Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is the Right Rev Joseph Toal, who is the bishop elect of the diocese of Motherwell and administrator of Argyll and the Isles.
Good afternoon. As I prepare to move from the diocese of Argyll and the Isles to become bishop of Motherwell, I have been bidding farewell to friends and places around the west Highlands and Islands. There is sadness in doing so and some nostalgia for what I leave behind.
It was good to spend a Sunday on Iona recently, as I have found it to be a haven of peace and prayerful reflection, in my time as bishop. The journey there can be uncomfortable and the weather unpredictable, but it is always good to arrive there and to experience its special atmosphere and the rich Christian heritage from the time of St Columba and his monks, to the modern Christian presence in the local community and pilgrim visitors.
I joined a number of pilgrim groups last year travelling to Iona to mark the 1450th anniversary of St Columba’s arrival; notably, a group of 50 Spaniards—the friends of the way to Santiago de Compostela—with whom I celebrated mass in the abbey on 25 July, which is the feast day of St James, their patron. Earlier in their visit, they had walked part of the medieval pilgrimage route from Edinburgh to St Andrews. They were greatly enthused by our beautiful country, despite the summer showers, and by our Christian heritage, and returned to Spain to pass on the good news about all that Scotland has to offer—not least, the welcome and generous hospitality of its people.
In Scotland’s Celtic monastic period, the local princes and politicians from Scotland and beyond sought the counsel of the monks of Iona, perhaps seeking God’s guidance in prayer and in the holy scriptures, which were so lovingly transcribed in the beautiful illuminated manuscripts. One would hope that that those same words, particularly those of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, will continue to touch the hearts and minds of yourselves, the Scottish politicians of today, and so will continue to be recognised and valued as a precious element in the future development and growth of Scotland. When on retreat on Iona before my ordination as bishop in 2008, the words from the Prophet Micah stuck with me:
“This is what the Lord asks of you; only this, to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God.”
I offer them to you and ask the Lord’s blessing for you and our country.