IFN Newsletter May 2023 Special Issue

The Coronation and the events forming the Coronation Weekend will see involvement of faith communities in many ways.

The Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty Queen Camilla will take place on the morning of Saturday 6 May at Westminster Abbey.   

Although a Christian service, a number of faith leaders and representatives will be involved.  The Church of England website notes that “This represents the multi-faith nature of our society and the importance of inclusion of other faiths whilst respecting the integrities of the different traditions.” 

Faith leaders and representatives from the Baha’i, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Sunni and Shia Muslim, and Zoroastrian communities will be part of the procession into Westminster Abbey.

During the service The King will be presented with four items of regalia by peers from Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities.

At the end of the final outward procession, The King will receive the following greeting from leaders and representatives from Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities: “Your Majesty, as neighbours in faith, we acknowledge the value of public service.

We unite with people of all faiths and beliefs in thanksgiving, and in service with you for the common good.”

The Coronation liturgy can be found at https://www.churchofengland.org/coronation/liturgy.

Contributing to a Churches Together in England website feature, IFN Co-Chairs Revd Canon Hilary Barber and Narendra Waghela said:

“The Coronation of HM King Charles III is centred on a Christian service. The Coronation will also see, for the first time, members of other faiths playing an active role in events. These two dimensions reflect the long history of the monarchy and traditions of coronation; the Christian beliefs and role of HM The King; and also His commitment to the continued development of the harmonious coexistence of people of different faiths, beliefs and cultures in the UK and in the Commonwealth. It will be a powerful symbolic expression of how a person’s deep rootedness in one tradition – for HM The King, the Christian faith – can give rise to, and be manifested in, respectful and positive engagement with people of other faiths and beliefs.”

The Board of IFN has conveyed, through its Co-Chairs, greetings to His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty Queen Camilla on the occasion of the Coronation, saying to HM The King:

“We express our gratitude for your highlighting of the important role that the diverse cultures, traditions and beliefs of the faith communities play in the life of the UK and the Commonwealth and the active role that you take in fostering this.

The Inter Faith Network links national faith community representative bodies, national, regional and local inter faith organisations and educational and academic bodies with an inter faith focus. It has worked with them since 1987 for inter faith understanding and cooperation in the UK. Your longstanding commitment to positive engagement between people of different faiths has been a continual encouragement to us.

 We pray for blessings on your Majesty and HM The Queen throughout your reign.”

Bells at Llandaff Cathedral will ring to celebrate the Coronation for almost two hours before the ceremony at Westminster Abbey. On Sunday, a Coronation Civic Service will take place at St David’s Cathedral, which will be filmed by BBC Wales.

A special Service of Dedication and Thanksgiving will be held at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh later this year when The King will be presented with the Honours of Scotland.

A cross-community Service of Thanksgiving was held at St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh on 2 May.

There have been many local services with prayers and readings from different faiths, such a county-wide  Coronation Service at All Saints' Church in Northampton on 30th April.

On Sunday 7 May the Coronation Big Lunch will take place, overseen and organised by the Big Lunch team at the Eden Project. Neighbours and communities across the UK are being invited to join together in streets, gardens, parks and community spaces to boost community spirit, reduce loneliness and support charities and good causes. 

Local faith and inter faith groups around the UK will be taking part.  Faiths Together in Croydon, for example, will be holding a Coronation Big Picnic, Birmingham Central Mosque will be holding a Coronation event and faith communities will be gathering in Oxford for a Big Lunch.

Some gatherings have taken place ahead of the Coronation Weekend. These include a pre-Coronation tea for faith leaders at Bhaktivedanta Manor in Hertfordshire

A map of events taking place across the UK can be found at https://coronation.gov.uk/events/.

On 7 May there will also be a special Coronation Concert staged and broadcast live at Windsor Castle. 

Monday 8 May has been designated as an extra Bank Holiday will see the launch of the Big Help Out. This is a project which aims to encourage people to try volunteering for themselves and join the work being undertaken to support their local areas.

Volunteering opportunities are being made available through an app which can be downloaded from https://thebighelpout.org.uk/join-in/.  Organisations who are seeking volunteers to support their work, can register their events.  Some examples from faith communities include a beach clean-up led by the Archbishop of Wales, a litter pick led by Bradford Cathedral in collaboration with Don’t Mess With Bradford and Bradford city council, the provision of hundreds of hot meals for the homeless in London led by Central Gurdwara London and a gardening project and mural led by the Northern Ireland Interfaith Forum. https://www.easterneye.biz/faith-communities-in-uk-unite-to-support-the-big-help-out/

Faith leaders have been encouraging faith communities to get involved in the Big Help Out.  Last month a number of faith leaders volunteered at The Passage Charity in London to highlight the importance of faith communities as sources of volunteering.   A number signed a letter which was published on 30 April in the Times and a number of local papers.

Coronation faith walks will be taking part in a number of areas around the UK. They are being organised by local participants with the Fayre Share Foundation.  These include, for example, walks organised in Barnet, Cardiff, Walsall and Westminster.