At this time of national mourning there are a raft of resources available now on the A ChurchNearYou.com website to be accessed locally by each parish. 

Also available ... 

Prayer, liturgy and more ...

The official prayer, liturgy and other resources are now also available here on The Church of England website. 

Diocesan Prayer

The recently retired Bishop of Blackburn, Rt Rev. Julian Henderson, has written a prayer to be used in parishes and schools at this time. 

We come to you, our everlasting God, at a time of change and sadness, following the death of our Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth.

Your call to her and Your anointing of her 70 year reign have been a blessing to this nation and around the world.

We bring our thanks to You for a life of dutiful and willing service right to the end and a life of active faith and hope in Jesus Christ.

We ask for Your comfort and strength for her family as they grieve and take on new responsibilities.

Guide the King as a different era unfolds and may the days that lie ahead build on the legacy of that which has gone before and promote faith, justice and peace in our land, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

Video messages

The following video messages were issued ... please use them as part of services and in other contexts you deem appropriate. 

• Message from Bishop Philip, immediately after the announcement of the death of Her Majesty the Queen
• Pastoral message from Bishop Jill to the people of Lancashire
• Message from the Dean of Blackburn, including details of Civic Services (see also below).  

Civic Services

The County Service of Thanksgiving at the Cathedral was on Sunday afternoon, September 18

The service was livestreamed and a recording will be available here. The other services were are as follows:  

Friday:

• St John’s, Blackpool 
• Lancaster Priory: Livestream recording here. 

Saturday:

• St Peter’s Burnley: Livestream recording here. 
• Preston Minster 

Livestreams of the funeral 

Some parishes, like St Cuthberts's in Lytham, had plans in place to livestream Her Late Majesty's funeral on Monday, September 19.

Parish information can always be found on www.achurchnearyou.com. 

Flags, bells and paper books of condolence

• Instructions about flags, bells, book of condolence etc are available here to download. This information is also available on A Church Near You.

Online Books of Condolence

• There is a national online memorial book available on the Church of England website.
• Our own Cathedral also has an online book available for signing. 

Government guidance

• The government has also issued National Mourning Period guidance for faith groups and places of worship. Find it here.

Royal warrants amending forms of service

Potentially four billion people witnessed the role that impeccably arranged liturgy has in the presentation of the Gospel during a service.

Making sure we are up to date with resources and correct settings is very important.

The National Liturgical Advisor, the Revd Dr Mathew Salisbury, has written the attached letter regarding how to update our prayers for the Monarch.

Click here to read the guidance. 

Selected media coverage 

Here we are collating a selection of links to local media coverage and social media posts related to the Diocese

• First, here is a link to a broadcast on BBC Radio Lancashire on Friday, September 9. Acting Diocesan Bishop, Rt Rev. Philip North, spent an hour or so (listen from around 1h 32m in) with presenter Joe Wilson talking about Her Late Majesty, her unwavering Christian faith and how our churches across the Diocese are responding at this difficult time for our nation. 
• The Acting Diocesan Bishop and Bishop of Burnley, Rt Rev. Philip North, appeared twice on the Friday before the State Funeral on BBC Radio Lancashire; first in the morning to talk about Her Late Majesty, her personal faith and the impact that faith has had on others as well as his experience of meeting King Charles III when he was still Prince of Wales. You can listen here (from 1h 20m 05s). Then later he was part of a review of the past week’s events. Listen here from 2h 10m.    
• In a video message issued prior to a weekend of Civic Services across Blackburn Diocese, the Dean of Blackburn, Very Rev. Peter Howell-Jones, speaks of Her Late Majesty's 'anchor' in the Christian faith as featured in the Lancashire Telegraph. 
• Meanwhile Bishop Julian, recently retired, was also interviewed on BBC Radio Lancashire about his memories of Her Late Majesty (he met The Queen on a number of occasions). You can listen here (from 2h 20m 40s). And read a separate but related article on the BBC News website. 
• A 'poignant' Civic Service was held for Her Late Majesty at St John's Church in Blackpool with Rt Rev. Dr Jill Duff, Bishop of Lancaster, preaching. Blackpool Gazette. As outlined by the Lancashire Telegraph, it was one of five Civic Services, including the County Thanksgiving Service, taking place at Blackburn Cathedral on Sunday September 18. 
• Parishes and their services featured in stories in many local newspapers, such as this one from Clitheroe as covered in the Lancashire Telegraph.
• The Civic Services across the County featured in many media outlets, including this story in the Blackpool Gazette and this one in the Burnley Express; while the County Civic Service at the Cathedral was covered by BBC North West Tonight, BBC Radio Lancashire BBC News Online and many others, including In Your Area. Meanwhile, on the day of the State Funeral Granada Reports visited St Cuthbert's in Lytham, where Bishop Philip was also spending the morning with the congregation.
• Bishop Jill participated in a special programme on BBC Radio Lancashire, networked across all BBC local radio stations and starting before, then continuing after, the State Funeral. Listen here (whole programme) and the programme continues here.
• The Lancashire Telegraph used our press release to cover the County Service of Thanksgiving.
• The Queen at Blackburn Cathedral for Maundy in 2014 featured in an article on New Zealand news website RNZ about the death of Her Majesty.
• Lancaster Guardian on Bishop Jill’s pastoral message.
• Our churches featured alongside pubs and cinemas as venues to watch the service in the Lancashire Telegraph.

Ronnie Semley, September 2022; regularly updated