Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Dear Friends
As we will all know by now, The Queen has died. Buckingham Palace confirmed that Her Majesty passed away yesterday afternoon at her beloved Balmoral.
We were all aware that she had been unwell with the cancellation of the privy council on Wednesday, as well as the rare bulletin from Buckingham Palace on her health. Much like the rest of the nation we had been braced for the worst!
Queen Elizabeth II has been the most remarkable and extraordinary of women. She has reigned for seventy years and worked until the very end. Her first Prime Minister was Winston Churchill and only this week we saw her receiving Boris Johnson as he resigned and as she invited Liz Truss to be her 15th Prime Minister and form a new government. She has reigned over a period of remarkable change and through it all she has remained a link between the past, present and future.
The Queen has been a deeply committed and ever increasingly vocal Christian and has showed the world how her personal and steadfast faith has helped her lead and serve this country for seven decades. When anyone dies at such an age, we should be grateful for such a long and rich life. But it is a sign of how much she means to so many of us that we feel such a deep and profound sense of loss.
On Thursday, this country lost a sovereign whose sense of duty and commitment to God was immense. On her 21st birthday she promised that her life would be dedicated to our service and to her dying day she has fulfilled that vow. During her reign The Queen exemplified restraint, duty, grace, service and stability, much of which seems to be disappearing from the world
We at Encounter join with the wider church and with our nation to grieve the passing of The Queen. We will pray for her family that they know God’s peace and comfort at this sad time. With grateful hearts we also give thanks for a life well lived. Her legacy as the longest reigning British Monarch leaves an imprint on all our lives.
With our love and prayers
Mark & Karen