Who Goes There?

About the Book

Berlin, East and West, crucible of contrasting cultural, economic and political ideologies.

This was the setting for an exercise in reconciliation.  It was in response to an invitation by the German Lutheran churches in Berlin to the staff of the New Coventry Cathedral early in the 60’s.  All were concerned to engage in practical ways to redress the atrocities of war, and the affects on the human psyche.

Newly introduced to the mission at the Cathedral, Trevor Cooper included such concerns in his brief, as an industrial chaplain there for twenty-five years. 

Throughout the 70’s and 80’s he persuaded industrial employers, the trades unions, educational bodies, local authorities and governmental bodies to get involved in the planning and execution of educational exchange programmes in Coventry and the West Midlands.  He encouraged them to enable their own staff, employees and young workers, to participate in the reciprocal visits organized by his German counterparts in Berlin.

This book represents a realistic moral and ethical appraisal of the social influences on the lives of human beings, albeit living in an extraordinary environment.  But, when reading the daily news, today, in our increasingly interdependent world, the need for such a critique of societies generally would appear to be continually appropriate.

Asked if he would read the manuscript, before publication, Alan Webster remarked that it represented a truly Christian analysis.  And that it effectively responded to the declaration on the cover of his book: Reaching for Reality (2002), ‘Churches are given to tradition, but there comes a time when tradition no longer excites the living.  Vision and change are needed.’

About the Author

Trevor Cooper was educated at Nottingham High School, trained with a firm of chartered accountants, commissioned in the Royal Artillery during National Service, then worked in commercial management before submitting himself (and family!) to two years training at Lincoln Theological College when Alan Webster was the Principal.  Following ordination at Coventry Cathedral he continued with Coventry Industrial Mission before taking early retirement in 1992, after first submitting the findings of his research into the vocational development of young workers to the Centre for Education and Industry, University of Warwick, for which he was awarded an MA.