Lancashire North Missional Partnership
Newsletter
Today, the 8th September 2022, our beloved Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral. It is a deeply solemn and sad moment and a great loss. We pray for our new King Charles III.
On this day the Church celebrates the birth of Mary the Mother of Jesus. We remember the faithfulness and obedience of this lowly woman who was chosen by God to bear Jesus within her womb.
This week we have seen our third female Prime Minister, Liz Truss, take Office and moved into 10 Downing Street.
The news of the Queen’s death is deeply distressing. This breaking news combined with the profound problems we face as a country regarding the cost-of-living crisis makes us all feel very anxious. All eyes are on our new Prime Minister to help us with a problem that is beyond most of our control.
The image of Mother and Child within the Church is a powerful symbol of maternal care and protection. When life is difficult and uncertain, we need the emotional and spiritual anchorage of a “Mother Love”. Since her Coronation in 1953 Queen Elizabeth has been a constant presence in the life of our country and has made no secret of the importance of her Christian faith especially in her Christmas Day Speeches from Buckingham Palace.
With a new female Prime Minister, we are presented with a softer symbol of power that provides the potential for a new beginning built on compassion and a sense of a shared journey together.
In our unstable and fragile world, we need to rediscover a deep spiritual wisdom that draws on the tradition that humanity reflects the beauty of the Divine and consequently we need to care for each other. We have all become tired and disillusioned with a way of living in which power is used to control and destroy all that is beautiful and precious in our world and in our lives.
We do not know what the days ahead of us will hold for us as we mourn the death of our Queen Elizabeth. The consequences of the war in the Ukraine leading to a global energy crisis makes the onset of winter a daunting prospect for many especially the poor.
We need to reach out for hope and gentleness that is needed to give birth to life and a new way of relating to one another. Queen Elizabeth’s vision of the Commonwealth was to draw together and unite diverse peoples and cultures. Mary is a symbol of all mothers who cherish and support their family and in doing so cement community. This is a vision that is worth praying for and holding onto tightly.
May God grant to Queen Elizabeth’s Soul Eternal Peace.
God Save King Charles III
Reverend John Gordon.
8th September 2022.
