We were all greatly saddened to hear yesterday evening (8 September 2022) of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second after a short illness. CMF wishes to extend our sympathies to the Royal Family and share in the nation’s mourning.
In a reign spanning seven decades that saw massive social, political and cultural transformations in Britain and the world, she has been a symbol of continuity and stability.
Along with Christians across the UK and the Commonwealth, we are praying for her family at their time of loss and for the future of those nations where she was Head of State. It is a time of uncertainty and change: war in Ukraine, (what we hope is) the tail-end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and economic and environmental crises. The loss of the Monarch compounds a sense of uncertainty for many.
Yet Queen Elizabeth was more than a national symbol. She was a woman who chose to put the service of her people and her God at the centre of her life. As she vowed to her nation at her accession to the throne in 1952, ‘I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service…God help me to make good my vow…’. She lived that out every day for more than seventy years.
The Queen had a deep faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. She treasured the Bible as a source of guidance and wisdom for all of life: ‘[the] message and teachings of Christ have been my guide…And in them I find hope’. Former Head of Communications at CMF, Catherine Butcher, has written two books attesting to the depth of that faith and its relevance to every aspect of the Queen’s long service to her nation and her people. It is an example of servant leadership for Christians in all walks of life to look up to.
Rest in peace, Your Majesty.
