Maidstone Anna Chaplain Elizabeth Bryson has kindly shared a template service to help you prepare worship for celebrating the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen.
Order of service for a care home service for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
Welcome: (show the book The Servant Queen and the King she serves. Do you remember the Queen’s Coronation?… memories shared…)
Hymn: I vow to thee my country sung at many royal occasions
The Queen’s Christian faith from The Servant Queen and the King she serves
Hymn: Great is thy faithfulness
Bible reading: The parable of the good samaritan (Luke 10:25–37)
Hymn: Jerusalem
The Queen’s service and dedication from The Servant Queen and the King she Serves
Songs about the love of Jesus: Jesus loves me this I know and Jesus love is very wonderful
The Queen enjoys being in the countryside and she appreciates the beauty of creation.
Hymn: All things bright and beautiful
Prayers:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name: thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen
Our thank you prayer:
Thank you for the world so sweet. Thank you for the food we eat. Thank you for the birds that sing. Thank you God for everything. Amen
[1] Gracious God, we give you thanks for the reign of your servant Elizabeth our Queen, and for the example of loving and faithful service that she has shown among us. Help us to follow her example of dedication and to commit our lives to you and to one another, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, grant us peace.
Since we cannot have Communion; we can ask Jesus to come spiritually into our hearts. O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee. Amen
The Grace
The National Anthem
The Queen’s Christian faith (from [2]The Servant Queen and the King she serves)
In 2002 the Queen spoke about the importance of her Christian faith and the depth of her trust in God. She said: ‘I know just how much I rely on my faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning. I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God… I draw strength from the message of hope in the Christian gospel.’
The Queen has been ‘open about what she believes’ ‘about Jesus’ and ‘about her faith in Jesus’. ‘And this is made most clear in her annual Christmas broadcasts where she speaks of Jesus Christ as “an inspiration”, a “role model” and “an anchor” in her life; where she makes reference to the circumstances of his birth, to his death and to his resurrection. And for her, this is all grounded in historical fact.’ The Queen is inspired ‘by Jesus’ simple but powerful teaching: love God and love thy neighbour as thyself – in other words, treat others as you would like them to treat you.’
‘Six months before her Coronation, Elizabeth asked the people of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth to: “Pray that God may give me wisdom and strength to carry out the solemn promises I shall be making and that I may faithfully serve Him and you, all the days of my life.” ‘God, it is clear has answered those prayers.’
‘In 2011 the Queen said: “Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God’s love.” She has worked hard for peace and reconciliation all her life.’ At Christmas 2012 the Queen quoted the last verse of in the carol In the Bleak Midwinter asking ‘What can I give him? And answering ‘Yet what I can I give him – give my heart.’ How wonderful that for the Queen: ‘Her trust in Jesus Christ is central to her.’
The Queen’s service and dedication (from [3]The Servant Queen and the King she serves)
On her 21st birthday, when she was Princess Elizabeth, she gave a radio address saying: ‘I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong. But I shall not have strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join with me, as I now invite you to do: I know that your support will be unfailingly given. God help me to make good my vow, and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.’
‘The Queen works hard because she is committed to service. And that comes from her commitment to follow the ways of Christ. At Christmas 2012 she said: “This is the time of year when we remember that God sent his only Son ‘to serve, not to be served.’ He restored love and service to the centre of our lives in the person of Jesus Christ.” ‘The Queen’s work is an expression of her desire to serve others’.
The Queen honours people who have given dedicated service to others. ‘Caring for one’s neighbour is a recurring theme in the Queen’s broadcasts. Time and again she praises people who do, and calls on us all to look out for those around us. In 1975 the Queen said of Jesus: “He showed that what people are and what they do, does matter and does make a difference… It does matter therefore what each individual does each day. Kindness, sympathy, resolution, and courteous behaviour ‘make a difference’.”
In 1985 The Queen said: ‘The story of the good samaritan reminds us of our duty to our neighbour. We should try to follow Christ’s clear instruction at the end of that story: “Go and do thou likewise.” The Queen’s inspiration for her view of her own work and others springs from Christ’s own example and sacrificial service.’
You can download the service template here.
References: [1] churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/liturgical-resources-hm-queens-platinum-jubilee 10th May 2022
[2] Catherine Butcher and Mark Green, The Servant Queen and the King she Serves (Bible Society, 2016) [3] Catherine Butcher and Mark Green, The Servant Queen and the King she Serves (Bible Society, 2016)
Comments