Accession of our Queen
Tomorrow will be the 60th Anniversary of the Accession of our Queen to the throne. She has been and is a magnificent monarch for us to have. We could not possibly wish for someone on the throne who worked harder for the nation, Great Britain and the Commonwealth. She does so with such wisdom and sureness of touch that she is rightly held in the highest esteem and affection by us all.
Most people of our Queen’s age have long since retired, but she still devotes herself to the work with that wonderful sense of duty which underpins, together with her faith, everything that she and Prince Philip undertake.
This afternoon there will be a special service in our Cathedral to honour these 60 years and to give thanks for Queen Elizabeth. Her representative in our County of Hereford, the Lord Lieutenant, together with the Lord Lieutenants from Shropshire and Powys will be present. At the end of the service, I shall be signing a brief statement thanking Her Majesty for “faithful witness to our Christian faith” and “devoted service to our nation over the past 60 years”. We are calling this “The Big Thank You” and it will be open for everyone to sign in the coming weeks in all our churches. Pages of “thank yous” from all over the country will then be collected together and delivered to Buckingham Palace in June.
Because our Queen is so special and her Diamond Jubilee such a remarkable achievement, I thought that I would, on this unique occasion, end this blog with a prayer, one specially written to mark this Diamond Jubilee.
“God of time and eternity, whose Son reigns as servant, not master;
we give you thanks and praise that you have blessed this Nation,
the Realms and Territories with ELIZABETH, our beloved and glorious Queen.
In this year of Jubilee, grant her your gifts of love and joy and peace
as she continues in faithful obedience to you, her Lord and God
and in devoted service to her lands and peoples, and those of the Commonwealth, now and all the days of her life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Bishop Anthony Priddis
Bishop Of Hereford