EUCHARISTIC SERVICE
in celebration of
THE CORONATION OF KING CHARLES III
SUNDAY 7TH MAY 2023
SENTENCE FROM SCRIPTURE
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Romans 12.9,10
HYMN
GREETING
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Lord be with you
and also with you.
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia.
The president may introduce the service in these words:
We gather this day to worship almighty God,
and to pray for our King,
that, both now and always,
God may grant him wisdom and grace
for his ministry among us.
COLLECT FOR PURITY
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts,
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
SUMMARY OF THE LAW
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
The first commandment is this:
“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”
The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
There is no other commandment greater than these.
Amen. Lord, have mercy.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
God is love and we are God’s children.
There is no room for fear in love.
We love because God loved us first.
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.
God our Father, we confess to you
and to our fellow members in the Body of Christ
that we have sinned in thought, word and deed,
and in what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry.
Forgive us our sins,
and deliver us from the power of evil,
for the sake of your Son
who died for us, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
ABSOLUTION
God, who is both power and love,
forgive us and free us from our sins,
heal and strengthen us by the Holy Spirit,
and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen
GLORIA
sung by Sue St Joseph
THE COLLECT
Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness,
bless our Sovereign Lord, King Charles,
and all who are in authority under him;
that they may order all things
in wisdom and equity, righteousness and peace,
to the honour of your name,
and the good of your Church and people;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
FIRST READING
PSALM 145
read by Gill Swales
The Greatness and the Goodness of God
Praise. Of David.
I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall extol your works to another
and shall declare your mighty acts.
They will recount the glorious splendour of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works I will meditate.
They will proclaim the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.
All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
to make known to all people your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and gracious in all his deeds.
The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is just in all his ways
and kind in all his doings.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfils the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
SECOND READING
Romans 13: 1-10
read by David Kerr
Being Subject to Authorities
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad.
Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval, for it is God’s agent for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the agent of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore, one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s agents, busy with this very thing. Pay to all what is due them: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honour to whom honour is due.
Love for One Another
Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
HYMN
GOSPEL READING
Luke 22: 24-30
read by Rev James Clark Maxwell
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St Luke 22 beginning at verse 24
Glory to Christ our Saviour
The Dispute about Greatness
A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to them, “The kings of the gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather, the greatest among you must become like the youngest and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
“You are those who have stood by me in my trials, and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord
SERMON
I like, so many people around the world, watched the Coronation Service yesterday. It was a day like no other for me. I have never experienced a Coronation Service before, and I found it both moving and deeply uplifting. I admired the pomp and pageantry of the day which as ever was outstanding. However, what struck me most were the words delivered to the King by a young chorister at the start of the service. He said: Your Majesty, as children of the Kingdom of God we welcome you in the name of the King of Kings and King Charles 111 replied: In his name, and after his example, I come not to be served but to serve.
Service is at the heart of King Charles 111’s reign. The words “I come not to be served but to serve” echo Jesus’ words. Jesus is the Servant King who pioneered a new way of seeing and doing. He blazed the path of service that he wants King Charles 111 and all of us to imitate.
This service is not about greatness but rather about humility. Jesus saw and did things differently from us and by doing so invited us to rethink the values we hold dear. I am sure Jesus would have been hurt and dismayed at the disciples’ argument about who is the greatest. You will recall the Lord Jesus in the Upper Room before the Last Supper spending up to an hour on his knees with a bowl of water and a towel quietly washing the feet of his disciples. It wasn’t long after this happened that these same men began arguing which of them was the greatest. I hardly think that that means John shouted out, “I am the greatest! I am greater than the rest of you, because Jesus and I have a special relationship. I rested my head on his chest after the meal. We are bosom friends.”
Or that Peter chimed in, “No, I am the greatest, because when I said in Caesarea Philippi that he was the Christ, the Son of the living God, then Jesus told me that I was a blessed man and that Jehovah had taught me that fact.” I doubt very much that it was like that. I guess that they were thinking of a new situation that seemed to be arising; Jesus was going away to prepare a place for them. Who would be the natural leader then? It was more likely that some of the less significant apostles raised the issue and one of those men spoke out and said that he thought John should be the leader after Jesus. John is the greatest, and others responded saying it should be Peter because he was the greatest. So, the arguments began, John’s spokesmen reminding the others of how intimate and loving John and Jesus were, while Peter’s supporters mentioned how he was obviously leader material. And if ever they showed that they needed saving it was then in the Upper Room in this display of naked ambition, and envy. Just like the same stupid emotions can crash into our lives in a second just after we’ve been at a communion service and we’re on our way home in the car and something triggers off resentment and jealousy.
Jesus, on learning of their dispute talks of their need to be the least and the servant, or slave of all. He turns things, as he was forever doing, on their head. They were to pioneer a new way of living. It is this new way of living that King Charles 111 is to pioneer.
King Charles is no stranger to pioneering and to forging his own path in life as heir apparent. King Charles 111 throughout his life was often the first to do things, making him a bit of a pioneer. Did you know that Charles 111 was the first heir apparent in the UK to attend primary and secondary schooling. Prior to that their education had been undertaken by private tutors. Not only did Charles attend primary and secondary school but participated fully in the life of the school, with all its sports activities and drama productions.
