24th October 2005
Service of Thanksgiving and Rededication to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations
Her Majesty The Queen accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh will attend a special service of thanksgiving and rededication to mark the 60th anniversary of the United Nations at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Monday, 24 October at 3.00pm.
The Service, held on United Nations Day, will be led by the Dean of St Paul’s, The Very Rev’d Dr John Moses, with the address given by the Bishop of London, The Rt. Hon and Rt. Revd Richard Chartres. The lessons will be read by The Duke of Edinburgh and the Prime Minister and Lord Ashdown will talk briefly about the United Nation’s peacekeeping role. Representatives of all major faiths will be present and the A Ray of Hope Choir, UNESCO Youth Ambassador for the Culture of Peace, made up of Northern Irish schoolchildren from across the religious spectrum, will sing for the first time since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement
The service will also be attended by almost all Ambassadors and High Commissioners resident in London, together with Parliamentarians from both Houses. The Lord Mayor of London and the Lord Mayors of Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Canterbury, Cardiff, Exeter, Kingston-upon-Hull, Liverpool, Norwich, Nottingham, Plymouth, Sheffield, Swansea, Westminster and York will also be in attendance together with Lords-Lieutenant, High Sheriffs and civic representatives from throughout the United Kingdom.
They will be joined by former UN Peacekeepers, representatives of UN agencies and many members of the United Nations Association from across the United Kingdom.
Further details please contact the Chairman of the Organising Committee, Sir Patrick Cormack MP, on 020 7219 5019
A Ray of Hope
UNESCO Youth Ambassador for the Culture of Peace
Northern Ireland
A Ray of Hope, the choir from six schools of different denominations and for the disabled in Northern Ireland was formed in 1995. In that year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) named the choir Youth Ambassadors for the Culture of Peace. After the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, the expanding Ray of Hope network concentrated on building links with schools and organisations in developing countries. Educational and medical goods in excess of £4 million have been sent worldwide including to Belarus, Brazil, Nepal and Malawi. The network of 200,000 comprising carers and those being cared for includes many who sang together in 1996. For the UN’s 60th anniversary service at St Paul’s Cathedral, Largymore Primary School, Forthill College, Assumption Grammar School, Dromore High School, Grosvenor Grammar School and Fleming Fulton School, the original members of A Ray of Hope, will sing together for the first time in seven years.
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