Service of Thanksgiving

Service of Thanksgiving to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Wednesday 22nd May 2013 11 am WELCOME TO ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL We are a Christian ...
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Service of Thanksgiving to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the

Wednesday 22nd May 2013 11 am

WELCOME TO ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL We are a Christian church within the Anglican tradition (Church of England) and we welcome people of all Christian traditions as well as people of other faiths and people of little or no faith. Christian worship has been offered to God here for over 1400 years. By worshipping with us today, you become part of that living tradition. Our regular worshippers, supported by nearly 150 members of staff and a large number of volunteers, make up the cathedral community. We are committed to the diversity, equal opportunities and personal and spiritual development of all who work and worship here because we are followers of Jesus Christ. This order of service is printed on sustainably-produced paper. You are welcome to take it away with you but, if you would like us to recycle it for you, please leave it on your seat. Thank you for being with us today. If you need any help, please ask a member of staff. Please be assured of our continuing prayers for you when you go back to your homes and places of worship. You might like to visit our website, www.stpauls.co.uk, or follow us on Twitter @StPaulsLondon or Facebook/stpaulscathedral The St Paul’s Cathedral Consort is directed by Simon Johnson, Organist and Assistant Director of Music. The Organ is played for the service by Timothy Wakerell, Sub-Organist, and before the service by Richard Moore, Organ Scholar.

Music before the service A selection of traditional and contemporary music by Total Brass, Royal Academy of Music. Allegro maestoso from Organ Sonata in G (Op. 28)

Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

As you prepare for worship, please be sensitive to the needs of those around you who may wish to pray in silence. Please switch off mobile telephones and do not use photographic, video or recording equipment at any time. A loop system is in operation throughout the Cathedral. Hearing aids should be switched to the ‘T’ position.

ORDER OF SERVICE The congregation is asked to join in all texts printed in bold. At 10.45 am, the Chapter leaves the Dean’s Aisle and proceeds to the Great West Door. At 10.50 am, the Lord Mayor is received at the Great West Door by the Chapter. At 10.55 am, remain seated as the Choir, the College of Minor Canons, the Trustees of the Royal Voluntary Service and the College of Canons proceed to their places under the Dome. At 10.55 am, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall is greeted by the Lord Mayor at the foot of the West Steps, and accompanied by him to the Great West Door where she is received by the Chapter. The Lord Mayor and the Sheriffs proceed to their seats under the Dome. At 11am, stand to sing

Processional Hymn during which the Chapter escorts Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall to her seat under the Dome and the Roll of Honour and Wreaths of Ivy and Rosemary are presented at the Dome Altar. Praise my soul, the King of heaven; To his feet thy tribute bring. Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, Who like me his praise should sing? Praise him! Praise him! Praise the everlasting King. Praise him for his grace and favour To our fathers in distress; Praise him still the same for ever, Slow to chide, and swift to bless, Praise him! Praise him! Glorious in his faithfulness.

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Father-like, he tends and spares us; Well our feeble frame he knows; In his hands he gently bears us, Rescues us from all our foes. Praise him! Praise him! Widely as his mercy flows. Angels, help us to adore him; Ye behold him face to face; Sun and moon, bow down before him; Dwellers all in time and space. Praise him! Praise him! Praise with us the God of grace. Words: H. F. Lyte (1793-1847)

Tune: Praise my soul John Goss (1800-80) Organist of St Paul’s (1838-72)

The Bidding given by The Reverend Canon Michael Hampel, Precentor, Canon in Residence Dear friends, we gather in this Cathedral Church to give thanks to God for the work of the Royal Voluntary Service in the United Kingdom over the last seventy-five years. We pray for everyone whose life has been touched and changed by the love, care and commitment of the Royal Voluntary Service, both as people who serve and as people who are served. Jesus himself became the servant of all for the good of all and we recognise that he is the source of love and the pattern of service in this world and this nation, our communities and our homes. We ask for God’s blessing on the strengthening and continuation of voluntary service at a time when vulnerability and need increase and resources diminish. In this same spirit of love and service, we remember before God all those for whom the Royal Voluntary Service exists as we pray for the lonely and the despairing; the sick and the fearful; the weak and the oppressed – that each precious life may be redeemed by the love of God and the love of neighbour.

