Stafford prayer service gives thanks for life of Duke of Edinburgh
Representatives of the Queen and local leaders came together in Stafford today to give thanks for the life of the Duke of Edinburgh.
The Collegiate Church of Saint Mary was the setting for a prayer service giving thanks for Prince Philip and offering prayers for the Royal Family.
The service saw strict social distancing guidelines in place for the 60 people in attendance, including the wearing of face masks and protective screens for those speaking.
Among those in attendance were Stafford Mayor Gareth Jones, the Lord-lieutenant of Staffordshire Ian Dudson, the High Sheriff of Staffordshire James Friend, a number of deputy lieutenants and people who had met the duke on formal occasions.
There was also an online audience from as far away as Canada as the service was live-streamed on Facebook, allowing those unable to attend physically to join the service.
Rev. Richard Grigson, Rector of Stafford, said the prayer service had been a good opportunity to gather the community together in prayer.
See also:
"The service of prayer was very appropriate for the occasion, with a variety of people present, including those who had worked with the Duke of Edinburgh scheme watching online from Canada," he said.
"We had a representation of people from around the borough and the county and this was one of the first opportunities we have had to gather the community together in prayer.
"We would like the Royal Family to know that we are praying and for them at this time."
The main sermon at the service was read by John Davis MBE KStJ, Stafford town centre chaplain, who had met the Duke of Edinburgh on a number of occasions, the first time at Buckingham Palace in 1981.
He said: "I was in charge of police cadet training in those days and all of our cadets from Staffordshire Police took part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.
"I and 13 of my cadets were invited to the palace to receive their gold awards and for my involvement in the award scheme in Staffordshire and the international award scheme.
"We were all in uniform and he made a beeline over to us to speak to every cadet and find out what they'd done and what part of the award scheme they were interested in.
"It wasn't like the occasions where someone says well done and walks by, he genuinely wanted to know what each individual had done, then got their parents to come out and spoke to them for a long time, which made it very special for them."
Mr Davis said the duke was someone who really wanted to inspire people and had helped people across 144 countries to access the awards scheme, with many of those people offering tributes.
He said the news of his death had been met with a tremendous sadness across the community and said it had been a very special honour to do the sermon at the prayer service.
He said: "For me to speak on behalf of the community today was very special and it was very important to me that I got it as right as I could to reflect his life.
"I was able to bring to life the occasions I had met him and it was a really privilege to do that for him."
The prayer service can be seen at fb.watch/4ViGziO1RV/
