Maundy Thursday Service – Who’s going, what does it mean.

Recipients from across Durham, York, Wales and Scotland are preparing to attend the Royal Maundy service at Durham Cathedral on Holy Thursday.

Royal Maundy Service – Durham Cathedral, Thursday 17th April

During the service, 152 recipients, 76 men and 76 women (signifying the age of the Monarch), will be presented with specially-minted Maundy by The King to thank them for their outstanding Christian service and for making a difference to the lives of people in their local communities.

Hereford Cathedral is delighted to share the news that Tim Pryse-Davies, the Dean’s Verger, has been chosen to receive the Maundy money at this year’s Royal Maundy service.

Tim’s nomination acknowledges almost three decades of working within the vestry team and serving the congregation of Hereford Cathedral.

Tim moved to Hereford to take up the role of Assistant Verger in 1996 and then served as Canons’ Verger before stepping up to the leadership role of Dean’s Verger in 2010.

The Very Revd Sarah Brown, the Dean of Hereford, said:

“Tim’s very well-deserved award is in recognition of his own long and distinguished service to the Church as an outstanding verger at this cathedral.

‘This royal acknowledgement also celebrates the quiet and unassuming role of vergers up and down the country upon whom our cathedrals rely, each and every day. Tim is exceptional for the care and respect he has given for almost thirty years, not only to colleagues and the cathedral community but also to those who come through our doors in need, some of whom can be difficult to love and who present challenges that many of us would struggle to deal with.

 ‘As a Christian both at work and beyond, Tim exemplifies modesty and care for others. I know how much quiet assistance he has given to friends and colleagues in difficulty and how beloved he is of our elderly Almshouse residents for the unofficial care he takes of them.

‘It is always a pleasure when a genuinely modest person is shown how highly other people think of them and I am sure that everyone at Hereford Cathedral will join me in congratulating Tim on this very special news.”

Tim said:

“I was very surprised when I first received the letter inviting me to attend the Royal Maundy service as it was so unexpected. As a verger, I’m more accustomed to being behind the scenes, so it will be strange, but enjoyable, to experience such a special service as a member of the congregation.

It has been a privilege to serve the cathedral and its community over the last twenty-nine years. It really is a great honour to be recognised in this way and I am very much looking forward to attending the service.”

Another of this year’s recipients is Sister Josepha from Sunderland who has been recognised for her work with young people and families in the local community.

Recipient Anne Johnson from Hartlepool, who has been connecting isolated local communities and groups to church initiatives, is also a recipient and is attending the service with her daughter Louise and said about her invitation to the service,

“I feel delighted and very proud. It is a huge honour to receive this precious gift and participate in this ancient tradition”

Graham Young from County Durham will also be rewarded. He was nominated for his work with global and local charities and said he was ‘honoured and humbled’ when he received the invitation.

He said,

“Working in the service of communities locally and worldwide has been a way of life for me. Meeting the King has not! I’m honoured to have been nominated and humbly accept.”

Royal Maundy takes place each year on the Thursday before Easter Day and is a special service in which The King expresses his gratitude for those who serve and volunteer in their communities.

The service is rooted in the tradition of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet in the Upper Room the night before his death and goes back to medieval times.

Each recipient of Maundy money is given two small leather purses by The King, one red and one white. The first contains a small amount of ordinary coinage which symbolises the Sovereign’s gift for food and clothing. The second purse contains Maundy coins up to the value of the Sovereign’s age (which this year is 76p). The coins are legal tender but recipients normally prefer to retain them as a keepsake. This year the Red Purse contains a £5 coin commemorating The Queen Mother, and a 50p coin which features stories of WWII.

The Very Revd Dr Philip Plyming, Dean of Durham said,

“We are both honoured and delighted that The King and Queen are coming to Durham for this year’s Royal Maundy Service. All of us at Durham Cathedral look forward to welcoming them and being part of this special celebration of volunteering in the local community. Maundy Thursday is about remembering the service and sacrifice of Jesus and it will be so special to celebrate in such a memorable way those who live out the example of Jesus today.”

For more information about the Royal Maundy service at Durham Cathedral click here.