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Proud recipient of Royal Maundy Gift from Belleek parish
Mrs Edith Kirkpatrick with the Royal Maundy Gift. Photo taken by Ethne Earls.
A member of a parish in Clogher Diocese is a recipient of the Royal Maundy Gift from Her Majesty The Queen.
Mrs Edith Kirkpatrick, from Belleek was nominated by the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, the Most Revd John McDowell, to receive the gift for her exemplary Christian service within the community.
Each year, on Maundy Thursday, the Sovereign attends a special Royal Maundy service in a particular Cathedral in the United Kingdom and afterwards distributes the Maundy Gift to certain individuals who have been nominated by the Church hierarchies throughout the UK. However, this year’s service had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead, the Maundy gifts were sent out by post, with an accompanying letter from the Queen.
Edith, a parishioner of Belleek Parish Church, has always shown great love for her family, the community and her Church, where regular worship and service is very much a part of her life.
She said she was humbled and privileged to have been nominated to receive the gift this year, and is very pleased to accept it on behalf of all the unsung heroes in our families and in the community, who make more of a difference than even they realise.
The Royal Maundy Gift consists of two purses, one red and one white. The Red purse contains a symbolic contribution for clothing. This year a specially minted £5 coin to celebrate the Queen’s 95th birthday, is included and also a specially minted 50p coin, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of decimalisation of our currency in 1971. The white purse contains specially minted Maundy money: silver pennies, twopences, threepences and fourpences, all to the value of 95p, the Queen’s age.
The gift was accompanied by a letter from the Queen containing the following quotation; “Each year, at the Royal Maundy Service, we have an opportunity to recognise, and give thanks for, work done by countless people for the wellbeing of their neighbours; work that has often been taken for granted or hidden…”