The Annual Boyne Thanksgiving Service was in the form a drive in service and saw the car park packed to capacity and well marshalled for a safe welcoming event. The service was all the more poignant as it included the dedication of a new bannerette for Ballymoney Shining Star Ladies ILOL No.3.

The service began with a welcome by Rt. Wor James Anderson Imperial Grand Master, who welcomed the brethren and visitors in the cars parked around the platform. The first act was the laying up of the colours which itself departed from the tradition of marching on the colours and presenting them to an officer, dignitary or speaker to lay up. To follow social distancing rules the colours were prearranged on the drumhead at the start of proceedings.

The Imperial Grand Master spoke of the preparations necessary for this years and thanked all involved. The service was then lead by Rt. Wor. Bro. Mervyn Storey Deputy Imperial Grand Master who echoed the tributes paid by the IGM regarding Sister Ivy McClelland. She was a Dunaghy woman through and through and a proud Orangewoman who led by example. She was a leading light in the ladies lodge and will be sorely missed by all in the Institution. Rt. Wor. James Anderson spoke of the fundraising work she was involved in and how she had presented him with a cheque for the Grand Master’s Charity at the Twelfth.

The new bannerette will be showcased later but today it was dedicated to the Glory of God and in the Memory of King William III by our Imperial Grand Chaplain Derek McFarland. It was a touching event as her daughter Anne Blair Past Mistress of LILOL No.3 present the bannerette to the lodge. The decision to commission the bannerette with a portrait of Ivy was agreed by the lodge to ensure that she would always be with them when they met and paraded.