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THE VICAR'S LETTER |
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THE VICAR'S LETTER |
The Queen at 80
With the Queen reaching the age of 80 we have had a chance to see her life in perspective through the special TV programmes made to mark the occasion. I was able to attend the coronation in 1953 albeit as a small boy on my father’s shoulder, somewhere in the huge crowd that gathered on the Mall. Of course I don’t remember anything about that day.
Seeing the occasion once again brings home the magnitude of the oath she made to serve her country: "Throughout all my life and with all my heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust". At that time she was a young woman of 27 and we can see how she has kept her promise and is determined to go on as long as she possibly can.
It has been so moving to see the Queen celebrating her birthday with a walkabout in Windsor. She just looked so happy to be herself and enjoy every moment. Nobody who shook her hand will ever forget it.
Until the ’80s prayers were said every Sunday for the Queen and the royal family in almost every parish church. Now a recent survey shows that less than a quarter of the larger C of E churches still use the state prayers. As Rev. Giles Fraser, team rector of St Mary’s Putney, said: “If you have a choice between praying for the people of Darfur, the Queen doesn’t really get a look in.”
Looking back over the queen’s life it is clear that her strong but quiet faith has had an enormous influence on all that she has done. It seems to me that in a world where the running tide of secularism and consumerism has swept away so much of our Christian heritage the Queen has growing courage to speak out and genuinely be herself. I am sure she can be very frank in private meeting with prime ministers and other leaders.
Let
us renew our commitment to pray for the Queen each Sunday in our services and in
our own private prayers. We pray
that she may have the wisdom to speak and to act in ways which bring the true
love of Jesus into the very hard situations and dilemmas faced by our leaders.
