Welby’s address to the congregation at Westminster Abbey and to a global audience focused on the eternal afterlife, the central message of traditional Christian funerals. The service originated in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, the official prayer book of the Church of England, famous for its beautiful and archaic language, but has been largely displaced in recent decades by those seeking a more modern style of worship. The queen is said to have been devoted to the Book of Common Prayer, along with the hymns and readings personally chosen by the monarch for her funeral. Welby opened his short sermon, which reached a third of the way through the hour-long service, with the words: “The pattern for many leaders is to rise in life and be forgotten after death.” He continued: “The pattern for all who serve God – famous or obscure, revered or ignored – is that death is the door to glory.” The archbishop recalled the Queen’s promise on her 21st birthday to devote her life to service. “Rarely has such a promise been so well kept. Few leaders receive the outpouring of love we’ve seen.” Speaking to the 2,000-strong congregation, which included members of the royal family, world leaders and members of the British establishment, he said: “People with love are rare at any level of society. Loving service leaders are rarer still. But in all cases those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privilege will be long forgotten.” Her family “grieved like any family at a funeral … but in this family’s case, it did so in the most intense way. May God heal their sorrow, may the void in their lives be marked with memories of joy and life.” Welby ended his sermon by echoing the Queen’s words in her Covid lockdown address to the nation. “We will meet again” were words of hope, he said. “We shall all face the merciful judgment of God: we may all share the hope of the Queen who in life and death inspired her servant leadership. Service in life, hope in death. All who follow the example of the queen and inspiration of trust and faith in God, can say with her: “We shall meet again.” The procession that opened the service included representatives of the faith, led by Marie van der Zyl, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. The Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Buddhist, Jain and Baha’i communities were also represented. Church leaders from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland joined those from different Christian traditions in England, including the Roman Catholic church and black-majority Pentecostal churches.
