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Dear friends,
Like you, I have heard the sad news of the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen was a woman of deep faith and unfailing duty and service. She was also a beloved mother and grandmother. Today, offering our thanksgiving for her life and dedication and holding her family, especially the King, in our prayers, we entrust her into God’s safekeeping.
A national Memorial service for Her Majesty will be held at St. James Cathedral, Toronto after the official funeral in the UK and the national Civic memorial in Canada. The service will be livestreamed on www.anglican.ca Please watch for announcement of the date and time. Our own Cathedral Church of St. Paul will also hold a Diocesan memorial service. That date and time will be shared when available. Parish memorial services may be held after or at the time of our Diocesan service.
Some parishes may wish to invite parishioners and community members to sign a memorial book to be sent to Buckingham Palace. Parishes with tolling bells (or hammers) may wish to honour Her Majesty by tolling the bell 96 times either today or on the day of her funeral or the memorial service. Parishes that have a flagpole should lower their flags to half-staff until after the official funeral.
In the Intercessions, Charles our King or King Charles should be used, depending on the wording of the prayer. Those who wish to insert a special prayer for the Queen in their church service may use this prayer:
O God, from whom comes everything that is upright and true:
Accept our thanks for the gifts of heart and mind thou didst bestow
on thy servant Elizabeth,
And which she showed forth among us in her words and deeds;
Deal graciously we pray thee, with those who mourn,
especially the members of the Royal Family,
that casting every care on thee, they may know the consolation of thy love,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Yours in Christ,
+Todd
The Right Reverend Todd Townshend
Bishop of Huron
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