Anguilla’s Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee was held at the Pro-Cathedral of St. Mary, last Thursday afternoon.
A modest company, consisting of Government officials, church members and community folk, took part in the sacred service of worship, praise and gratitude to God for enabling Her Majesty to attain this remarkable milestone – seventy years of royalty – the longest reign of a monarch.
Canon Reid Simon moderated the service as he led the congregation in an act of praise and worship. He began: “We gather together to worship God, in thanksgiving for the seventy years of faithful service of our sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth.”
The congregation responded: “We give thanks for her example of faithfulness to God and to her people. And we pray God’s blessings on her that she may continue to fulfill the promises she has made with generosity and joy.”
That spirit of ‘generosity and joy’ would have been the hallmarks of Queen Elizabeth’s reign as she ascended the throne on 6th February 1952, and was crowned on 2nd June 1953. It was on the occasion of her father’s, King George VI’s death in 1952, that Elizabeth began her reign at the age of 25.
Reflecting on the Queen’s qualities of forbearance and grace, Rev. Wilmoth Hodge, of the Methodist Church, quoted from her 1984 Christmas message in which she pleaded with those she served to exercise the beneficial attributes of tolerance and forgiveness:
‘“Above all,” her Christmas message began, “we must retain the child’s readiness to forgive, with which we are all born and which is all too easy to lose as we grow older. Without it, divisions between families, communities and nations would remain unbridgeable.
‘“We owe it to our children and grandchildren to live up to the standards of behaviour and tolerance which we are so eager to teach them. We should work to heal old wounds and to abandon prejudice and suspicion.
‘“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.”’
Her Excellency the Governor, Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam, and the Honourable Premier, Dr. Ellis L. Webster, participated in the service by reading passages from Micah 6: 6-8 and Matthew 22:16-22 respectively.
The homily was delivered by Canon Reid Simon in which he focused on the Queen’s characteristics of love and tolerance: “Today as we gather, we understand the stewardship of the Queen” he said. “In a real way, Elizabeth the Queen has given sterling service throughout the world for seventy years. In a special way, she would have sought to live out the Judeo-Christian values of love, compassion, understanding and, most of all, tolerance.”
“We have reached a stage, today, where the focus is on self,” he observed. “We have seen throughout human history, and certainly in recent times, that people seek to affirm their identity at the expense of others. And that is not what God desires of us. God has made us all in His image, and he wants us to live as brothers and sisters [tolerant of each other].
“As we share with millions of people in observing this celebration, we must ask ourselves: ‘how can we carry on this legacy and perpetuate what the Queen regards as civil unity – fully differing people existing together’… We must never lose sight of our common humanity. And we must never lose sight of the fact that regardless of where the other person is – or who the other person is – he or she is a child of God.”
Canon Reid continued: “The features of this service that we have compiled have come from a number of sources. We have reached out to a number of partners because the Queen serves as the titular head of the Anglican Church. And so, together, we are able to share in the celebration as we ask God to continue to bless her – and not for blessings only – but, most of all, to give Him thanks for all that He has done through her throughout these seventy years.”
Then, referring to the Queen’s longevity and diligence, Canon Simon noted: “For seventy years her majesty has been making sure that she
kept things together. Amidst all the trials and challenges of human nature, and human advancement, she has said to us, within her realm that we are God’s children – and she had encouraged us to live in community with each other.”
The service proceeded with the reading of a Litany of Thanksgiving, by Pastor Jerome Harrigan, adapted from the 2012 Golden Jubilee programme. With reference to Her Majesty’s faithfulness, and commitment throughout her tenure, a section of that Litany read: “We give thanks for Her Majesty’s reign of seventy years and the example of a life symbolised by duty and sustained by faith. God, over all, we give you thanks.”
With the lustily singing of the National Anthem, and the National Song, the service drew to a close – and “We Seek Your Kingdom Through Every Sphere” was sung as the recessional hymn.