King Charles 111 was the first heir apparent to go to university. He began a degree at Cambridge University, studying a range of subjects, including history and archaeology. He also spent some time studying the Welsh language and history at the University College of Wales in Aberystwyth. When Charles graduated from Cambridge, he was the first British heir apparent to earn a university degree, a Bachelor of Arts degree.
During Queen Elizabeth II’s long reign, Charles, the Prince of Wales, led an active life and completed thousands of royal engagements and visits. One such engagement was to visit the House of Lords, where he was the first royal since 1884 to make a speech from the floor. Another particularly significant time was in 1995, when Charles became the first member of the royal family to visit the Republic of Ireland in an official capacity. Twenty years later, Charles and Camilla visited the Republic of Ireland again, which the British Embassy described as an important step in ‘promoting peace and reconciliation’.
Charles’ charitable work has always been very important to him. He founded the UK’s leading youth charity, the Prince’s Trust, in 1976 and he has been enriched the lives of so ..so many young people. He has been involved in hundreds of other charities as patron, president or member, and is extremely well respected for his contributions and support. Charles’ work with these other charities has led to further firsts. In the 1980s, he was one of the first international figures to speak out against human rights abuses that were happening in Romania under its dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu. Recently, in January 2020, Charles became the first UK patron of the International Rescue Committee, a charity that aims to help refugees and those who have been displaced by war, persecution or natural disaster.
Charles 111 was one of the first to highlight the environmental problems this country and the world were facing, and to encourage us to do something urgently about climate change.
In July 1981, Charles married Diana, Princess of Wales, and they went on to have two sons,
William and Harry. In another first, Charles was the first royal father to be present at his children’s births. With problems in his marriage and with the death of Diana, Charles married his second wife Camilla in April 2005 in the Windsor Guildhall. He became the first member of the British royal family to marry in a civil ceremony.
On 8 September 2022, Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died and Charles acceded to the throne at the age of 73. This made him the oldest person to become a British monarch and the first British monarch in 70 years.
In his first speech on becoming king, Charles spoke of his love for his mother. Three months later, in his first Christmas speech as king, he spoke about the power of faith and service, his own personal faith in God and his respect for people of all faiths.
King Charles 111 is all too aware of his pioneering role in this country where he is to serve with humility. We live in an age and culture whose values are the opposite of spiritual humility and spiritual greatness. The self- serving, self- promoting, self- glorifying ways of the world are contrary to what Christ desires to see in us.
It is interesting to note in our gospel reading that it is normal and expected that God’s people will want to aspire and desire influence and leadership in various arenas. Whether your arena is in the church, at school or college, on a team or in the work force- the way you become a leader is through humbly serving others.
Humbly serving others means not lording it over us but rather it is about being absorbed in Scripture and allowing God’s Spirit to work in and through you. It is no surprise that first of many symbols King Charles received at his Coronation, was a Bible, to remind him about humble service under God.
His anointing in the service is to remind him that he is not alone in this role but is equipped by God’s spirit to lead with wisdom, mercy and justice. His ring reminds him of promise and commitment. It signifies covenant and agreement, an unbroken bond, without end. It ‘marries’ The King to God in duty, and to the People in loving service. In turn, it acts to assure His Majesty of God’s unfailing love.
Many other symbols were presented at the Coronation all speaking of King Charles’ role as protector, defender, and carer. King Charles has already embarked on this road of service, showing care and concern for many, and being a pioneer in so many ways of the upside- down Kingdom that Jesus heralded in. We pray God’s blessing on King Charles in his servant king role and we ask that he might inspire us to serve Christ humbly as he seeks to do. Amen
CREED
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.
With the Father and the Son,
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYERS
Lord God, we lift to you Charles our King,
that you may pour upon him abundant gifts
to help him fulfil the promises made at his Coronation:
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
We ask that that he will have
the grace, wisdom, and strength
to live a life of service to you and to his people:
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
We pray for Camilla the Queen Consort,
William Prince of Wales,
the Princess of Wales, and all the Royal Family;
that they may love and support the King
as he bears the burden of his office:
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
We pray for the building up of the Church
under its Supreme Governor,
for the building up of all Christian people,
and for mutual understanding and fellowship
between all people of faith
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
We bring to you our country, the United Kingdom,
His Majesty’s other Realms and Territories,
the whole Commonwealth of Nations,
and pray for their governments and ministers,
and for all who are called to public service,
that they will seek justice, mercy, and peace:
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
We cry to you for the peace of the world,
for the welfare of all people,
for those who care for others and for the environment,
and for all in need:
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
We thank you for King Charles’ reign.
May it be rich in love, mercy and justice.
We ask that King Charles may indeed be a king,
who came to serve and not be served.
May he humbly touch
the lives of people at home and abroad,
and in doing so, show your love and kindness.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers,
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ, who taught us to say together
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Do not bring us to the time of trial
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.
LIGHTING OF CANDLE FOR KING CHARLES 111
NATIONAL ANTHEM
HYMN
BLESSING
God the Father,
by whose glory Christ was raised from the dead,
strengthen you to walk with him in his risen life;
and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
be among you and remain with you always. Amen
DISMISSAL
Go or stay in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
In the name of Christ,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
