Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is the Rev Dr Angus Morrison, the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
May I thank you for the honour of addressing the Scottish Parliament. As moderator, I bring you the greetings of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and our very best wishes. You are always in our prayers.
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”
So wrote John Donne, the 17th century poet and dean of St Paul’s. Donne points up the important reality of the interconnectedness of all of human life and the fact that our wellbeing as humans depends on the recognition of our mutual dependence at every level.
That insight is embedded in the DNA of the Christian tradition, with its emphasis on the importance of community for those made in the image of one God who exists in personal, loving community. Human flourishing is attained only when we are authentically part of a community marked by love, justice and compassion.
All has not been well in recent times in our own society. Research indicates that one in 10 of us suffers from loneliness and isolation. The problem is growing, partly as a result of changing patterns of social interaction—and not only among the elderly. Loneliness is bad for us, leading to unhappiness and, frequently, to mental health problems.
This major issue of our time affects us all and requires urgently to be addressed. I, for one, am deeply grateful for the Scottish Government’s recent and significant steps in doing so.
It is important to recognise the enormous contribution of the churches here. As moderator, I have witnessed countless examples of local churches, in living out their faith, at work to reduce loneliness and isolation in the community. The Church of Scotland’s go for it fund, which awards around £1 million a year, currently supports three groups helping to connect young families in Inverness and working with isolated elderly and disabled people in central Scotland. The church’s practical social value is enormous and growing.
Jesus spent 90 per cent of his ministry simply being with people. We can help bring wholeness and healing to many lives, and greatly strengthen the fabric of our society, as together we work to end the scourge in our time of loneliness and isolation. People of faith, be it more widely known, have an incredible amount to offer here.
Let us pray.
God of redeeming love, who in Jesus came to be with us, may we be and remain with one another. By your spirit, set up your kingdom of love among us. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
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