemason, Jock Forbes, noticed that two of the charred medieval roof timbers had fallen in the shape of a cross. He set them up in the ruins where they were later placed on an altar of rubble with the moving words ‘Father Forgive’ inscribed on the Sanctuary wall. Another cross was fashioned from three medieval nails by local priest, the Rev’d Arthur Wales.

In September 2021, The Third Order, Society of Saint Francis (TSSF) joined in Association with the Community of the Cross of Nails (Coventry), which is now an international community working for reconciliation, peace and justice.

TSSF joined this movement because in its Principles TSSF seeks:

• Equality and Harmony.
• to fight against ignorance, pride and prejudice.
• to struggle against injustice, reflecting the openness of Christ.
• to seeking social justice and wherever possible International Peace.
• to seek the removal of barriers set up by privilege and wealth.

These principles resonate with those of The Community of the Cross of Nails (CCN) which are:

• healing the wounds of history.
• learning to live with difference
• celebrating diversity
• building a culture of peace.

In joining the CCN movement TSSF were given a Cross of Nails, a replica of the cross fashioned from three medieval nails by local priest, the Revd Arthur Wales, to use during its international work. In the 800^th Year of the existence of TSSF we are sharing this cross by taking it to all our various Area on of which is Scotland and Ireland. After the 800^th year Celebrations in the UK, Scotland received the Cross and we agreed to take this cross in celebration around the region. The cross has been to Glasgow and Inverness Cathedrals, to the Gordon Church in Fochabers, to Aberchirder. At Inverness, The Primus, Bishop Mark Strange, spoke of the need for peace in our world and recalled the sense of comfort he himself had experienced a few years ago when, after a particularly stressful experience at an Israeli military checkpoint, he sat by the Cross of Nails in the Tantour Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem. We then moved on to Saint John’s, Lothian Road in Edinburgh where the service was streamed to Ireland for members and Tertiaries there, and finally to Saint John’s here in Dumfries where several members shared a service of reconciliation in regular Tuesday and Wednesday Eucharistic celebrations alongside local members of TSSF.

Focusing on the background and meaning of this Cross of Nails has been a deeply moving experience for many people across Scotland. It has raised the profile, especially during the war in Ukraine, COP27, the present financial crisis and domestic violence, abuse and those marginalised in our society, of the suffering of many people, of the need for us to reach out, as Christ.

The perambulation of the Cross of Nails across Scotland may well have finished, but the call for each one of us to bring support, healing, reconciliation, and peace not only across the world but also in our own town and homes continues.