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CNN Live Event/Special
The State Funeral for Queen Elizabeth II Takes Place in London. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired September 19, 2022 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: So as the coffin heads down the aisle, the spouses will be joining, the queen consort, the Duchess of Sussex, and Princess of Wales.
[05:59:47]
(ORGAN MUSIC)
VERY REV. DAVID HOYLE, DEAN OF WESTMINSTER: In grief and also in profound thanksgiving, we come to this house of God to a place of prayer, to a church where remembrance and hope are sacred duties.
Here, where Queen Elizabeth was married and crowned, we gather from across the nation, from the Commonwealth, and from the nations of the world, to mourn our loss. To remember her long life of selfless service and ensure confidence to commit her to the mercy of God, our maker and redeemer.
With gratitude, we remember her unswerving commitment to a high calling over so many years as queen and head of the Commonwealth. With admiration, we recall her lifelong sense of duty and dedication to her people. With thanksgiving, we praise God for her constant example of Christian faith and devotion. With affection, we recall her love for her family and her commitment to the causes she held dear.
Now in silence, let us in our hearts and minds, recall our many reasons for thanksgiving; pray for all members of her family; and commend Queen Elizabeth to the care and keeping of Almighty God.
(MOMENT OF SILENCE)
HOYLE: O merciful God, the father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life, in whom whosoever believeth shall live, though he die, and whosoever liveth and believeth in Him shall not die eternally. Who hath taught us by his holy apostle, St. Paul, not to be sorry, as men without hope, for them that sleep in Him.
We meekly beseech Thee, O Father, to raise us from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness, that when we shall depart this life, we may rest in Him, as our hope is, this our sister doth.
[06:10:09]
And that, at the general resurrection in the last day, we may be found acceptable in Thy sight and receive that blessing which Thou well- beloved Son shall then pronounce to all that love and fear Thee, saying, Come, ye blessed children of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. Grant this, we beseech Thee, O merciful Father, through Jesus Christ, our mediator and redeemer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen.
(ORGAN MUSIC)
(HYMN MUSIC)
PATRICIA SCOTLAND, COMMONWEALTH SECRETARY-GENERAL: Now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that sleep. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
[06:15:05]
For as in Adam, all die. Even so, in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order, Christ the first fruits afterward, they that are Christ at His coming.
Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father. When He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
For He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For this corruptible must put on interruption. And this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the same that is written. Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin. And the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vein in the Lord, thanks be to God.
(CHOIR MUSIC)
LIZ TRUSS, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: "Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you.
"I gave to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go, ye know, and the way ye know." Thomas saith unto him, "Lord, we know not wither thou goest, and how can we know the way?"
Jesus saith unto him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also. And from henceforth ye know Him and have seen Him."
Phillip sayeth unto him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it suffices us."
Jesus sayeth unto him, "Have I been so long time with you and yet, hast thou not known me, Philip. He that hath seen me have seen the Father."
Thanks be to God.
(ORGAN MUSIC)
(HYMN MUSIC)
MOST REV. JUSTIN WELBY, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY: Come, Holy Spirit, and fill our hearts with the balm of your healing love. Amen.
The pattern for many leaders is to be exalted in life and forgotten after death. The pattern for all who serve God, famous or obscure, respected or ignored, is that death is the door to glory.
Her late Majesty famously declared, on her 21st birthday broadcast, that her whole life would be dedicated to serving the nation and Commonwealth. Rarely has such a promise been so well-kept. Few leaders receive the outpouring of love that we have seen.
Jesus, who in our reading does not tell his disciples how to follow, but who to follow, said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Her late Majesty's example was not set through her position or her ambition, but through whom she followed.
I know His Majesty shares the same faith and hope in Jesus Christ as his mother; the same sense of service and duty.
In 1953, the queen began her coronation with silent prayer just there at the high altar. Her allegiance to God was given before any person gave allegiance to her.
Her service to so many people in this nation, the Commonwealth, and the world, had its foundation in her following Christ. God Himself, who said that He came not to be served, but to serve, and who give His life as a ransom for many.
People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer. But in all cases, those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are long forgotten.
The grief of this day, felt not only by the late queen's family, but all around the nation, the Commonwealth, and the world, arises from her abundant life and loving service.
[06:30:00]
