Presiding Bishop to preach at royal wedding Saturday

Updated on May 19, 2018:
Watch the Presiding Bishop's sermon here
Watch Presiding Bishop Curry and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby speaking together before the wedding: Video

People in our diocese are joining with Episcopalians across the Church in excited anticipation of hearing Presiding Bishop Michael Curry preach to a worldwide audience this Saturday at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

News of the invitation came out Saturday morning, and the resulting rush of clicks on the Anglican Communion News Service article temporarily overwhelmed the site.

Several TV networks are planning live coverage of the wedding starting around 5 am, and online streaming also will be widely available. The service begins at 7 am Eastern Time at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, conducted by the Dean of Windsor, David Conner. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will officiate.

The 2011 royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton was watched by an estimated 3 billion people worldwide, including 23 million US viewers.

"I'm thrilled that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have asked Bishop Michael Curry to preach at their wedding," Archbishop Welby said via Twitter, calling him "a brilliant pastor, stunning preacher and someone with a great gift for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ."

Presiding Bishop Curry has visited our diocese four times in the last 5 years, preaching electrifying and inspiring sermons to standing-room-only congregations. He was the preacher at TECSC's 223rd Diocesan Convention in February 2014 at All Saints, HIlton Head Island, when he was still Bishop of North Carolina. 

In April 2016, months after his 2015 election as Presiding Bishop, he visited five of Charleston's Episcopal churches to worship and preach, and was the keynote speaker at a special conference on racial reconciliation, evangelism and justice sponsored by the Episcopal Forum of South Carolina. 

In January 2018, he was the preacher at the national Forma conference at Grace Church Cathedral (video).

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