Saturday May 18 2024
The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, has thanked the people of Scotland and the chaplains of the Chapel Royal for their support following the death of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Speaking to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, to which he was welcomed as this year’s Lord High Commissioner (the monarch’s representative), Prince Edward said that there were times recently he had sensed ‘God’s care and love’.
He said: “Who could forget the scenes following the passing of my mother? The outpouring of emotions, the demonstrations of respect, love and grief was overwhelming, and a privilege to experience and behold. I think I can speak for my whole family when I say we will remain forever grateful for that support, coming so soon after the passing of my father which of course happened while we were still under pandemic restrictions, made everything far more emotional.
“I was really touched and comforted by the manner in which the chaplains made us all feel behind closed doors and away from public scrutiny. I know it’s part of the job description so perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised yet it’s not necessarily what they did it’s how they did it. Here were centuries of tradition of rituals long practiced, of prayer, of care and comfort.”
The Duke, who will be joined by his wife Sophie later in the week, is performing the role of Lord High Commissioner for the second time (although he joked that records will state that in 2014 it had been the Earl and Countess of Wessex). Referencing the Duchess’s work with victims of sexual violence in conflict settings, he praised the Church’s ministers for ‘listening without judging’, especially at times of grief or strife, when there are no easy answers. “In all such cases, we are usually powerless to effect instant change, but that is not the point,” he said. “We are prepared to take the time to listen without judging, to show we care.”
Prince Edward also praised the outgoing Moderator of the General Assembly, the Very Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, for ‘a wonderful year’, saying ‘your warmth and personality has charmed everyone, here and abroad’.
And he welcomed this year’s Moderator, the Rt Rev Dr Shaw Paterson, saying it was ‘a fitting recognition of more than 30 years of service to the Church’. He also echoed the theme of Dr Paterson’s year, ‘Building Together’: “The analogy is clear: you can’t construct something unless you work together, and if the builders don’t work together then the construction not only takes longer but is unlikely to be any good.”
Earlier, Dr Paterson said he was ‘very humbled’ to be appointed Moderator. He emphasised his own experience of negotiating a four-way union in his own parish and pledged ‘I will listen and I will be there and I will care’ in meeting Church members going through difficult situations. “Though every situation is different, I know something of what congregations the length and breath of the country are going through.”
In her address as outgoing Moderator, Mrs Foster-Fulton urged the Church to continue seeking to do justice, whether in work such as foodbanks, warm hubs and community spaces, in ‘demanding justice from those who might seek to withhold it’, or in work such as reckoning with the legacy of slavery (which will be addressed later in the week). “The impacts are not a far-distant, nothing-to-do with-us history,” she said. “People struggle every day with the shadow racism casts, with what entrenched colonial models impose.”
The Rev Sharon Hollis of the Uniting Church of Australia also referenced the legacy of colonialism when she addressed the Assembly on behalf of its overseas guests. “Five generations ago when my grandfather’s family left Dumfries, they did not know they were going to make a home on stolen lands,” she said, adding: “I want to say how much I admire the truth-telling you have done in your work on legacy of slavery… it’s hard, holy, good work but it’s necessary if we are to more faithfully live in this global community.”
The Rev Tim Norwood of the Church of England, speaking on behalf of the ecumenical delegates, said: “It’s often in times of difficulty that you realise the strength you possess together, when you choose to build together. There are no boundaries in our search for God’s Kingdom.”
General Assembly 2024: Full coverage
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