Lichfield Cathedral joins others in virtual VE Day event

The anniversary of the end of the war in Europe on May 8, 1945, was due to be marked by gatherings and street parties, but these events have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the cancellation of community events due to social distancing restrictions, the nation has been invited to join together in a virtual get-together called the Big Picnic for Hope.

The project asks people to stay at home, to picnic indoors or in their gardens, and to join friends and families virtually.

The Big Picnic also serves as a way to remember those who kept the country safe in the past and give thanks to the key workers serving the country today.

Lichfield Cathedral will join 12 other cathedrals in celebrating the event, which also aims to raise £5,000 for the Trussell Trust, a charity supporting a network of foodbanks in the UK.

Rev Adrian Dorber, the Dean of Lichfield, said the event was an appropriate way to remember the Second World War and think about humanity and care.

He said: "VE day in 1945 celebrated not only the defeat of an enemy but the solidarity and resourcefulness of the whole nation and its hopes for a secure and more settled world.

"The aim of the Big Picnic for Hope is to have a shared occasion when by sharing a meal and a conversation, we can swap our stories, memories and experiences.

"We hope people right across the country will be taking part, talking about what’s moved them, inspired them, made them grateful or got them thinking new kinds of things."

To find out more about the Big Picnic for Hope, visit bigpicnicforhope.com

To make a donation to the Trussell Trust appeal, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/bigpicnicforhope