Westminster Abbey marks Jamaica Independence Day
August 8, 2011
LONDON - An Evensong was held at Westminster Abbey, in London, on August 1, to mark the island's 49th Anniversary of Independence.
Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Joan Thomas Edwards and her husband, Mr Albert Edwards, were special guests at the ceremony.
The Jamaican flag was flown at the Abbey, and Deputy High Commissioner Edwards read the second scripture lesson.
Evensong is an evening service of the Anglican Communion in which most of the liturgy is sung in Anglican chant. It also contains hymns, psalms, and the canticles.
Westminster Abbey has been described as ‘the parish church of the world’. As well as historic links with Europe and America, it maintains strong contemporary relationships with all Commonwealth countries.
Each year, the High Commissioners of Commonwealth countries are invited by the Dean to Evensong on, or close to their national day.
The Abbey community prays for the people of that country, their leaders, for that country’s nationals living in the United Kingdom, for diplomats dispersed throughout the world, and for the work of that High Commission in London.
