Christ Church Magazine, June 2012

Our Monarch

Jubilee! Her Majesty’s reign has spanned six decades of change including the comings and goings of worldwide heads of state and national government.

The Bible teaches that good leadership is a blessing to society, so that many people will want to give special thanks for the monarch’s role in this country and abroad.

The official website of the British Monarchy outlines how Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne and some of the things that happened:

“On Wednesday, 6 February 1952, Princess Elizabeth received the news of her father’s death and her own accession to the throne, while staying in a remote part of Kenya. The tour had to be abandoned, and the young Princess flew back to Britain as Queen. She was greeted by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and other officials at the airport.

The Coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. It was a solemn ceremony conducted by Dr Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury. Representatives of the peers, the Commons and all the great public interests in Britain, the Prime Ministers and leading citizens of the other Commonwealth countries, and representatives of foreign states were present. Crowds of people viewed the procession all along the route, despite heavy rain.

The ceremony was also broadcast on radio around the world and, at The Queen’s request, on television for the first time. Television brought home to hundreds of thousands of people around the Commonwealth the splendour and significance of the Coronation in a way never before possible.

The Coronation was followed by drives through every part of London, a review of the fleet at Spithead, and visits to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.”

God has ordered society so that when we have good leaders in place it brings many blessings. We each have a responsibility to play our part. This includes the church which is to play a full part in society and not to withdraw from the world: “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honour the king” (I Peter 2v16-17).

The Queen’s personal Christian faith is a good example to us and one that has sustained her through both joy and sorrow. I hope that the community will come and join with the church celebrations of this historic moment.

Christ Church Magazine June 2012