Plenary, 19 Nov 2008

Meeting date: Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Official Report 376KB pdf

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Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Pete Chirnside of Tearfund Scotland.

I am a Christian. When someone speaks, you learn something about the speaker. You will learn more by watching what they do than by listening to what they say. It is our actions that speak loudest. I try to stand up for my beliefs, although that is not always easy. The media have often given an inaccurate representation of Christians. Some people are opposed to my views and my values and have a distorted impression of what Christians are like, but it is what I do that counts.

Today is world toilet day. Today, there are still 2.5 billion people who have to go to the toilet out in the open, in a field or on shrub land. Their dignity is removed and they are vulnerable. It is a disgrace that we in the developed world allow that to continue. I want to change the world and so I campaign.

December 1 is world AIDS day. Stigma, discrimination, isolation and fear are common among HIV-positive people. Belihna, a mother of three boys, was isolated and friendless, living in a small mud hut in rural Mozambique. Church-trained volunteers found her and Belihna's response was, "God has not abandoned me." The volunteers bathed her, cooked her food, prayed with her and took her for life-saving drug treatment but, sadly, it was too late. She died on 31 August, leaving three orphaned sons.

I want to change the world, so I give money to train and equip church volunteers. The climate is changing and the people who are most affected by it are the poorest people of the world, who have contributed least to emissions of greenhouse gases. God created the world and put us, as human beings, in charge. I want to look after the world. I pray that God, as he did 200 years ago with Wilberforce, will inspire and enable today's leaders to change the world for good. Our beliefs are the foundations for our actions. I am glad that my foundations are in the word of God.

I am reminded of the great parliamentarian Edmund Burke, who said:

"No-one made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he thought he could do so little."

So I campaign, I speak out, I give, I pray.

Let us pray.

Our loving father in heaven, we come before you acknowledging you as the king of kings and lord of lords. We ask that today we might know your guidance, your strength and your wisdom in the decisions we make, that we might build your kingdom here on earth and that our lives might be consistent with our beliefs and our values.

Amen.