Limits to attendance at Friday’s funeral

The Priest-in-Charge of the St Peter’s Parish Church says numbers attending the State Funeral for the late Prime Minister Owen Seymour Arthur will be limited to family and dignitaries.

Canon Peter Haynes noted that the national protocols with restrictions for social distancing will limit the capacity of one of the Anglican diocese’s largest churches for Friday’s service.

He noted that Arthur often attended service at the Speightstown church and it was his choice for his thanksgiving assembly whenever he won the St Peter seat in the general elections.

“There are many experiences of Mr Arthur attending St Peter’s, particularly when he won the seat in St Peter and when he won the government in 1994 he came to church for a thanksgiving service.”

The service will begin at 2 p.m. and will be followed by the interment at Mount Pleasant Memorial Gardens, Benny Hall, St Peter, located east of the All Saints Primary School, where Arthur received his primary education.

Canon Haynes noted: “We cannot accommodate a big number right now because of the three-foot distance with the exception of family,” he said.

The body of the former Prime Minister will lie in state in Parliament Buildings on Wednesday August 12 and Thursday August 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (AH)