To mark the start of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Bishop Nick and Canon Ailsa Newby of Ripon Cathedral reflect on Her Majesty's life of devoted service:
The Rt Revd Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds
“Seventy years is a long time to do one job. Yet, Queen Elizabeth II has reigned for almost her entire adult life and done so with faithful commitment, devotion to duty and great wisdom.
This sort of commitment – to the common good – has not been a matter of satisfying an ego or maximizing personal power. Watch the television programmes about her or read some of the millions of words being written about her and it is obvious that she has changed as the world has changed.
When she came to the throne Britain had an empire and was a manufacturing nation. As generation followed generation that world changed radically and yet she remained constant. Political fashions might change, wars might be fought, governments come and go … but Her Majesty held her line. What line? That of character and virtue – that changing circumstances should not uproot the fundamental importance of love, mercy, faithfulness, wisdom and generosity.
The Platinum Jubilee recognizes the passage of time and reminds us of our mortality. And it asks us, in humility, to ponder what we have made of our own life – individually and together. What fires us up? What holds us together? What ultimately matters to us in our family and society? The accumulation of stuff; the exercise of power; or the sacrifice that builds up our common life?
These are not only questions for royalty; they dig deeper into our political culture and social future – including in the Church of England.
In July we will consecrate a new Bishop of Kirkstall, Arun Arora. Time moves on from when we created the Diocese of Leeds in 2014 and appointed the first Bishop of Kirkstall (originally designated Richmond) in 2015. The Bishop of Huddersfield has now moved on to the See of Rochester. Everything changes as time rolls on. But, our Christian vocation does not change: being faithful to the call of God to bring the love of God in Christ to each generation in ways that each generation can hear and see.
Bishops won’t sit on their cathedras for decades; but, it is costly faithfulness that will mark how effective they are.
Revd Canon Ailsa Newby, Canon Pastor, Ripon Cathedral
“I know just how much I rely on my faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning. I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings and to put my trust in God.”
So said the Queen in her Christmas 2002 broadcast. As a straightforward declaration of the Christian life it could hardly be bettered. She doesn’t tell people what they should believe nor does she assert the absolute truth of what she believes. She merely says what her experience of faith is and how it supports her in her daily life.
Much is made of the unusual fact that the Queen has reigned for 70 years. The length is indeed exceptional, though of course it is something outside her control. What is within her control is how she has lived her life. That is the remarkable aspect. It is for that: for the stability she has given the country, her steadfastness and her commitment to duty that we give thanks to God and to her this summer.
Duty. Not a fashionable concept but one actually at the heart of Christian life. What the BCP describes as ’our bounden duty’ to give thanks and praise. Common Worship eucharistic prayers talk of ‘our duty and our joy’ to give thanks and praise to God. It is of course a joy to praise God but we can, I think, as Christians easily overlook the duty aspect. What we owe to God for the grace of God in our lives. The example of the Queen reminds us of the importance of doing our duty, faithfully, in good times and in bad. She knows exactly what ‘bounden duty’ means and has lived it out. Perhaps over this Jubilee summer we too can ponder on the duties we owe to God not least, like the Queen, quietly to make clear the foundation of our lives in our faith in God.