The Church of England provides a place of comfort following the death of The Queen

Despite established guidelines that the Church of England has set in place for occasions such as the death of a Royal Family member, the historic event that is the death of Queen Elizabeth II has led to churches across the nation being forced to spring into action as they provide a place of comfort to the public during this difficult time.

Such is the case of the churches in the PEW Group, which encompasses the churches of Prees, Edstaston and Whixall in North Shropshire, which fall under the Diocese of Lichfield.

Reverend Deborah Walton, Vicar of the PEW Group and School Chaplain stated:

“People are genuinely really sad. We have had people come into our churches to just sit, reflect and silently sob.”

“This is an incredibly historic moment, for a lot of people the Queen was always a stable figure in their lives.”

The Reverend also expressed her gratitude to local parishioners:

“We have been able to open our three churches thanks to all the local volunteers who have worked tirelessly to ensure the churches were cleaned and open to the public.”

“In addition the bellringers participated for an hour of bell tolling at noon.”

St Chad’s Church in Prees, St Mary the Virgin in Edstaston and St Mary’s Church in Whixall all opened following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, with both the PEW Group and Reverend Deborah Walton taking to Twitter to share the news:

One man who called in this evening commented:

I can’t believe that never again in my lifetime will I sing God Save the Queen … https://t.co/s6WiaNmMwz

— Deborah Walton (@DebsRWalton) September 8, 2022

You’d be really welcome to call in if you’re in the vicinity … https://t.co/HEj9UgvWR7

— Deborah Walton (@DebsRWalton) September 9, 2022

In addition, the Church of England has provided resources for Collective Worship to be used in schools across the UK following the death of The Queen.

PEW Group was able to make use of these resources as they prepared a Collective Worship film for Prees and Whixall Primary Schools.

We’ve been grateful for these resources for our schools and we pray for the staff at Prees CofE Primary and @whixallschool today
@PeWgroup have produced a Collective Worship film for our schools to use later today. https://t.co/sf9eAZrklG

— Deborah Walton (@DebsRWalton) September 9, 2022

The PEW Group also shared video footage of a Collective Worship for Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II on their official YouTube channel:

Speaking on the coming days, Reverend Deborah Walton said that Whixall has decided to continue with its yearly Scarecrow Hunt, which raises money for charity, as it is important for the children to carry on with traditional activities during these difficult times.