Patricia Francis and Francis Drake were the recipients of the prestigious leather pouches from King Charles III, at York Minster on Thursday 6 April.
Both were nominated by the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Paul Butler, for outstanding service to the Church of England.
Pat - who is the mother of the new Bishop of Newcastle - was nominated for her services to Durham Cathedral and the wider Diocese.
Throughout many years Pat has enjoyed being able to make a contribution to the worship in the Cathedral, co-ordinating the Food bank collection team, and enabling hundreds of people from the Diocese and beyond who volunteered as readers in the various Big Reads which she organised, such as the Bible, the Magna Carta, Bede’s ecclesiastical History of the English people, and others.
Ecumenical links are important to Pat and she represents the Cathedral in Durham Churches Together, and in the wider Diocese she has led Lay Training Courses, led Retreats, served on Education committee and embarked on other activities.
Pat said that she is greatly honoured to be a recipient of the Royal Maundy coins, while clasping hands with King Charles as he presented her with the two pouches and having a brief conversation with him about her daughter, Bishop Helen-Ann, was a very memorable moment.
Bishop Paul said: “Pat is an astonishingly faithful and dedicated servant to Durham Cathedral and the wider Diocese, as is her husband Jim. We are hugely grateful to them both for their remarkable contributions and they are rightly proud that their daughter is now Bishop of Newcastle.”
Francis Drake was nominated for his exemplary service to Holy Trinity Church, Wingate where he is church warden, and for his service as a member of Bishop’s Council, and a member of Diocesan and Deanery Synods.
Francis founded Holy Trinity’s ‘outside team’, a group of people from the local community who meet at the church for conversation and company. Frances invited the group to help out looking after the churchyard, a job that was becoming too much for the elderly congregation. He was recently successful in securing a grant of £500 from Durham County Council’s Civic Pride fund to buy plants and bulbs to make the churchyard bloom.
Francis said “The Almoner, (Bishop of Worcester), explained to all of us gathered that we were receiving this honour for 'Exceptional Service to the Church of England. I can assure you that we all felt honoured. His Majesty's words to me as he presented the two pouches were... 'Thank you for all you do; there is so much that would not be done without you.' Of course, that has to include all of those people in the Church who make it possible, so the honour included them as well.”
Bishop Paul said: "Francis was nominated for his extraordinary service to local church life throughout many years, establishing a community of hope. He has offered wisdom, brought leadership, example and energy to new projects. We are hugely grateful to Francis for his contributions."