Anglican Church Celebrates Queen's Platinum Jubilee, Grand Duke's Official Birthday with Special Thanksgiving Service

The Anglican Church of Luxembourg held a special Service of Thanksgiving in the Konvikt Chapel in Luxembourg-Ville on the evening of Sunday 12 June 2022.

On this occasion, the Anglican Church celebrated both the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (United Kingdom) and the official birthday of His Royal Highness Grand Duke Henri (Luxembourg).

The evening was comprised of a special Evensong service in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and a Te Deum service to celebrate the Grand Duke of Luxembourg’s official birthday (23 June).

Speaking to Chronicle.lu, Rev Geoff Read, Chaplain of the Anglican Church of Luxembourg, explained that the Anglican Church, as a co-conventionné (co-signatory of a convention between the Luxembourg State and established religious communities in the Grand Duchy), had been holding a Te Deum thanksgiving service for the Grand Duke of Luxembourg for several years. This year, which marks the 70^th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II, the church decided to adapt and expand this existing tradition to include a thanksgiving service for the Queen of the United Kingdom (UK) as well.

Indeed, the Anglican Church of Luxembourg forms part of the Church of England Diocese in Europe. As an international church attended by many (but not only) Anglicans, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee was an important milestone to mark. And with many of its churchgoers being dual nationals and its own connection to the wider Luxembourgish society, it made sense that the church would combine these two British and Luxembourgish events.

Fittingly, the British Ambassador to Luxembourg, Fleur Thomas, who recently hosted a separate evening reception to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and Paul Lesch, representative of the Grand Ducal Court, were among the more than 60 people present at Sunday’s public Service of Thanksgiving.

Rev Geoff Read added that the Anglican Church would once again be represented at the main National Day Te Deum service organised by the Roman Catholic Church at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg City on Thursday 23 June 2022. 

Concerning the main priorities of the Anglican Church of Luxembourg, Rev Geoff Read explained that these were to help people grow in their Christian faith and to offer a space for reflection for people outside the church, as well as serving the wider community in different ways.

One such way is through fundraising to support various charities. For instance, the Anglican Church held a two-part Charity Arts Festival in February and May 2022 respectively. Proceeds went to Stëmm vun der Strooss, a local non-profit organisation which supports homeless people and vulnerable members of Luxembourg society, Friendship Luxembourg, which supports marginalised communities in Bangladesh, Genadendal, an education charity in South Africa, and COPE Laos, a provider of prosthetic and orthotic services. More recently, on Saturday 11 June 2022, the Anglican Church held a fundraising wine and tapas evening for charity.

Finally, regarding the exit from the COVID-19 pandemic, Rev Geoff Read explained that the Anglican Church has now significantly decreased the number of its online services. For in-person services in the Konvikt Chapel, churchgoers are free to choose whether they wear a mask, in line with the principle of “love your neighbour”. In addition, the church organises a “Church on the Lawn” outdoor service once per month. Rev Geoff Read noted, however, that the pandemic had taught the church the skills to be able to take services online – lessons learned on which the church will draw if and when necessary in the future.