Throughout our parish, households are mourning the loss of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in our nation's thousand-year history. May she rest in peace and rise in glory.

It is right and proper that we pay our respects to the Queen with the dignity and unity which she herself embodied. The War Memorial on Chapel-en-le-Frith Market Place has been set aside for the laying of flowers in her memory. Flags are being flown at half-mast. On Sunday afternoon there will be a service on the Market Place, open to all faiths and denominations, and organised by the Royal British Legion.

At this time, many of our neighbours will reflect on their losses over the past years, with their grief magnified by the communal sadness being felt through every parish. Queen Elizabeth lived a life of duty to her nation, devoted to us, an example that we should follow as we support and care for each other over the coming weeks and months.

It feels like an end of an era but it is also a new beginning.  As we reflect on the past, we must look to the future. God save the King.