TYNEDALE people were delighted to see a familiar face alongside the great and the good beaming from their television screens during the Coronation service in Westminster Abbey on Saturday.
For standing alongside the new Queen throughout the two-hour service was former Rector of Hexham the Rt Rev. Graham Usher, who is now the Bishop of Norwich.
Speaking before the service, Mr Usher (52), who was rector at Hexham for 10 years from 2004, said: “Much to my surprise I received a call a couple of months ago saying that Her Majesty The Queen would like me, together with the Bishop of Hereford, to support her at the Coronation as her two Bishops Assistant.
“I know that Sandringham plays a special part in the lives of The Royal Family and so I can only imagine that my involvement at the Coronation recognises the place that Norfolk has in The Queen’s heart.
“The role involves walking next to The Queen from when she arrives at the Abbey until she departs. I will be whispering reminders of when Her Majesty needs to stand, sit or kneel. But more importantly, I will be praying alongside her and The King. Praying for and with Their Majesties on such a momentous day in their lives.
“Whilst thoroughly daunting, it will be a privilege to support Her Majesty at this deeply spiritual moment where we ask for God’s blessing on her life of service and that of The King.
“The last couple of weeks have been packed with rehearsals, first in the ballroom at Buckingham Palace and then all this week in Westminster Abbey.”
During his time as at Hexham, the Abbey congregation grew and he will be best remembered for masterminding the reunification of the 1300-year-old abbey with its monastic buildings, which were hived off during the Reformation. He was in charge of an ambitious £3.2m project which saw the creation of a stunning new cloister, refectory, conference and meeting rooms, and a state-of-the-art exhibition about the Abbey's history.
He was also instrumental in the establishment of the West Northumberland Food Bank in Hexham.
Mr Usher left Hexham in 2014 to become Bishop of Dudley in the West Midlands, and in 2019, he was appointed Bishop of Norwich.
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