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WATCH a beautiful video tribute to Queen Elizabeth and her expressions of Christian faith
(made by All Souls Langham Place church in London). 

No modern global figure has defined our shared history in a more profoundly positive way than Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

In a world of change, tumult and uncertainty, Her Majesty the Queen was a constant, a bedrock of stability, certainty courage and calm, and a continuous reference point of hope, encouragement, and Christian grace.

In her Christmas message in 1952 she asked the Commonwealth, “Pray for me … that I may faithfully serve [God] and you, all the days of my life.”

She proclaimed before Christmas in 2014, “We remember that God sent His only son ‘to serve, not to be served’. He restored love and service to the centre of our lives in the person of Jesus Christ.”

This year, in a message to an Anglican conference in London, she said, “Throughout my life, the message and teachings of Christ have been my guide, and in them I find hope.”

Seven decades of exemplary service, an oath undertaken and an oath delivered, with unwavering commitment. For millions, not only within the realms of the Commonwealth, but extending across the globe, the sense of sadness and grief is very real and profound.

It appears that the Queen practised what she preached about following Jesus. Perhaps, that is why millions are grieving her loss, mourning a lady of exemplary grace and merciful kindness.

She shared the Christian gospel at Christmas 2011 in simple terms, saying that history teaches us that “we need saving from ourselves—from our recklessness or our greed”.

“God sent into the world a unique Person... a Saviour, with the power to forgive,” she said. All of the staff at FamilyVoice say ‘amen’ to that message.

On YouTube: A beautiful video tribute to Queen Elizabeth II  

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Click here to listen

 

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Christian advocacy group FamilyVoice Australia has rejected the Queensland government’s proposal to further restrict the right of faith-based schools to operate in accord with biblical Christian teaching.

“It’s time for government to mind its own business and let parents and churches get on with educating young hearts and minds, upholding faith principles, especially about sexuality,” said FamilyVoice gender spokesman David d’Lima

“We reject the view that subjects such as maths and science do not involve faith and can somehow be taught irrespective of the sexual behaviour and identify of staff,” he said.

“Teachers all know how deep questions about anything can arise in any lesson – not just Scripture classes.”

FamilyVoice Australia is urging recognition that students often model their own values after teachers they admire.

“The beliefs and identity of the teacher cannot be separated from the classroom, especially in small communities where children may run into their teachers at the local supermarket.”

According to FamilyVoice Australia, the interaction of children and parents with the school’s non-teaching personnel must warrant a unified understanding of sexuality.

“Even the groundsman may find himself called upon by an upset child to offer sympathy or encouragement,” David d’Lima said.

“Parents should be allowed to have confidence in the integrity of the entire school staff, and if government requires all them to undergo child protection training and checking, it should not deny a similar approach by any school seeking to ensure the integrity of its foundational faith.”

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Donor conceived children have a right to know their biological and genetic origins, Queensland Parliament’s Legal Affairs and Safety Committee has found.

The Committee has recommended that identifying information about donors, including their medical history, be made available on request to all donor conceived persons when they reach the age of 18.

The proposed changes will be retrospective – that is to say, still apply to those who have donated in the past on the basis of anonymity.

The Committee also recommended that information about the gender and year of birth of donor conceived siblings be made available on request to donor conceived persons.

FamilyVoice Australia made a submission to the inquiry.  FamilyVoice’s submission stated that:

Donor conceived children have a right to know their biological and genetic origin, including full identifying information about their genetic parents. Access to such information should be available on request at age 18, or earlier with the agreement of the legal parents.

This right should not be dependent on the date of the procedure which led to their conception or on any guarantees of anonymity given to sperm donors in the past. No one – neither clinic nor the state – has the right to offer anonymous fatherhood to a man in order to obtain his sperm to conceive a child.

While FamilyVoice’s recommendation that children have access to the records with parental consent was not taken up, permitting donor-conceived adults to access the information is a step in the right direction.

The Committee has recommended that a donor conception register be established with the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages to house the information.

But while the register will be mandatory in relation to donor conception achieved within a fertility clinic, it will be voluntary to those who have pursued donor conception in “private” arrangements meaning there will still be a gap in the law.