The Most Rev David Chillingworth, Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church issued the following statement on Friday 24 June:
“The decision of the people of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union is one of the most significant political events of our generation. It turns away from the long term project of building a new Europe following the devastation of two World Wars. It aspires to reclaim national sovereignty and to establish Britain as a major independent world trading nation.
“The people have spoken and the will of the people must be respected.
“In a hard-fought and at times bruising campaign, it has been clear that debate about Europe has allowed a number of difficult issues to come to the surface. The debate and the patterns of voting suggest that our politicians in recent years may not have paid sufficient attention to some of the deeper issues which are present in our life. The inevitable and necessary period of reflection which must now follow will allow space for questions of poverty and immigration to be explored.
“Those of us who live in Scotland are aware that the outcome of the Referendum is potentially of great significance. We hope that our politicians on all sides will take time for careful reflection and consultation.
“This a time when we should hold all of our political leaders in our prayers.”
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Representatives from seven member churches of Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) gathered in Edinburgh on Monday 4th July to share initial thoughts, questions and concerns over the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. The Rev Aled Edwards, Chief Executive of Cytûn (Churches Together in Wales), also participated in the meeting and explain reaction in Wales.
Concern was expressed about the uncertainties facing EU citizens in the UK and British Citizens in the rest of the EU The way much of the debate was conducted, leading to instances of racist and xenophobic abuse and through the use of what has subsequently been acknowledged to be misinformation, was criticised.
Looking forward, participants agreed that the values of the Gospel must be upheld and that the priority of all, politicians, churches and wider society alike, must be to promote the necessary conditions for human flourishing, including access to education, health care, family life, justice, security and peace.
Participants committed themselves to continuing ecumenical engagement with churches and other organisations across Europe, including the Conference of European Churches, recognising that Scotland remains part of European culture and society irrespective of political decisions.
The meeting concluded by resolving to plan for a conference to be held later in 2016 which could explore the role of the churches in addressing the issues facing society which surfaced, explore more deeply the Christian understanding of unity and seek to find ways of offering Gospel insights within the ongoing public debate.
The following churches and organisations were represented at the meeting: Church of Scotland, Congregational Federation, Methodist Church, Religious Society of Friends, Roman Catholic Church, Scottish Episcopal Church and United Free Church of Scotland, plus Action of Churches Together in Scotland, Cytûn (Churches Together in Wales), Conference of European Churches and the World Communion of Reformed Churches.
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To mark International Refugee Day which took place 20 June, Scotland’s faith communities issued the following joint statement:
“As representatives of faith traditions and organisations assisting faith communities in the struggle against poverty in Scotland, we share an imperative to offer compassion and justice to those who are afraid and oppressed. We are saddened that there are those who would tear down bridges in place of strengthening human relationships and we pray for the healing of the scars which trouble the world.
“We believe in the importance of citizens playing an active and constructive role in society, contributing to the common good, and in the name of our common humanity we believe in the obligation on those who have the power and ability to help those in desperate need.
“On International Refugee Day 2016 we offer our solidarity to those seeking sanctuary, and we encourage and commend faith communities who work with refugees to provide hospitality and to seek to build mutual understanding.
“We urge the UK Government to adopt and develop its refugee and asylum policies based on hope and protection for the most vulnerable. We further call on the UK to take a fairer proportion of refugees wherever there is human need, and to develop safe and legal routes to the UK for those fleeing terror and war.
“We ask the Scottish Government and local authorities to continue to do everything in their power to offer protection to as many refugees as possible, providing support to help them integrate, and empowering local communities to welcome their new neighbours.
“The mass displacement of people is the reality of the world today, and will continue for many years to come. As faith communities, aware of our own histories and grateful to live in relative safety and prosperity, our concern and generosity should be demonstrated through both prayer and action, so that we build on the work already happening in many parts of Scotland in order to make a real difference, and where we partner with all people of good will who have expressed their concern and generosity over recent months.”
Rev Prof David Atkinson, Convener of the Church in Society Committee, The Scottish Episcopal Church
Rt Rev Dr Russell Barr, Moderator of the General Assembly, The Church of Scotland
Dr Maureen Sier, Director, Interfaith Scotland
Ephraim Borowski, Director, Scottish Council of Jewish Communities
David Bradwell, Co-ordinator, Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees
Ian Buchanan, Convener of the Church and Society Committee, The United Free Church of Scotland
Martin Burnell, Clerk: General Meeting for Scotland, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Rev Dr Richard Frazer, Convener of the Church and Society Council, The Church of Scotland
Rev Ian Galloway, Convener of the Board, Faith in Community Scotland
Honor Hania, Chair of the National Justice and Peace Commission, Scottish Catholic Bishops’ Conference
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The Very Rev Dr Graham Forbes CBE has announced that he will retire as Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh on 10 June 2017, the date that will mark 40 years since Graham was ordained priest in the Diocese of Edinburgh.
