A memorial tribute to Queen Elizabeth II is pictured at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Hollywood, where Requiem Mass is set for 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 19. Photo: St. Thomas’ Church
[The Episcopal News] Services of remembrance in the Diocese of Los Angeles will honor Britain’s late Queen Elizabeth II, whose unequaled 70-year reign included her role as “defender of the faith” expressed across the global Anglican Communion.
Bishop John Harvey Taylor will preach during Requiem Mass at Hollywood’s St. Thomas the Apostle Church – an Episcopal parish worshiping in the Anglo-Catholic tradition – at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 19, the day of the monarch’s state funeral in Westminster Abbey preceding burial in Windsor Castle’s St. George’s Chapel.
Celebrant for the rites at St. Thomas’, 7501 Hollywood Blvd., is the parish’s rector, the Very Rev. Canon Ian Elliott Davies, also dean of the diocese’s Westside geographic deanery of congregations. Born in Wales, Davies assisted at London’s All Saints, Margaret Street – located next to Westminster Abbey – before his 2001 call to the Hollywood parish.
Davies has invited members of the congregation and the diocesan community to leave messages in the Church of England’s online book of condolences for Queen Elizabeth.
Cameron McKay, master of the music at St. Thomas’, will direct selections for the Sept. 19 service, which will be livestreamed via the parish’s Facebook page and YouTube channel as linked on the parish website.
Also on Sept. 19, a service of prayer and remembrance is set for 3 p.m. at Holy Trinity Church, 100 N. Third Avenue, Covina, with livestream information posted here.
Evensong services Oct. 2, Oct. 9
Two parish choirs long experienced in the English choral tradition will sing Evensong on two consecutive Sundays in October in memory of the queen.
- All Saints’, Beverly Hills, has set Evensong for 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2, with the Rev. Andrea McMillin, priest-in-charge, presiding, and music directed by Canon Craig Phillips. Livestream information will be posted at www.allsaintsbh.org. All Saints’ is located at 504 N. Camden Drive.
- St. James’, Los Angeles, has scheduled Evensong for 4:15 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9. The Rev. Kate Cress, rector, will preside with music directed by Canon James Buonemani. Livestream information will be posted at www.stjla.org. A 6pm organ recital will follow the service. St. James’ is located at 3903 Wilshire Blvd.
The St. James’ choir has been in residence at both Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral, while the All Saints’ choir, in residence at Wells and Salisbury cathedrals in 2017, plans to sing services at Canterbury and Worcester cathedrals this summer.
Queen Elizabeth II receives a nosegay from a youngster at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, San Diego, where the monarch and Prince Philip – pictured at left with then-Bishop C. Brinkley Morton – attended a Sunday morning service on Feb. 26, 1983. Photo: Diocese of San Diego
Additional services, condolences
Information about any additional services planned in the Diocese of Los Angeles may be emailed to news@ladiocese.org for posting online.
Condolences on behalf of the diocesan community have been expressed to the British Consul General of Los Angeles.
Prayers and remembrances were offered Sept. 11 at L.A.’s St. John’s Cathedral where Bishop-in-Charge Frank Brookhart opened his sermon with a quote from the queen: “History tells us that we need to be saved from ourselves, from our recklessness and from our greed” and called the congregation to address pressing issues including racism, poverty, damage to the climate, and personal shortcomings faced by individuals.
Word of the queen’s death was received a few hours before the Sept. 8 midday Eucharist in St. Athanasius’ Church at St. Paul’s Commons, Echo Park. Marking the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Bishop Taylor preached a homily drawing parallels between both women’s willingness, voiced in their youth, to serve in their respective roles. Taylor underscored the queen’s “gift to the world of constancy… and her invitation to love and civility.”
Queen Elizabeth II first visited Los Angeles in 1983 traveling up the California coast aboard the royal yacht Britannia amid rainstorms during her 10-day itinerary. On Feb. 26, the day after arriving in San Diego, she and Prince Philip attended a Sunday-morning service at that city’s St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral.
At the outset of the queen’s reign, a memorial service for her late father, King George VI, was held at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Los Angeles on Feb. 15, 1952.
— Robert Williams is diocesan canon for common life. He is also serves the Diocese of Los Angeles as historiographer and archivist.