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All these our thoughts and prayers let us humbly offer up to the throne of God in the words our Saviour Christ commanded and taught us, praying: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sit

Bible Reading read by Richard Greenhalgh Chairman, Royal Voluntary Service If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

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Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13

Reading England in the 1940s read by Josette Simon, OBE, Ambassador, Royal Voluntary Service ‘WVS – The Army Hitler Forgot’ by Mrs S C Needham, County Organiser for the Isle of Wight, attached to her Narrative Report for October 1943 Has the question ever been put to you Can you tell me what the WVS do? Oh yes! Of course, they drive a car Serve cups of tea from a Canteen Bar, With such duties light, in a gentle way, They easily pass the livelong day. No, no! They are wrong, and must be told Of the different story we now unfold. We Camouflage, “Make do and Mend” Knit, Sew and Wedding Dresses lend, Rest Centres, Information and CAB Red Cross messages, Salvage and VCP, Overseas Gifts for those “Bombed Out” A boon to our country without a doubt, Meals for the Land Army, and Home Guard as well, National Savings the Exchequer to swell, Billeting, Hospitality, the Child’s Clothing Exchange, Are some of the activities within our range. 6

Take out School Meals, Rose Hips collect, Try hard to fill in “Returns” correct. Reports, Statistics, Forms One, Two and Three, Besides the Canteens and Cups of Tea. Welfare for the forces is in daily request, Furnishing, Libraries, Mending Socks and Vests. Whatever they ask we try to provide To perform a “Miracle” is the WVS pride. The housewives section do jobs without end, In Lulls and Emergencies are the Warden’s Friend, With Demonstrations, Meetings and Exercises too, They are known to all by the cards “Red” and “Blue”. In all Emergencies the WVS are there, Looking after the Homeless with tender care. We feed, we clothe and the Frightened Soothe, And being “Basically Trained” can trouble remove. Our days are full with routine work, And the dullest job we never shirk, Yes, with willing hearts in the Isle of Wight, We “Stankonovite” from morn till night, And if our efforts can shorten the war By just one day, well that’s worth working for. And if we are tired and weary, we don’t care a jot, For we are part of the “Army that Hitler Forgot”.

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Reading England today read by Simon Holland-Brown, Kensington & Chelsea Befriending Service (volunteer since 2010) Volunteering for WRVS means a huge amount to me but it means more to Dawn, whom I visit once a week. I first visited her almost 2 years ago now – she is partially sighted and, following a nasty fall, needed help organising her home and her hectic social calendar. Dawn will often say “I don’t know what I’d do without you” a little over exaggeration no doubt, however, our relationship has developed beyond my jack of all trades assistance – we talk openly about everything from our friends and families to tennis and the theatre. Dawn has been in and out of hospital every 6 months or so following a number of bad falls and has recently had her hip replacement, replaced. I visit her in hospital, read her letters and harangue the nurses so she gets the care she deserves. She has few family and friends that can visit and support her. Despite almost sixty years between us we are the closest of friends and, paraphrasing Dawn, I’m not sure what I would do without her – she is an incredibly caring and wise old sage. I think we both feel exceedingly fortunate to steal an hour of each other’s time once a week.

Anthem Let all the world in every corner sing, My God and King! The heavens are not too high, His praise may thither fly; The earth is not too low, His praises there may grow. Let all the world in every corner sing, My God and King!

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Let all the world in every corner sing, My God and King! The Church with psalms must shout, No door can keep them out; But, above all, the heart Must bear the longest part. Let all the world in every corner sing, My God and King! Words: George Herbert (1593-1632)

Music: from Five Mystical Songs Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

Reading Wales in the 1960s read by Roy Noble, OBE, Ambassador, Royal Voluntary Service An extract from the Narrative Report for Ystradgynlais RD, July 1968. One of the most satisfying items of our work with the elderly is the annual holiday. We were amazed to find that this was the first real holiday some of the members, most of whom are over seventy, had ever been on in their lives. This year we stayed at a hotel in Weston which was right on the seafront, and the old people could go to sit in the gardens or by the sea or to listen to the band at the Rouzel. We also booked for them to spend an evening in the Winter Gardens; one of our members came second in the talent competition! We do find this holiday gives a lot of the old people literally something to live for throughout the year, something they can think about in many a lonely little room through the winter months; as well as providing them with a topic of conversation for many months in between. There was the night when the hotel proprietors mixed up everyone’s night attire and various weird figures with hair in curlers appeared round the circular staircase, clutching other people’s night garments. The laughter on this occasion could, I am certain, have been heard across the Bristol Channel in Wales.

