On Monday September 19, the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II took place. The funeral was held at Westminster Abbey, ten days after the Queen passed away. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, gave the sermon in front of millions.
2000 guests attended the funeral service, including kings, prime ministers, and other world leaders. Millions of people from all over the world followed the service online.
As the coffin entered Westminster Abbey, scriptures including John 11:25-26 and Job 19:25-17 were read.
Then, the Dean of Westminster gave the bidding. In the bidding, he praised God for the Queen’s faith and devotion and the example it gave to her people. He called for thanksgiving and for prayer for the Queen’s family. He ended the bidding with a prayer.
After the bidding, several lessons were read and hymns such as ‘The Lord’s my Shepherd’ were sung. The first lesson was from 1 Corinthians 15. The second lesson was from John 14, read by Prime Minister Liz Truss.
After these two lessons, Archbishop Justin Welby gave the sermon. He spoke of how the Queen had followed Christ in her life, and called to pray for the Queen’s family, but also for families who have lost someone recently. He spoke that “we will all face the merciful judgement of God: we can all share the Queen’s hope which in life and death inspired her servant leadership. All who follow the Queen’s example, and inspiration of trust and faith in God, can with her say: We will meet again.”
Reactions to the sermon
Evangelical Focus reports the positive reactions of several evangelical leaders to Justin Welby’s sermon. Gavin Calver, who is the CEO of the Evangelical Alliance United Kingdom, expressed that Welby gave “an absolutely outstanding Gospel message”. Terry Vigo has also praised God for the message Welby gave.
You can read the full order of service here and watch the whole funeral here.
