Thought for the Week, 17th September; Her Legacy and ours

Not surprisingly, the news this week has been dominated by the late Queen; this will continue until at least Monday with her funeral. As I write, people are queuing for 11 hours to file past her body; last night I was in Highley Church and was amazed at the number of notes attached to the prayer tree, remembering her. Yesterday I was talking to a number of people at my workplace; the Queen was held in deep respect by all of them, even those who would not call themselves royalists.   I do not know what will be said in the eulogy at her funeral, but it could easily focus on her qualities of duty and service. As a vicar, I of course have some experience of writing eulogies for funerals. This morning, “Thought for the Day” was about this subject. It had a line that I think explains, at least in part, why the Queen was held in such respect; “our legacy comes from the lives of all we have touched, for good or bad”. As a public figure, the Queen was very aware of the power of her words and actions and used them for the good, guided by her faith. For the rest of us, this acts as a challenge, to be forces for good to those whose lives we touch, either knowingly or unknowingly