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Reading Wales today read by Carol Kelly, Newport Good Neighbours (volunteer since 2010) “It’s Carol, WRVS – Would you like a visit today?” I asked Maisey over the telephone one afternoon. “Oh, yes, if you want to. I’m in bed, so you’ll have to wait for the stair lift to bring me downstairs”. “OK, Maisey I’ll be with you in a few minutes”, and I promptly set off on the short journey to her home. I knocked loudly at her front door – no reply. I knocked again. “Hello?” came a questioning voice from within. I crouched down to the letterbox and called. “Hello Maisey, It’s Carol” “Alright love, I’m upstairs, I’ll be down in a minute”. I stood up and waited. Time check – I’d been waiting for over 10 minutes. Once again down at the letterbox I lifted the flap and peered in. There was no sign of Maisey. All was very quiet. “Hello? . . . hello?” I called through the letterbox, at the top of my voice. No reply. I pulled out my phone and rang Maisey’s number, and I admit to being very relieved when she answered. “Hi Maisey, It’s Carol, I’ve been waiting outside for 15 minutes, are you OK?” “Oh yes love” she said “I forgot all about you and went back to bed!”

Stand

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Hymn during which a collection is taken for the Royal Voluntary Service. Please use the Gift Aid envelopes provided if you are a UK taxpayer. Love Divine, all loves excelling, Joy of heaven, to earth come down, Fix in us thy humble dwelling, All thy faithful mercies crown. Jesu, thou art all compassion, Pure unbounded love thou art; Visit us with thy salvation, Enter every trembling heart. Come, almighty to deliver, Let us all thy life receive; Suddenly return, and never, Never more thy temples leave. Thee we would be always blessing, Serve thee as thy hosts above, Pray, and praise thee, without ceasing, Glory in thy perfect love. Finish then thy new creation, Pure and spotless let us be; Let us see thy great salvation, Perfectly restored in thee, Changed from glory into glory, Till in heaven we take our place, Till we cast our crowns before thee, Lost in wonder, love, and praise! Words: Charles Wesley (1707-88)

Tune: Blaenwern William Rowlands (1860-1937)

Sit

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Reading Scotland in the 1980s read by Esther Rantzen, CBE An extract from the emergency services reports: Lockerbie Disaster December 1988 to January 1989. No one will forget Wednesday 21st December 1988 – the TV flash telling us of the tragedy, so near home, horrified us and then in moments it dawned on us that we might be involved. As the nearest trained Emergency Services team, we were soon speeding up the A74 in our aging Ford Cortina estate, trying desperately to keep up with our police escort. We arrived at twenty five past eleven and that night set about the job of feeding hungry people with whatever food appeared. Twice, members had to sit down with rescuers who really needed to share the horror of what was in their minds, and I think it was very helpful to be an audience for each man at that moment. There were lighter moments; including a short panic while we discovered, whether the message received by one of the dog handlers that the WRVS had a quantity of dog food referred to 4 tins or 4 tons; as it would depend what sort of transport he would send! In all we were on site for 18 days, worked some 4,000 hours and served 51,000 meals. The co-operation of everyone – friend or stranger – was quite remarkable.

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Reading Scotland today read by Bobby Findlater, Meals on Wheels, East Kilbride (volunteer since 2009) I would never have even thought about it before I joined the WRVS, but Meals on Wheels is so much more than just the hot meal that my escort Ryan and I pick up from the local primary school every week and deliver to the residents of Rutherglen and Cambuslang. During our run we meet so many interesting characters. We like to stop for a few minutes and have a blether about the weather, sport, current affairs, or even what is on the menu that day. Meals on Wheels is a lifeline to many, but don’t take my word for it, take Jimmy’s “I don’t know what I would do without the service and the patter,” he said to me the other day, “it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread!” Over the last four years I feel privileged to have made many friends. People, who in the winter of their years have lived lives full of experiences, who love to share their stories, and whose wisdom and dignity is something to behold. We miss them when we no longer have to deliver to them. I will end with a saying – Volunteers are not paid, not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.

