David Kelham, Warwickshire’s High Sheriff, held his legal service at St Mary’s Church, Warwick, on Thursday 6 October 2022.
The High Sheriff is the King's representative in the County for all matters relating to the Judiciary and the maintenance of law and order. Because of this, much of the High Sheriff’s year is spent supporting and encouraging the voluntary and statutory organisations that work in this area.
One traditional role of High Sheriff is the legal service, which has always taken place in October around the start of Michaelmas legal term, the beginning of the legal year since the days when the Judges travelled out from London to hold trials at the assizes. (in 2022, this was Monday 3 October).
St Mary’s Church in Warwick town centre, one of the finest parish churches in England, hosted it as it has for hundreds of years but for the first time it was a multi-faith Service.
The event was attended by High Sheriffs from neighbouring Counties, representatives from Warwickshire’s Judiciary, magistrates and the legal profession. In addition, the Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire, Mr Tim Cox, Mayors from across Warwickshire and, representatives of a wide variety of blue light services, charities, youth organisations and delegations from some of the many religions represented across the County attended the Service.
Explaining the multi-faith element of the service, David Kelham, said: “The British system, based on common law, has been around for over 1000 years, as long as High Sheriffs. My distant predecessors in the role have, at various times in the past, persecuted those of faith in the name of the law, serving as they were both Catholic and Protestant Christian monarchs.
“For this reason, I was delighted to be joined by representatives of such a wide range of faiths from Christianity to Catholicism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam and Sikhism all here together taking part in our service, bringing their prayers, thoughts, thanks and music together to this celebration of law, unity and understanding.
”“My sincere thanks to everyone who took part and contributed to making this one of the highlights of my tenure to date.”
The service saw a variety of musical interludes, beginning with a fanfare from Warwick School’s trumpeters and the Temple musicians from the Leamington Spa Gurdwara. Aylesford School Choir and Warwickshire County Council Music Service’s Youth String Orchestra, consisting of over 30 children, played a variety of pieces throughout and after the service to the delight of those in attendance. There was also musical pieces from Hana, a very talented Ukrainian violinist, and Ronan And Joanne Johnstone. Professional musicians from Ireland who also work with young people recovering from addiction.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Leader of Warwickshire County Council, said: “The High Sheriff’s Legal Service is always one of the many highlights of Warwickshire’s ceremonial calendar and this year’s was no exception.
It was wonderful to see so many different faiths from around Warwickshire represented and I would like to offer my thanks to David Kelham for organising such an engaging and thoughtful service to mark the start of the legal year in Warwickshire.“
The Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire, Mr Tim Cox, who is the King’s representative in the county, added: “It was a pleasure to attend this service to mark the start of the legal year, and I would like to thank David Kelham, The High Sheriff of Warwickshire, for his kind invitation.
“Everyone involved at the Collegiate Church of St Mary in Warwick delivered a wonderful experience, which included great singing, music, and readings throughout.”
Find out more about the High Sheriff of Warwickshire here: https://highsheriffofwarwickshire.co.uk/#
David is still looking for nominations for the annual High Sheriff Awards. Do you know someone who deserves the recognition? Find out more and make a nomination here: https://highsheriffofwarwickshire.co.uk/high-sheriff-awards
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Find out more about the Warwickshire Crimebeat charity here: https://www.warwickshirecrimebeat.org.uk/
If you would like to donate to the Warwickshire High Sheriff fund, which provides one-off grants to small grassroots charities and organisations making a difference in Warwickshire, visit: https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/20448#!/DonationDetails