Christian “peacemaking” group, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, has said a new ¬¨¬£2 coin depicting an iconic World War I image of Lord Kitchener “is in danger of glorifying war” and has called on people who receive them to donate them to organisations “working to build a just and peaceful world for everyone”.
The FoR has launched a campaign, Coins into Ploughshares, addressing the release of the new coin by the Royal Mint to mark the centenary of the outbreak of World War I.
Director Millius Palayiwa says the coin may draw public attention “away from the horrors of the trenches and the continuing need for peace, healing and reconciliation in the world”.
“In the spirit of our founders, we are calling upon Christians, and everyone who wants to see the establishment of a world order based on love, forgiveness, compassion and reconciliation to save the new coins when they come across them and donate them to one of the many organisations working to build a just and peaceful world for everyone,” he says.
The FoR was founded in 1914 in response to the horrors of war that had been seen in Europe and currently has 85 branches, groups and affiliaties in 478 countries.
Richard Bickle, the chairman of FoR, says the campaign – which takes its name from words found in Isaiah 2:4 – is about challenging the many World War I centenary commemorations “which appear to glorify the ‘Great War’.”
The group are running a petition to have the coin redesigned. It can be found here: www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/royal-mint-replace-the-kitchener-2-coin-with-one-that-truly-commemorates-the-millions-who-died-in-the-first-world-war.