Anthem The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you: the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen. Words: Numbers 6. 24-26

Music: John Rutter (b.1945)

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Address given by Patricia Routledge, CBE, Ambassador, Royal Voluntary Service

Remain seated or kneel

The Prayers led by The Reverend Jonathan Coore, Minor Canon and Succentor Let us pray. We give thanks for those who, through the Royal Voluntary Service, are God’s willing workers throughout this nation. Everlasting God, strengthen and sustain all who volunteer; that with patience and understanding they may love and care for your people; and grant that together, they may follow Jesus Christ, offering to you their gifts and talents; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. We give thanks for those who have reached an age where their wisdom and experience have much to teach us. Lord Jesus Christ, merciful redeemer and source of all comfort; help us not to push anyone aside or treat them as an inconvenience but to rejoice with them, support them and care for them as we would have others do for us. In your tenderness, draw close to the lonely, uphold those whose physical strength is failing, give relief to those in pain and strength to those who tend them. We ask that you will guide from this world those whom you are calling to yourself and grant consolation to those who will be bereft. In your name we ask. Amen.

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We remember all communities and neighbourhoods throughout this nation and the world. Lord Jesus, help us to follow your example, by looking out for those who, each day, feel that they are marginalised, who cannot find hope, who believe that they have little to offer, who are overcome by the challenges of poverty. Help us to widen our horizons, to make space for the stranger, to watch out for those who feel invisible, to give time to the outsider, to talk to the person facing silence, to restore justice and value human life. Give us the faith, the courage and the determination to fulfil this task. In your name we ask. Amen.

Sermon given by The Canon in Residence

Stand

Hymn during which the Roll of Honour and Wreaths of Ivy and Rosemary are returned. Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord: Unnumbered blessings, give my spirit voice; Tender to me the promise of his word; In God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice. Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his name: Make known his might, the deeds his arm has done; His mercy sure, from age to age the same; His holy name, the Lord, the Mighty One. Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might: Powers and dominions lay their glory by; Proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight, The hungry fed, the humble lifted high.

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Tell out, my soul, the glories of his word: Firm is his promise, and his mercy sure. Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord To children’s children and for evermore. Words: Timothy Dudley-Smith (b.1926) based on Luke 1. 46-55

Tune: Woodlands Walter Greatorex (1877-1949) Descant: Leonard Blake (1907-89)

Remain standing

Prayer Let us pray. O Lord and Father of all, who has put the spirit of generosity and self-giving into our hearts despite our self-centredness: let thy blessing rest in all its richness upon the Royal Voluntary Service and all its volunteers, that strengthened and heartened by the memory and example of their founder they may give themselves for the good of the people of this realm. Grant them the joy which comes from meeting human need and thereby from serving thee; and may the will to give voluntary service, and to give it wisely and well, ever flourish and increase in them, to the benefit of their fellow men and women, and to the glory of thy name, God blessed for evermore. Amen.

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The Blessing given by The Canon in Residence Go forth into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold fast that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honour all people; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit: and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you always. Amen.

Organ Voluntary Toccata from Organ Symphony No 5

Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937)

Remain standing as Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall is escorted by the Chapter to the Great West Door. The Lord Mayor and Sheriffs proceed to the Great West Door. The Choir, the College of Minor Canons, the Trustees of the Royal Voluntary Service and the College of Canons return to the Dean’s Aisle. Members of the congregation are asked to remain in their places until invited to leave by a Wandsman or an Usher.

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The Roll of Honour The Roll of Honour contains the names of 245 WVS members who lost their lives as a result of enemy action during 1939-45. It is the work of one lady, Miss Claire Evans BEM, who was WVS Deputy Centre Organiser for Camberwell. It took her three years to complete and has been described as one of the most important illuminated manuscripts of the twentieth century. The Roll of Honour is housed at Westminster Abbey and is on display there in the Nave. The Roll of Honour will be carried by Miss Hannah Tinkler of the Royal Voluntary Service Archive & Heritage Collection.

Wreaths of Ivy and Rosemary Rosemary and Ivy have special significance for the Royal Voluntary Service. They were chosen by our Founder Chairman, Lady Reading; Ivy as a symbol of steadfastness and Rosemary for remembrance. They are represented on the WVS Long Service Medal and serve as a reminder that the ideal is ‘service beyond self’, the embodiment of true voluntary service. The Rosemary wreath will be carried by Mrs Marilyn Openshaw of the Ellsmere Port Home Library Service. The Ivy wreath will be carried by Mrs Mary Smalley, Gwynedd Resilience and Recovery team.

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