Two church members from Worcestershire have received Maundy Money in recognition of their service to church and community.
Margaret Burston from St Stephen’s Church in Worcester and John Stanbury from Droitwich Methodist Church are this year’s recipients from the Worcester Diocese.
They travelled to St George’s Chapel in Windsor to receive their money from Prince Charles, who was deputising for the Queen.
The Bishop of Worcester, John Inge, was also present at the service in his role as Lord High Almoner.
The tradition of presenting alms on Maundy Thursday goes back to at least the fourth century and the first record of the British monarch doing it is in 1213.
Maundy Money is traditionally given to the same number of men and women as the monarch’s age.
Bishop John said: “I’m delighted that this year we are one again able to present the Maundy Money to people in person.
"It is always very moving to see such a large number of people receiving this token of appreciation from HM The Queen, who herself has given such extraordinary Christian service over so many years.”
Margaret, aged 78, has been verger at St Stephen’s Church since she moved to Worcester 15 years ago, previously fulfilling a similar role in Malvern.
In total she has been a church verger for over 30 years, including completing a four-year course and being secretary of the national verger’s conference for 12 years.
'A lovely honour'
She said: “It is a lovely honour to receive the Maundy Money. When I received the letter, I thought ‘wow, why me?’.
“I have really enjoyed being a Verger and it’s given me the opportunity to visit different cathedrals across the country.”
John, aged 83, was brought up as a Methodist and is a former preacher, working across different Methodist circuits for over 40 years.
He was also diocesan secretary of the Diocese of Worcester for 10 years in the 1990s.
“I feel very honoured to have been chosen as a Maundy Money recipient,” he said. “We’ve got a few of the coins on display in our church that have been donated by previous recipients and it never crossed my mind that I would be nominated.”
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