It is estimated that 20,000 people queued up to file past the coffin of King Richard III during the three days prior to his reburial in Leicester Cathedral in 2015. I was one of that number, although I played a canny hand and only had to wait 20 minutes to get in, as opposed to the four hours endured by some of the earlier queuers on the first morning!
As you approached the entrance, a member of the cathedral
staff handed you a printed card headed "Richard III & Me". I have
mine in front of me as I write.
This is - at heart - a reminder to people that they are
about to enter a Christian place of worship, and to ponder their beliefs about
life and death. It's a mini-sermon, if you like, and a bit of Christian
publicity.
Like many sermons it begins with a joke, which is worth
retelling if you haven't heard it before. What follows is therefore a direct
quotation from the pen of somebody at Leicester Cathedral:
The story is told of three men in a pub discussing what they
would like people to say about them as they lay in their coffins at their
funerals. The first said he would like people to remember a man of firm
integrity and a generous giver of time and money to those in need. The second
said he'd like people to say he was a great teacher and a positive role model
to many. The third said he'd like people to say: "Look ... he's
moving!"
© John Welford
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