Church of England's moment in the global spotlight

It is pretty rare that the Church of England takes such a prominent place on the world stage.  However, today's Royal Wedding pushed the good old CofE right into spotlight of the global media.

So, Mouse is here to pick over the bones and see how we got on.

The headline must be that it was a storming success overall.  Only the most cold hearted republican can have seen the wedding and not be moved.  Everything went according to plan, with the extra bit of fairy dust sprinkled liberally on top in the form of pomp that only the British royalty can pull off.

So at least in that respect the CofE can bask in some reflected glory.

Before the wedding itself, the CofE had a bit of a coup, with Kate Middleton, as she used to be known, getting confirmed.

And it seems that the faith that The Duchess of Cambridge expressed in her confirmation is real, as the bride and groom took the novel step of composing their own prayer to be said during the ceremony.  The CofE can take some extra brownie points for getting that up onto their website within hours (the CofE website now seems to entirely sit within a frame, so Mouse can't link directly to the prayers, but click on the prayer link at the top, then go to 'topical prayers'.

As for the ceremody itself, it was rather glorious, in Mouse's view.  There was some twitter debate about the form of words used and the Bible translation used, but Mouse felt that the royal couple managed to mix traditional forms with modern forms effectively, using the NRSV Bible translation for the readings and the 1966 Series 1 Book of Common Prayer wedding service.

Perhaps more importantly, the Bishop of London's sermon was simple, clear and concise.  Mouse joked on twitter that he could have put a couple of gags in to lighten it up a bit, but on such a grand occasion this would not have been appropriate, and Bishop Richard is more natural with the stately than with the comedic.

You can read Bishop Richard's address on his website.  He focused on the need to avoid self-centeredness in order to allow a full and spiritual life to flow.  Mouse would have liked a little more that touched on the Gospel, however.  He very nearly got through the whole piece without mentioning Jesus.

Rowan Williams played his part well too, as did the Dean of Westminster Abbey, although theirs was a little more according to the text book.

Perhaps the highest point for the church came with the emergence of footage showing an Abbey verger cartwheeling back down the aisle after the royal party have left.  This may have done more for the Church's reputation than any of the rest of the day's events.

So, we have lots of positive points.  We have a couple who seem to be growing in their faith within the Church of England, we have a good performance from the main Church protagonists, and we have a bit of fun on top.

All round a good day for the Church of England.

The question which will remain will be whether there is any lasting impact on the Church.  It would be crass to attempt to 'cash in' on the royal wedding, but it is likely that many will have been inspired by yesterdays events.  I would be surprised if it did not lead to a short term up-tick in demand for Church weddings, which should be encouraged.

We should also take the opportunity highlight the prayer that William and Catherine wrote, and explain what baptism and confirmation are to a generation who have not grown up in the Church.