Marking The Queen's Diamond Jubilee 2012

Caption: Her Majesty the Queen

There are many ways in which we can join together to celebrate this very special occasion.

These pages ail list events and resources to help when planning activities and will be updated across the coming months.

Please do let us know of events in your local area so that we can share information with others across the Diocese.

Regional visits and engagements

Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, will mark the Diamond Jubilee with a series of regional visits and engagements throughout the UK during 2012.

They will be in South-West England on 1-2 May 2012.

Full details of the programme.

National events

Diamond Jubilee Pageant

The Pageant will take place on 10, 11 and 13 May 2012 in Windsor. Horses and other acts will travle from around the world to perform in celebration of Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee.

Epsom Derby

The Queen will attend the Epsom Derby on Saturday 2 June 2012.

The Big Jubilee Lunch

Building on the already popular Big Lunch initiative, people will be encouraged to share lunch with neighbours and friends on Sunday 3 June 2012 as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. This may take the form of a traditional street party or a picnic lunch in small or larger groups. This event is being organised by the Big Lunch. Why not organise or take part in one in your local area? Let us know the details!

You'll find lots of information on the Church of England website.

If you fancy organising your own street party the Directgov website has all the information you'll need.

The Big Jubilee Thank You

A really simple idea. Churches open up a 'book of thanks' rather than a 'book of condolence', and offer a public place for people to register their thanks to the Queen for her 60 year reign.

There is a letter template to print off, then space for people to add their own words of thanks. Once compiled into one Big Thank You letter later in the year, the letters will be delivered to Buckingham Palace. You can download the letter template here. The address to send your letter to, and full information is available on the Church of England website.

The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant

This event will take place on the Thames on Sunday 3 June 2012 and consist of up to 1,000 boats assembled from across the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world. The Queen will travel in the Royal Barge which will lead the flotilla. This event is being organised by the Thames Diamond Jubilee Foundation.

BBC Concert at Buckingham Palace

There will be a televised Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace on Monday 4 June 2012 with tickets being available to UK residents by public ballot. The musical programme for the concert is still being planned and is expected to feature British and Commonwealth musicians. Details on how to apply for the concert will be available in due course.

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Beacons

A network of 2,012 Beacons will be lit by communities and individuals throughout the United Kingdom, as well as the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, British Overseas Territories and the Commonwealth, on Monday 4 June 2012. As in 2002, The Queen will light the National Beacon. The beacons project is being organised by the Diamond Jubilee Beacons Ltd.    The Diocean DAC has released Jubilee Beacons guidance for those considering a beacon.

Service of Thanksgiving and Carriage Procession

There will be a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral and a formal Procession by The Queen on Tuesday 5 June 2012.

Jubilee prayer and liturgical resources

A prayer written at The Queen’s Direction by the Chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral for Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee has been released. It will be used in the Jubilee Thanksgiving Service in St Paul’s Cathedral on Tuesday, June 5th. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have commended it for use throughout the Church of England and other Churches are also welcome to use it.

Diocesan events

Jubilee Celebration Service in Wells Cathedral

There will be a festive evensong for a countrywide celebration in Wells Cathedral on Sunday 20 May 2012 from 3pm. Further details to follow from Wells Cathedral.

Please do let us have details of events in your area for inclusion here.

Resources

Church of England

There is a a helpful website section and online video at the Church of England website, produced by Mission and Public Affairs Division and the Communications Office of the Archbishops' Council.

Directgov

There are full listings of national events, details of bank holidays and entitlements, and school term dates listed on this comprehensive site.

The Queen on her faith

A good place to hear the Queen speaking on her faith is in her Christmas Broadcasts to the nation.

Jubilee Time Capsule

The Royal Commonwealth Society has organised a special Jubilee Time Capsule, a digital archive of The Queen’s reign. You can contribute to this by picking a day and adding your memories and stories of that day. You can use photos, words or videos and talk about anything you want.

Face Britain

Face Britain is a project created by The Prince's Foundation for Children & the Arts for children and young people aged 4-16 in the UK. You will be able to create a self-portrait and see it on public display as part of the celebrations.

Parish Pump

Parish Pump is the place to be for parish magazine editors.  The site is offering a series of articles written by David Winter, former head of Religion for the BBC, marking the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.   Note that you will need to set up an account.