In a letter to Cathedral Members Dr Forbes says: “You and the daily cycle of prayer and worship, which our open doors symbolise, have sustained me. The opportunities and challenges of the last 26 years beyond the safety of the Cathedral have been substantial. Law and justice loomed large: membership of the Parole Board was followed by 3 years as HM Inspector of Constabulary (during which time Dunblane happened) and then chairing the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission investigating miscarriages of justice (Lockerbie was one of our cases) and serving on the Cabinet Office’s security vetting appeals. Health and medicine were never far away: 13 years on the General Medical Council, as well as chairing the Scottish MMR Expert Group and the UK Government’s ethics committee on Pandemic Flu. Five years’ involvement in armed forces’ pay meant visiting troops in Afghanistan, or being submerged in a ballistic submarine or shivering in the Falklands or roasting in the Gulf.
“Secure in the knowledge of your prayerful support, I found these and other experiences deepened my understanding of priesthood. These 26 years exposed me to journeys, literal and metaphorical, which I could never have imagined, as I was installed as Provost in 1990 or made deacon in our cathedral in 1976. The awards of a CBE in 2004 and honorary doctorates are gratifying, but much more so have been the honour and privilege of journeying with you in times of joy, at weddings and baptisms for example, in times of special challenge, and with loved ones as they faced their final journey on this earth. In all of these I discovered that I was the one who was being ministered to and witnessed examples of faith and courage far greater than my own.
“What next?
“I will continue to chair the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), the Court of Edinburgh Napier University, and the Committee of Scottish University Chairs. To ease me into the next stage I plan to go on a 6 month sabbatical which will end in June next year.
“Clearly the Cathedral is poised to enter into its next stage. It is in safe hands with John McLuckie as Vice Provost, ably assisted by Kenneth Fleming and Paul Foster, as well as our ‘retired’ clergy. Our musical life under Duncan Ferguson’s excellent care continues to blossom and lift our hearts. Bishop John, in whose gift (in consultation with the Cathedral Board) is the appointment of my successor, will value your prayerful support as he looks ahead.”
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A seminar on how churches can help create a dementia friendly community will take place in Hamilton on 12 July. Further information and details of how to register are available on the following website:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dementia-friendly-churches-how-churches-can-help-create-a-dementia-friendly-community-tickets-25399442416?ref=ebtnebregn
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Meet Your MSP is an exciting new project from the Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office (SCPO) building links between congregations and their recently elected MSPs.
The SCPO wants church communities to be at the heart of the decisions that affect our everyday lives and what better way to get involved than for your church to meet local MSPs early in their term of office.
The project begins this summer as MSPs are on recess from the Scottish Parliament and will be based locally. The SCPO will provide ideas and information that will help you to organise meetings that will be interesting for everyone involved. It could be a public meeting, an invitation to a project or church event that you are already organising, or it could be a walk in your local area to highlight issues that you would like addressed. The possibilities are endless, but making contact early is crucial.
The SCPO would like as many churches as possible to get involved and for you to let it know what you are planning leading to a celebration of church engagement at a Scottish Parliament event in February 2017.
Further information will be available on the SCPO website www.actsparl.org including ideas from the following networks: Eco Congregation Scotland, Scottish Churches Housing Action, Priority Areas and Faith in Communities Scotland. The project is also gratefully supported by Action of Churches Together in Scotland.
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During his visit to this year’s Royal Highland Show The Rt Rev Kevin Pearson, Bishop of Argyll & The Isles, met with a range of people from his diocese and beyond to speak about various issues surrounding farming and in rural life generally. Bishop Kevin also met with the Moderator of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland at the Scottish Churches Tent.
Bishop Kevin says “Representing the Scottish Episcopal Church at the Royal Highland Show each year offers an opportunity to engage with a variety of people and learn more about the challenges they face through some of the changes that have affected agriculture and rural living over recent years.”
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The Rev Tony Bryer will retire as Edinburgh City Centre Workplace Chaplain on 30 June 2016.
The Rev Canon Steve Hollis retired as Interim Priest at Holy Rood, Carnoustie on 19 June 2016.
On 1 August 2016, the Rev Audrey O’Brien Stewart will take up her post as Canon Missioner for the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway, where she will also have a role at St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow.
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The Diocese of Edinburgh has announced the appointment of a new post of Bishop’s Enabler of Mission. The Rev Annie Naish will take up the post in late September and the diocese plans to commission her formally at its autumn Synod on 3 November. Annie has been Missioner to the Lee Abbey Movement since 2011. She was ordained in Norwich Diocese and following her curacy there she served as Ecumenical Mission Enabler in Bath & Wells.
