People from across north-east and mid-Wales are invited to join with the Bishop of St Asaph for a special service to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III.

A service of Evensong at St Asaph Cathedral will take place on Sunday 7 May, the day after the Coronation itself, at 3.30pm. The Rt Revd Gregory Cameron will preach at the service offering support for the new King and Queen. Civic representatives, including the Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff, along with MPs, MSs and mayors from across the diocese will be attending. The service will open with a trumpet voluntary by a local Air Cadet Squadron.

Speaking ahead of the service, Bishop Gregory said: “The coronation of His Majesty King Charles III will be a joyful and historic national occasion and I look forward to joining with people from across the diocese to offer our contribution. We know His Majesty bears a heavy responsibility and I’ll be offering our prayers and support to him and Queen Camilla at this time.”

New prayers have been written and issued by the Church in Wales which can be used in services across the diocese to mark the coronation. The prayers are available in both Welsh and English.

Bishop Gregory added: “The Bench of Bishops of the Church in Wales wishes to encourage our churches to pray for the King, the Royal Family, our nation and the Commonwealth at this time and is pleased to commend the liturgical resources.”

You can find the prayers and all the Coronation liturgical resources at www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/publications/liturgy/coronation-of-king-charles-iii/

The Coronation Evensong at St Asaph Cathedral takes place on Sunday 7 May at 3.30pm and is open to everyone.  Additional parking will be available at St Asaph Leisure Centre at the Glan Clwyd School site. To request a disabled parking space, please contact Josh Schoch at the Diocesan Office on 01745 582245 / joshuaschoch@cinw.org.uk

At St Giles Church in Wrexham, on Sunday 7 May, there will be a coronation lunch party after the church service at 11am. At 3pm there will be a Coronation Civic service, beginning with a procession to St Giles’ from St Mary’s RC Cathedral. The service will feature the Rhos Orpheus Male Choir. The church is being decorated with bunting and organza under the tower. The bells of St Giles will be rung on Coronation Day at 3pm, for the Sunday service at 11am and there will be two quarter peals on Monday, May 8.

The Diocese of St Asaph is one of the six dioceses of the Church in Wales, an autonomous Province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese looks after more than 200 churches and 50 Church in Wales Schools. Bishop Gregory is the 78^th Bishop of St Asaph. This year, the diocese is marking 1450 years since its namesake, Asaph, became the second Bishop of the area after the first Bishop, Kentigern (also known as Mungo) returned to Scotland.