Official Report 133KB pdf
Our first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is the Rev Stewart Goudie.
Good afternoon to you all. Presiding Officer, First Minister and all MSPs, I congratulate you on winning election or re-election to your roles in the Parliament. Thank you for putting yourselves forward to represent the members of your constituencies or regions and to serve the people of Scotland. I pray that you will know the wisdom, compassion and blessings of Jesus Christ as you serve in the Parliament.
In my first career as an electronics designer, I served five different employers, which were all in or around the Edinburgh area. We tackled design projects that had never been attempted previously. No one could tell us how to do it. We had to use the components and systems that were already available to produce something new that would improve on previous products. Some designs succeeded; some did not.
Such resourcefulness served me well as I then trained to be a church minister. I served as minister in two rural parishes on the edges of mainland Scotland, one in the far north and the next on the west coast. I retired just over 18 months ago and came back to live in Edinburgh, close to my family. People who live in such small rural communities, like those who live in my two parishes, soon learn that they need each other. Everyone needs help in one way or another. You get to know most of the people who live in your community. Some of my people lived on islands where the ferry comes only three or four days a week, less often in winter and not at all if the weather is bad or if the ferry is broken. It is a very different life from living in a town or city. Please remember the many people in our nation who live in such communities.
Here in the Parliament, you also face issues that are new to you. You will not always have someone to tell you what to do. Your assistants and advisers might offer advice, but it is you who must decide. Take time to consider what is best for your constituents and for the nation. What can you do to improve the lives of the people you represent? Who can help you to achieve those goals?
Jesus told his followers, “Only do to others what you would want them to do to you.” That can be reworded as, “Don’t do to others what you don’t want done to you.”
Many people need our help these days: people who are ill, those who cannot work, homeless people, workers whose income does not feed their families, and so on. As you make your decisions here in the Parliament, remember those who need your help. Please also consider the people who live at the edges of our nation, socially and geographically.
God bless you all in your service for the people of this nation. Thank you for listening.