VICAR

Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine (UK & India), I trust that in the circumstances You are doing well. Of course, there is a sombre mood across the United Kingdom as the Second Elizabethan Age ends and We come to look at our own lives as before and after Queen Elizabeth II.

Few events have been so collectively resonant.

Going through grief is sometimes described as a journey. Like a journey, it is a process and so involves changes over time. But, unlike most journeys, it doesn’t really have a clear end point. Each grief journey is unique. As time goes on, bereaved people find they can speak of the person who died without tears or deep emotion. They notice they can look outwards to the world and its possibilities. Eventually, they can laugh and love and find reasons to live again.

The problem with Her Majesty was that She was always there. Few of You will remember a time when She was not Our Queen, so dealing with her death is a unique challenge for Us. Although We knew it would one day happen, We hoped that the day would never come.

The best way to treat the current situation is to be thankful, for We were blessed with a truly remarkable Queen, as Queens of this land tend to be. We should rejoice in her life and do what She would wish for. To welcome and support Her son, King Charles, as He assumes the throne.

Also, let Us remember to pray. In prayer We will find the necessary solace. From prayer We will glean hope.

Psalm 107:13-14

“So they cried out to the Lord in their distress, and God saved them from their desperate circumstances. God brought them out from the darkness and deep gloom; he shattered their chains.”

God Bless You All. God Save The King. Have as good a week ahead as possible.

God of love,

We thank you for the life of The Queen,

for her service to our nation,

and for her faith in you.

Be close to all of us who mourn,

that we may we find comfort and hope in your love,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.