Minister: We have been blessed with a great Queen. We will not see her likes again

By Letters
Published 20th Sep 2022, 04:54 BST
Updated 20th Sep 2022, 05:11 BST
Rev Gamble and Lady Downshire look on at Sergeant Bugler Andrew Carlisle during a remembrance service for Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Fort on Monday September 19Rev Gamble and Lady Downshire look on at Sergeant Bugler Andrew Carlisle during a remembrance service for Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Fort on Monday September 19
Rev Gamble and Lady Downshire look on at Sergeant Bugler Andrew Carlisle during a remembrance service for Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Fort on Monday September 19
A Sermon preached at Hillsborough Fort by Rev Dr Stanley Gamble in the presence of the Marchioness of Downshire at a Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving for HM Queen Elizabeth II on Monday 19th September at 9am:

On Thursday September 8, we sadly learnt of the passing of the late, great Elizabeth the Second, our beloved Queen.

The wave of emotion that hit us is evidence of how deeply Her Majesty the Queen touched our hearts and lives throughout her long and glorious reign.

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A constant source of wisdom and guidance in a world full of chaos and confusion, HM Queen pointed us to a better path, a fuller way of life, and offered us hope for the future.

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Letter to the editor

In 2002, HM Queen gave us an insight into her own approach to life, when she said, “I know just how much I rely on my own faith to guide me through the good times and the bad.

“Each day is a new beginning, I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God.”

Taking the long view and living her life one day at a time while trusting in God is, of course, how Jesus taught his disciples to live.

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And it is how we should seek to live our own lives as well.

The Christian faith was not just something that Her Majesty paid lip service to, it was something that she tried her best to live out each day of the week, whether she was meeting prime ministers or heads of state, or meeting and greeting the general public on her countless tours of the country, the Commonwealth and other nations, or simply enjoying private times with Prince Philip and the Royal Family.

The Queen seemed to really grasp what St James, the brother of our Lord, meant when he wrote in his epistle, “Be doers of the Word and not hearers only.”

By her words and actions, the Queen showed herself to be a humble follower of Jesus Christ, who used her high calling as Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and her other realms, to show that love and friendship, peace and reconciliation, joy and laughter can enlighten our lives, enrich our relationships, and enable human flourishing to take place.

We have been blessed with a truly great Queen.

We will not see her likes again.

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As the writer of Proverbs says, “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”

With confidence, and inspired by the writings of St Paul, we can say she has fought the good fight.

She has finished the race.

She has kept the faith.

Henceforth there is laid up for her a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give her.

And when he does, he will no doubt say to her, ‘Well done good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of the Lord.’

The Reverend Dr Stanley Gamble, Honorary Chaplain to the Marquess of Downshire

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