Meeting the King
By the Revd Graham Thompson, President of the Methodist Conference
At the 2022 Conference, Anthony Boateng and I introduced our theme for the year based on The Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:37-39) and the call to love God with all that we are and to love our neighbours as ourselves. You might imagine, therefore, my delight when I heard King Charles III saying something similar.
On 16 September, three days before his mother’s State Funeral and at the end of an exhausting week of travel (including a visit to and from Wales that very day), I was honoured to represent the Methodist Church when Faith Leaders were invited to attend an audience with the King at Buckingham Palace.
There were some thirty people representing various Christian denominations and other faith groups, including Revd. Helen Cameron, Moderator of the Free Churches Group and Chair of the Northampton District (pictured here). 
The audience began with a short speech and continued with a conversation with each of us in turn. I took the opportunity to reiterate the condolences of the Methodist people at this time of personal loss and assured the King of our continuing prayers for him as our new Sovereign.
Why did the King invite Faith Leaders to the palace so quickly? There is a clue within the speech when he said, “I also wanted, before all of you today, to confirm my determination to carry out my responsibilities as Sovereign of all communities around this country and the Commonwealth and in a way which reflects the world in which we now live”.
He went on to say, “I have always thought of Britain as a ‘community of communities.’ That has led me to understand that the Sovereign has an additional duty . . . . . . . to protect the diversity of our country, including (by) protecting the space for Faith itself and its practise through the religions, cultures, traditions and beliefs to which our hearts and minds direct us as individuals. This diversity is not just enshrined in the laws of our country, it is enjoined by my own faith”.
The audience was a way of letting Faith Leaders and those whom we serve – and the world – that the King places a high value on faith within the life of our nations. Also, that faith plays an important part in enabling Britain to be the ‘community of communities’ that he has pledged – and will pledge – his allegiance to.
As we reflect on the words of the King, we are each encouraged to ask what it is that we can do (or continue to do) – on our own and with others – to enable people to flourish within the communities we serve. What is that we can offer because of our faith in Christ, the servant of all?