There were two recipients from Newcastle Diocese as Queen Camilla handed out Maundy Money at Worcester Cathedral.
Gwyn McKenzie OBE and Canon Roger Windass both attended the prestigious ceremony on Maundy Thursday (28th March), where they received special purses of coins.
The annual tradition of presenting alms on Maundy Thursday goes back to at least the 4th Century. This year, the Queen distributed the Maundy Money on behalf of King Charles III, who has restricted his duties while he undergoes treatment for cancer.
A select band of 75 men and 75 women (signifying the King’s age this year) were chosen to receive the ceremonial coins on Maundy Thursday. The gift is presented in recognition of their exe
mplary Christian service to church and community over many years.
Gwyn and Roger were nominated for their services in Newcastle Diocese.
For Gwyn, the news came just months after she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the King’s New Year Honour’s List for services to young people and the community.
The award of Maundy Money reflects her passion for social justice, support for church charities and commitment to her local church as a Licenced Lay Reader. Gwyn also represents Corbridge Deanery at Synod and is a member of the Deanery Development Group.
“It is a privilege and an honour,” said Gwyn, a PCC member at St James’ Church in Riding Mill. “It’s nice when somebody recognises what you do and goes to the trouble of putting you forward for things. For someone to think it’s worthy of note is quite humbling.”
For the past six years, Gwyn has been a volunteer trustee of Walking With, the North Tyneside based charitable organisation which supports asylum seekers and refugees.
She is also a trustee of Transforming Communities Together: Tyne to Tweed (formerly Together Newcastle), which offers church-based community development at grassroots level, working in the most deprived communities across the diocese.
Over the years, Gwyn has also served the Scout Association in a number of k
ey roles both regionally and nationally.
Roger has served the Diocese of Newcastle for many years through Deanery and Diocesan Synods, and also as Chair of the Houses and Glebe Committee. St Mary’s, Monkseaton has been Roger’s local church since his Sunday school days in 1956.
“It was exciting to receive the letter from Buckingham Palace,” said Roger. “I am really thrilled about it and of course it is a huge privilege.”
A chartered surveyor by profession, Roger has chaired the Houses and Glebe Committee for 17 years, becoming a member of Synod in the process. He’s carried out numerous roles at St Mary’s over the years, and is currently chair of its Buildings and Resources Group.
For almost a decade, he served as a member of the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Committee, which has a key role in the selection of magistrates. Roger has been a member of Whitley Bay Rotary Club since 1986, twice serving as president. He is a trustee of the Wellesley Trust, which provides grants to people and organisations for educational purposes, as well as for the relief of hardship among young people in the North East.
As she presented the Maundy Money, the Queen was accompanied by the Lord High Almoner - the Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Revd John Inge. He previously served in Newcastle Diocese as the vicar of St Luke’s, Wallsend, from 1990 to 1996.
Photos
Top: Gwen and Roger with their Maundy Money purses.
Middle: Gwen with her husband, David McKenzie MBE.
Bottom: Canon Roger Windass.