Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood's rendition of Imagine is followed by a series of prayers, led by members of the clergy.

They begin with the Lord's Prayer, before beginning special intercessions.

"Father of all, we pray to you for James and for all those we love but see no longer. Grant to them eternal rest," one clergy member says.

We're over halfway through the state funeral, and the former US Ambassador to the UN under President Carter, Andrew Young, is giving a homily.

Young raises the pair's "differences in background", and draws some laughter when he admits that he is "yet to understand" how someone from Plains could become president.

But he says that time and again, he noticed Carter's ability to "achieve greatness by the diversity of his personality and his upbringing".

Young describes how Carter helped him recognise the "greatness of America" despite the economic pressures of the time, and calls him "a blessing from God".

"He may be gone, but he ain't gone far," he finishes.

Biden's tribute dwelled on Carter's character and faithpublished at 16:57 Greenwich Mean Time 9 January

16:57 GMT 9 January

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent reporting from Washington National Cathedral

Image source, Getty Images

Joe Biden’s tribute to Jimmy Carter dwelled on what the president viewed as the two defining characteristics of his Democratic predecessor - his character and his faith.

"Do the ends justify the means?" he asked. "Jimmy Carter’s friendship, and through his life, taught me that the strength of character was more than the title or the power that we hold. It's the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect - and that everyone deserves an even shot."

While Biden was speaking about Carter, his words were bread-and-butter fare for Biden, who often talks about the importance of morality and character in government. With his presidency dwindling down to a few final weeks, it was one of Biden’s last chances to dwell on that theme.

Biden mentioned that many may think that Carter was from a "bygone era". With his more than 50 years of government service under his belt and the end of his political career approaching, the same at this point could be said of Biden.

One of President Carter's grandsons, James Carter, delivers the Gospel reading from Matthew 5:1-16.

"Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

In the rows of past and present US presidents, vice-presidents and their spouses there is one noticeable absence: Michelle Obama.

She is the only missing member of this select group.

Sources close to Obama told US media that she had a "scheduling conflict" and was still in Hawaii, where Barack Obama spent much of his childhood and where the Obama family usually spends their Christmas holidays.

“Mrs Obama sends her thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from the remarkable former president,” Crystal Carson, a spokesperson for Michelle Obama, told Politico.

Image source, Getty Images

Biden starts at the beginning, remembering how he was the first senator to endorse Carter's bid for presidency.

Carter's "character" is repeatedly praised by Biden, who details some of the lessons he learned from the former president.

The hall is quiet, as Biden then dips into biblical passages, reflecting Carter's intense faith.

Image source, Getty Images

As well as making an impact as president, Biden says that Carter "also established a model post-presidency, by making a powerful difference as a private citizen in America".

"To make every minute of our time on earth count, that's the very definition of a good life," Biden says, encouraging people to study the power of Carter's example.

The president finishes by declaring that he "misses" his friend, and thanks the Carter family for sharing him with the world.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Prince Edward the Duke of Edinburgh and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are sitting next to each other as they listen to the funeral readings.

Image source, EPA

Joe Biden has arrived at the pulpit of the National Cathedral to deliver his eulogy.

You can follow along with us by pressing the Watch live button at the top of this page.

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We're now hearing Phyllis Adams singing Amazing Grace.

President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver his eulogy shortly after the hymn.

More now from Jason Carter, Carter's grandson.

He jokes about his grandfather answering the door in "shorts and crocs" and shares some anecdotes that reflect his grandparents' lifestyles as "small town people" despite their status.

"In my 49 years I never perceived a difference between his public face and his private one," he says. "For me, that's the definition of integrity."

There is also recognition of the work of the Carter Center - a human rights organisation established by the former president.

"He waged peace with love and respect," Jason says, before stepping down and placing a hand on the casket.

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent, reporting from Washington National Cathedral

Image source, Reuters

Jason Carter, one of Jimmy Carter’s grandsons, is putting a more human face on Jimmy Carter - the man.

Where the previous speaker, former Carter domestic policy adviser Stuart Eizenstat, touted Carter’s presidential record, Jason Carter noted that his grandfather spent 92 years of his life outside public office, living in Plains, Georgia.

He spoke of Jimmy Carter’s antiquated ways - the old land-line phone that hung on the wall in his house, his challenges using modern technology and his Great Depression-era frugality that led him to save and reuse Ziploc bags.

He has also spoken of his grandfather’s love of his wife, Rosalynn, and his celebration of nature and human values.

President Joe Biden, who will give a eulogy later in the service, appeared to take notes during the speech of Walter Mondale's son, Ted.

It's not clear what he's doing, though it's possible the president is making some last-minute additions to his remarks.

We've just heard a reading from Stuart Eizenstat, Carter's former ambassador to the European Union.

He praises Carter's "integrity" after he entered the Oval office, following flashpoints like Watergate and the Vietnam war, which had dominated the US.

"The test of American presidents is not the number of years they serve but the duration of their accomplishments," he says. "By this measure Jimmy Carter was among the most consequential one-term presidents in American history."

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent, reporting from Washington

During this interlude between speakers, the Armed Forces Chorus is singing Eternal Father, Strong to Save.

Known more commonly as the Navy Hymn, here it is a tribute to Jimmy Carter's years of naval service.

Its refrain is: "Oh hear us when we cry to thee for those in peril on the sea."

Up next is Ted Mondale, who reads some words written by Walter Mondale, Carter's vice-president during his single term in the White House. He died in 2021.

Mondale describes the pair's working relationship, and says Carter was "a man of his word", while the two men bonded over their shared faith.

"We were working on real problems, not wasting time," Mondale reads.

Mondale also praises Carter's position on climate change, saying that "very few people in the 1970s" had heard of the term.

"Carter put his presidency on the line to conserve energy, deregulate new oil and gas prices and invest in clean renewable alternatives to fossil fuels," he adds.

"Some thought he was crazy to fight to pass these laws, but he was dead right, and we all know that now."

Mondale also praises the former president's position on human rights and advancing the position of women in society.

He steps down, and the cathedral hears a performance of Eternal Father, Strong to Save, performed by the US Marine Chamber Orchestra and the Armed Forces Choir.

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent, reporting from Washington

When you reach the age of 100, as Jimmy Carter did, you outlive most of your contemporaries. It created some unusual twists in the way the former president’s death has been memorialised.

Several of the journalists who pre-wrote Carter obituaries died before their articles were published last week. And at Carter’s state funeral this morning, family members read letters from his Vice-President, Walter Mondale, and his 1976 presidential rival, Gerald Ford.

Ford died in 2006. Mondale passed in 2021.

Next, we hear a tribute from Steve Ford, the eldest son of former President Gerald Ford.

Ford, the 38th president, died in 2006, and his son is reading some words that his father penned - after Ford and Carter jokingly agreed to deliver eulogies at each other's funerals years ago.

As it turns out, Carter outlived Ford, and so it is Ford's son who steps up to the pulpit on his behalf.

Steve starts by paying tribute to Jimmy Carter's children, thanking their father for supporting his mother after Ford's death.

"God did a good thing when he made your dad," he says.

The tribute then covers how Ford and Carter forged a friendship over shared experiences of family and faith, as well as the fact that there is "life after the White House".

Homage is also paid to Carter's "honesty" and Ford cites how Georgia - where Carter returned after his presidency - "was in his blood".

And, with Carter set to be buried next to his wife in Plains later on, Ford draws laughter when he repeats his dad's words that the two both "married above our station".

Ford finishes by offering his prayers to the Carter family and says the American people will be "blessed" by Carter's work.