- Jim Etherton
The Servant Queen
This year, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. Her actual birthday was on 21st April but the main celebrations are planned for the weekend of 11th and 12th June – which coincides with the Hartley Wintney Village Festival.
The Queen attends church weekly and makes no secret of her faith in Jesus Christ even though she never tells anyone to go to church. In her first Christmas broadcast she asked people to pray for her and in recent Christmas broadcasts she has made it clear how she draws strength from the message of hope in the Christian gospel.
During her long reign, the Queen has set an example of service, doing her best to fulfil the vows she made as a young woman at her coronation to devote her life to the people of this nation and of the commonwealth. We would all do well, like her, to take as our role model the Kings of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. But He is much more than just an excellent example to follow. He died for our sins and rose again to give us new life. If we allow him, He will even live within us by His Spirit.
To celebrate Her Majesty’s 90th birthday, Bible Society, Hope and LICC have joined forces to publish a 64 page book “The Servant Queen and the King she serves”. To quote the back cover: “This beautifully illustrated tribute focuses on the Queen’s own words to draw out the central role of her trust in Jesus Christ in shaping her life and work, offering us an inspiring multi-faceted insight into a life well lived for others.” The book includes a foreword written by the Queen.
To receive your free copy of the book, simply visit our stall at the Village Festival on Saturday 11th June. You will not be able to miss us as we will be in our new bright red gazebo. But this will be a popular free gift and supplies are limited so don’t leave it too late! On our stall, we will also be selling a range of Fairtrade goods (supplied by Livingstones in Fleet). We look forward to meeting you there.