Platinum Jubilee

From the Manse.....

Celebratory events, both locally as well as nationally will form the backdrop to the special Bank Holiday weekend this month to honour the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

This jubilee celebrates an unprecedented and unparalleled achievement and one that is unlikely to be repeated, 70 years as a reigning monarch!

Browsing in an independent book store the other day, my attention was caught by a special display linking in to the Jubilee celebrations; "The Big Jubilee read".

As its name suggests it is a list of 70 books to mark the Queen's long reign. Split into 7 decades, it incorporates novels, short story and poetry collections from around the Commonwealth published since 1952.

Having looked at this list, I can reveal that I have read just five of them, which says more about my limited scope of reading material than the books themselves

If you'd like to see the list for yourself you can find it at https://readinggroups.org/big-jubilee-read

The books are varied and represent a mix of cultures and experiences. They are stories of life, love and identity. The pages of the chosen 70 give us a snapshot of what was important at the times they were written as well as those timeless themes that affect us all. Every single experience and emotion that can be known and felt are covered within this collection.

As we reflect on the past 70 years, we are aware that those themes that run through these works of literature, run also through our lives, our shared history and of course those of the Queen, both public and private.

There are 66 books in the protestant Bible, and within those pages, we also find those experiences and emotions which resonate profoundly within us, touching our stories and our own lives.

The Queen is the Head of the Church of England – but as we well know, it is for her far more than just a title, for she is very devout and a person of great faith. At the heart of her story told over 70 years in the public arena, this faith finds its out-workings and expression in both duty and service.

For that we give thanks as we celebrate her Platinum jubilee.

Love and God Bless

Keith