The Rt Rev Dr John Armes, Bishop of Edinburgh says “The appointment of a Mission Enabler is a key part of our mission strategy for the diocese and a vital support to me as a leader in mission. Annie brings both relevant experience and personal gifts to this exciting task. She will work with congregations and equip others to do so as we respond to the call to share God’s mission in the places we serve. I am very much looking forward to welcoming Annie back to the city of her birth and working with her in the service of Christ.”
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The Doctrine Committee of the Scottish Episcopal Church launched the twelfth Grosvenor Essay – Prayer and Spirituality. .The Grosvenor Essays are produced annually and cover a wide range of topics and issues. Further information and copies of the Essays are available on the Scottish Episcopal Church website http://www.scotland.anglican.org/who-we-are/publications/grosvenor-essays/prayer-and-spirituality-grosvenor-essay-no-12/
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The Rev Sarah Murray has been installed as the new Vice-Provost of St Andrew’s Cathedral, Inverness – and is the first female to take on this role in the life of the cathedral. Prior to this appointment Sarah had been the Assistant Curate of the Isla Deveron Group since 2013 and says “Moving from the most eastern end of the diocese (Huntly, Keith and Aberchirder) to the central point it offers an exciting opportunity to be part of the ministry team in a city centre and to working with the people of the cathedral, the diocese and the local community. I am looking forward to getting to know the staff and pupils of Bishop Eden Primary School and the wider community and finding ways in which the cathedral and it’s congregation can serve the wider community.”
In welcoming Sarah to the cathedral the Rt Rev Mark Strange, Bishop of Moray Ross & Caithness says “The appointment of Sarah to the cathedral will open up opportunities for growth in mission and ministry and I am looking forward to having Sarah as a colleague at the cathedral.”
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For almost 200 years St John’s Episcopal Church, Princes Street, Edinburgh has stood at a crossroads: a community of faith in the heart of the city. The Festival Pulpit draws from this experience and aims to give a platform for voices that form, challenge, and engage both the secular and the religious. This year it will explore the intersection of public life and religion in the UK. Speakers will be:
7 August Julia Neuberger
(The Baroness Neuberger DBE; Senior Rabbi to the West London Synagogue; Member of the House of Lords)
14 August Elizabeth Butler-Sloss
(The Rt Hon. the Baroness Butler-Sloss GBE, PC; Chair, Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life; Member of the House of Lords)
21 August David Hope
(The Rt Hon. the Lord Hope of Craighead KT, PC; Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland; Member of the House of Lords)
28 August John Hall
(The Very Revd Dr John Hall – Dean of Westminster Abbey)
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Saturday 1 October 2016 – 10.00am for 10.30am-3pm, The Threshold Centre, Princes Street, Perth, PH2 8LJ
The Nuts and Bolts of Effective Companion Partnerships – How to begin, how to grow together and how to part
The Global Partnerships Committee of the Scottish Episcopal Church invites all across the Scottish Episcopal Church who are involved in Companion Partnerships or thinking of getting involved in a Companion Partnership to a workshop gathering. There will be presentations on setting up a link and we will be making space for participants to share their experience of Companion Partnership so that we can learn from each other
A soup and sandwich lunch will be provided plus teas and coffees.
Please contact churchrelations@scotland.anglican.org by 30 August 2016
……………………
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‘Another Way’ is a follow on from last year’s successful 70 Munros challenge. ‘Another Way’ includes sponsored walks on Scotland’s way-marked trails, workshops, bike rides, bible-based discussions, talks, pilgrimages, walks in memory of loved ones, plus online reflections for the journey.
Throughout 2016 Christian Aid Scotland invite you to join them at some new events and activities that will enable you to give, act and pray ‘Another Way’ , and wants to continue to think differently but also to act differently – to live another way in a world where all can flourish, not just the few.
Events will be taking place across Scotland. With the iconic sculptures of the Kelpies the centrepiece of the day, walkers can learn about water projects supported by Christian Aid while they snake around the one, two or three mile routes. Face painting, scavenger hunts and a big picnic make the fundraising Kelpies Canter taking place on Saturday 27 August a great way for families to support Christian Aid this summer.
On 10 September, take part in a sponsored walk around the UK’s largest onshore windfarm and listen to powerful stories about the people Chrisian Aid works with.
Join Christian Aid’s Wendy Young, who will be taking part in The Great Wilderness Expedition. A three day walk, starting on 13 September through the Great Wilderness, reflecting on being in communion with, rather than consumers of, nature.
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/scotland/another-way/events.aspx
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