Keep Calm; it's the Queen's Speech

If there is one thing that is family tradition in the Docherty household it is the Queen's speech... This is normally something that is inflicted upon us, rather than something we enjoy watching, however Grandpa and Grandma want to watch it, so at 3pm on Christmas Day we all take a seat and watch together.

While the BBC went with the headline 'Queen's Message Focuses on Family' focusing on weddings and the 90th birthday of the Duke of Edinburgh, they completely missed the Queen giving a fantastic gospel message in the last quarter of her address. She said that Christmas can be a time of loneliness and fear for many, yet finding hope in times of fear and desperation is one of the key themes of the Christmas story.

The Queen also spoke about how, while we can be capable of great love and kindness, we can also be reckless and greedy which often causes more hurt than we can rectify. This is why "God sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a general (important though they are) – but a Saviour, with the power to forgive."

"Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God’s love."

A full transcript of the speech is avalible on The British Monarchy Website, or if you prefer the whole YouTube thing Her Majesty does that too.

I promised myself that I would never create a poster in the 'Keep Calm and Carry On' series, however after listening to that speech, it felt only right to! You can download a higher res version here.