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Address given at “A Service of Prayer and Reflection on the Death of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II”
Zion Episcopal Church, Washington, NC
Wednesday September 14th 2022
The Reverend Alan Neale

This, and the myriad of other services and events surrounding the Queen’s death, is no vain attempt to beatify, canonize or make perfect the Queen. Her share in humanity was as deep as it is for any us; but, I believe, a signal mark of humanity is a life composed of humor.

Just one story… told by Richard Grififfin, former Royal Protection Officer.
While walking on the expansive grounds of Balmoral, Her Majesty and I saw two hikers coming towards us and, as always, the Queen stopped to say, “Hello”. It was clear that they had not recognized the Queen and that was fine.
The gentlemen were telling the Queen from where they had come (America) and to where they were going next.
I could see it coming and, sure enough, he said to Her Majesty, “And where do you live?”
“London, but I have a holiday home the other side of the hills.”
“How long have you been coming up here?”
“Oh, ever since I was a little girl, so over 80 years.”
“Oh, so, if you’ve been coming up here for 80 years, you must have met the Queen?”
Her Majesty replied, “Well, I haven’t but Dick here meets her regularly.”
“Oh so you have met the Queen, what’s she like?”
Because I had known Her Majesty for a long time, I felt I could say, “She can be very cantankerous, but she has a lovely sense of humor.”
The guy comes by my side, put his arm around my shoulder and gives the camera to the Queen, “Can you take a picture, please?”
Then we swapped places and I took a picture of Her Majesty with the two American hikers.
After they had left, Her Majesty said to me, “I hope when he shows the pictures to his friends in America, someone will tell him who I am!”

Two words come immediately to my mind as I reflect on the Queen’s life: constancy and service.

Constancy. It should be no surprise that of her two most favorite hymns, one was “O God, our help in ages past.” It is a hymn that speaks of the stability, the constancy, the steadiness of God amidst all the vicissitudes of life . The Psalmist declares, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

King Charles III speaking of his mother said, “Her dedication and devotion as Sovereign never wavered, through times of change and progress, joy and celebration, sadness and loss”.

David Cameron, once UK PM, said, “While the sands of culture shift and the tides of politics ebb and flow, Her Majesty has been a permanent anchor, grounding us in certainty… It has been said that the art of progress is to preserve order amid change and change amid order, and in this the Queen is unparalleled.”

Constancy, for this our hearts yearn and crave… and service.

On her twenty-first birthday, 21 April 1947, Princess Elizabeth was with her parents and younger sister on a tour of South Africa. In a speech broadcast on the radio from Cape Town, the Princess dedicated her life to the service of the Commonwealth. She said,
“There is a motto which has been borne by many of my ancestors – a noble motto, “I serve”… (she concluded) I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”
Mark 10:45 Jesus said, “I came not to be served but to serve and give my life as a ransom for many.” My own commitment to a life of service for Jesus has wavered and waned, but each new day brings opportunity to serve the Lord and serve others in His Name, by His power.

In 1964, at a Billy Graham Crusade, I went forward and gave my life to Christ. Nine years earlier, Dr. Graham was preaching in Scotland. The rally was televised and Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Charles watched and heard Dr. Graham. Soon after Dr. Graham was invited to meet the Queen and there began a relationship that last almost three decades. He dined, had tea, often with the Queen and preached often in her chapels.
Dr. Graham wrote, “I always found her very interested in the Bible and its message. After preaching at Windsor one Sunday, I was sitting next to the Queen at lunch. I told her I had been undecided until the last minute about my choice of sermon and had almost preached on the healing of the crippled man in John 5. Her eyes sparkled and she bubbled over with enthusiasm, as she could do on occasion. “I wish you had,” she exclaimed, “That is my favorite story”.

The story of the crippled man, ignored of years, complacent in his disability and stirred to life as Jesus gave to him healing and divine attention. A good story to be a favorite story; I think its choice says much…

In diverse ways, the Queen often made mention of her personal faith in Jesus Christ. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association recently published these words, ““The Queen’s steadfast loyalty to her work, the sense of great tradition that she had, the quiet resolve with which she faced so many trials and struggles in her own life, all based, all of it, on a deep seated relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Friends, as we confront yet again our own fragility and mortaility, may our relationship with the Lord ever be renewed, rekindled and restored.

I finish with these words of King Charles III, “My darling mama, thank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years. May ‘flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest’.”