Prayers for our new King

His Majesty King Charles III will be crowned on Saturday 6 May at Westminster Abbey. In Dunedin, a special civic service will take place on Sunday 7 May from 3 pm at St Paul’s Cathedral to honour this event.

If you are in Dunedin, you are most welcome to attend this event. Wherever you are, continue to pray for the King and Queen Consort as they celebrate the new phase in their – and our – lives.

You may like to use one of the following prayers as you do this:

O God, who providest for thy people by thy power, and rulest over them in love:
Grant unto thy servant CHARLES, our King, the Spirit of wisdom and government,
that being devoted unto thee with his whole heart, he may so wisely govern,
that in his time thy Church may be in safety, and Christian devotion may continue in peace;
that so persevering in good works unto the end, he may by thy mercy come to thine everlasting kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(based on 1953 Coronation Collect)

And from A New Zealand Prayer Book/ He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa (page 138 updated):

God, the source of all authority,
bless our King, Charles, and his family
and the family of nations he upholds;
may he remain a worthy focus of our loyalty,
and point us unfailingly to a higher commonwealth,
the true humanity
to which he and all his subjects owe allegiance;
for you are the God of nations; you are our God.