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The man who is preaching to the Queen
9:43am Friday, 21st October 2011
Joshua Maule
It will be a Sunday morning literally 'fit for the Queen' as St John's Anglican Church in Canberra hosts Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II this week.
As the Queen continues her Australian tour, she elected to attend a "normal worship service". "But when the Queen comes," says the Rev Paul Black, Rector of St John's, "there's no such thing as normal."
The Queen and the Duke will be welcomed to St John's for an invitation-only service at 11.15am.
Those who attend morning tea on the church grounds following the 9.30am service will be there as the monarch arrives.
As dictated by the lectionary, Rev Black will speak from Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18, and Matthew 22:34-46. "I've written my sermon," he says.
He will draw attention to Jesus' words which reveal the meaning of the Old Testament law.
"There's that relentless testing of Jesus by the experts in the law which leads to one of Jesus' greatest insights in the Bible," says Rev Black.
"Asked to choose which is the most important commandment, Jesus sums up the entire law and the prophets in two simple statements: love God and love your neighbour."
A "sense of nervousness" is hanging about this week for Rev Black, as it does with most big occasions.
He expects the 9.30am service will bring more members of the community to church than usual.
"We're excited and the whole of Canberra is excited," says Rev Black, who has led the church attended by Kevin Rudd and Thérèse Rein for four years.
He adds, "Yes. It is a Sunday I won't forget very quickly."
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