HOPE launches free Diamond Jubilee party plans, plays and ideas for churches

To mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne, HOPE has announced a range of free resources which churches can use in their communities as they celebrate the Diamond Jubilee with a Big Jubilee Lunch on 3 June. Sixty years ago, on 6 February 1952, Princess Elizabeth was in Kenya when her father George VI died and she became sovereign. She has marked the anniversary of her accession by renewing her pledge to serve the country.
The Queen has given official backing to the event, inviting the nation to join the Big Jubilee Lunch. Six million people are expected to eat together with neighbours and friends as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations marking the Queen's 60 years of service to the nation and the Commonwealth.
The main Diamond Jubilee celebrations will be in June. HOPE is working with the Eden Project's Big Lunch and encouraging churches to stage a Big Jubilee Lunch on Sunday 3 June with their communities.
Roy Crowne, HOPE’s Executive Director, says: ‘The 2012 Diamond Jubilee celebrations give churches an opportunity to help build community relationships, plus lots of ways to help people see that that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a party… a banquet… a big family celebration.
‘Register your Big Jubilee Lunch at www.thebiglunch.com and visit www.hopetogether.org.uk for free resources, so what you do locally is part of the national picture of churches serving their neighbourhoods, putting faith into action.’
Visit the Big Jubilee Lunch resources page for:
· A Diamond Jubilee video to show how churches can take the lead at the heart of their communities to stage a Big Jubilee Lunch
· Diamond Jubilee sketches, assembly plans and ideas to use in schools and children’s clubs
· ideas for celebrations with senior citizens in residential care homes
· royal quizzes and community-building activities so everyone can join the party and have a lasting memory of the day
· a ‘Big Thank You’ sheet for churches and schools to download so children and adults can write, or draw a picture, to say thanks to the Queen
· a ‘My Prayer for Queen and Country’ sheet where children can write a prayer for the Queen, for their own family and for the nation
· details of a special Diamond Jubilee souvenir booklet from HOPE and CPO to give away
· ideas for church services on the Sunday morning before the Big Jubilee Lunch
Download the resources to plan a community event to remember!