Two Bishops praised the Queen’s dedication to duty at Jubilee services held in the North East over the Jubilee weekend.
During his Sermon address at the ‘Service of Thanksgiving’ at Durham Cathedral, The Right Reverend Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham, on Saturday June 2 said: “The essence of love is service and the reign of the Queen has been the essence of service. Service is what shows that love is a reality. We do not understand the love of another by their words alone, but by their actions. That is how the Israelites understood that God loved the people of Israel. He saved them, an act of love. And that is why the heart of good, even great, monarchy is now not seen in victory in war, and by leading armies, but in the service to the nation that lives out the profoundly religious nature of coronation.

“Let us be clear. The service of coronation was both deeply religious in form and in many ways a sort of ordination. In other words it was not mere symbol and flim flam with fun music and a good occasion to dress up, but something that claimed by its outward form an inner truth, that the Monarch is called and ordained by God. Hands are anointed with oil, a Bible is presented, the sword is from God for justice and so on. At each stage the monarch is also reminded that what they are is a reflection of who God is, and that their duty is to imitate Him.”

He added: “Whatever some people may say or think about monarchy as a principle, the Queen as a person has been the best possible example of what monarchy can and should be.”

At the the ‘Service of Thanksgiving for the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’ at St Cuthbert’s, in Darlington, on Sunday June 3, the Right Reverend Mark Bryant, Bishop of Jarrow, will say: “Many of us believe that what the Queen’s Jubilee needs to be about above all else is a real sense of thanksgiving to God for 60 years of extraordinary public service. And it does not hurt to remind ourselves that The Queen does not need to do this. Even a rudimentary knowledge of English history will tell us that comparatively few monarchs have given themselves to be about and with their people in the way that our present Queen has done.

“And at a time when life is quite clearly getting more and more difficult for more and more people we perhaps need that sense of public service in our communities more than ever before.”

Bishop Mark adds: “So as we look ahead to difficult times, what might that idea of ‘public service’ look like? It seems to me that first of all public service is about putting ourselves out. Public service is about a willingness to put ourselves out for other people. Public service has a rare ability to raise people up, to give them a sense of value, a sense of new self-confidence. It gives people sense that in a world that often seems really quite chaotic, they do indeed matter, and they do indeed have meaning. Public service is going to be about putting ourselves out. It is about being there for the long haul, but we may indeed start to wonder if it is perhaps really worth it, if what it does is to raise people up to more than they can be.

“Her Majesty has done much throughout her reign to raise people up to help them realise that what they are doing is important and that they matter. Her countless walkabouts, her visits to schools, to projects great and small have often meant more than it may well be that she can imagine. She has given to the whole nation a remarkable example of public service.”

Both of the services were attended by the Lord-Lieutenant of County Durham, Sir Paul Nicholson along with other civic and public dignitaries.

A Cross made from centuries-old timber and celebrating the life of the northern Saint Cuthbert was blessed during a ceremony held at St Aidan’s Church of England Academy in Darlington. A team of students from Cuthbert House have worked with staff at the Academy in Hundens Lane to create the Cross from the wood they selected during a visit to the timber store at Durham Cathedral.

Students chose a piece of 16th Century oak that was removed from the fabric of the Cathedral in 1982, then worked with Academy staff to come up with designs for the Cross.
The Academy has plans for each of its four Houses to have a Cross made from historic timbers and Cuthbert is the first to have completed their project.

The Cross was blessed at a service in the Academy attended by guests including Father David Sudron, from Durham Cathedral, and Academy governor the Venerable Granville Gibson, whose idea the crosses were.

Granville Gibson said: “We plan to have four crosses made from historic timber, one for each house. Bede will have timber from Jarrow, Hilda from Hartlepool and Wilfrid from Ripon. The Cuthbert cross is the first one to have been completed.
“It’s fantastic to think that the oak tree from which it is made was hewn many centuries ago.”

Father Sudron said: “The cross establishes a tangible link between the Cathedral and the Academy and with the past. The wood is centuries old.”

The Bishop of Durham will be at five places round the Diocese of Durham during the week leading up to his Installation and Enthronement. At each place Bishop Justin will set up a space in the church for prayer, with different ways to pray, including drawing, writing, silence or reflection with candles and other supports for prayer. There will be comfortable places to sit. The spaces will be open for the four hours with a very brief common prayer for anyone there, led by Justin, every half hour. In most places (but not all) refreshments will be available. Those coming can simply sit and think, or write, or pray, or talk to Justin, or pray with him, as they choose for as long or as short a time as they like.

The Bishop-Designate of Durham, the Very Reverend Justin Welby, provides insights into his beliefs and his approach to his recent appointment in a new film.
 
The Bishop Designate was formally announced on June 2 and the film describes how he is looking forward to bringing about a sense of renewal in the Church of England in the Durham Diocese.
 
During a series of interviews, the current Dean of Liverpool explains what led him to serve God, his views on the task that lies ahead when he formally takes over as Bishop later this year and his approach to some of the more controversial subjects facing the Church.   
He also discusses the way ahead for the diocese during a conversation with Bishop Mark Bryant, of Jarrow, with whom he will be working closely and with whom he has previously worked.
 
Made by Aegies Associates for the Diocese, the film can be viewed on our YouTube page here:


Or Viewed here:

The new Bishop Designate of Durham was announced today – on Ascension Day, one of the most important days in the Christian calendar. The Very Revd Justin Welby is currently Dean of Liverpool where he was appointed in December 2007.