A unique online service will take place this coming Sunday, 14 June, to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s official birthday and celebrate public service throughout Nottinghamshire, particularly the contribution of the NHS and the nursing profession.
This service is being organised by the Dean of Southwell, The Very Revd Nicola Sullivan, and this year’s High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Dame Elizabeth Fradd, who most appropriately is a highly distinguished nursing administrator.
Dame Elizabeth explained:
“The Queen’s Birthday Service is usually a grand occasion at Southwell Minster but this year, like so much else, it will take a very different form. It will also have a new significance as a result of the pandemic and the public’s renewed appreciation of the value and importance of public service in all its forms.”
Dean Nicola said:
“This special service will have a particular focus on celebrating the NHS and the nursing profession in this International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. It will include a contribution from an ITU nurse at the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, who will speak about her experience of caring for people with Covid-19, and from the Royal Engineers based at Beeston who helped deliver the Nightingale Hospital in Manchester and the Covid-19 test centre in Harrogate. As every year we give thanks to God for Her Majesty The Queen and her inspiring example of Christian faith and service.”
The Queen’s representative in Nottinghamshire is the Lord-Lieutenant, Sir John Peace, who said:
“What I see in local communities, across Nottinghamshire and across the country is an unprecedented crisis; what provides room for hope is the commitment to work together for the common good. Front line workers of all kinds deserve the public’s praise and appreciation but it is just as important to recognise the immense contribution of those behind the scenes. As Her Majesty said in her speech to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day: ‘We will succeed, and that success will belong to every one of us’. Following Her Majesty’s lead, this online service will be an occasion for us to demonstrate our pride in all aspects of public service and common endeavour. I invite everyone to join us online for this special celebration.”
The service will be available to view here on Sunday 14 June from 10.30am.
For over 900 years Southwell Minster has opened its doors every day to welcome visitors, pilgrims and worshippers. Some are local, many from further afield and across the world.
