Plenary, 29 Mar 2006
Meeting date: Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Official Report
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Time for Reflection
Good afternoon. The first item of business, as it is every Wednesday, is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is the Rev Graham S Taylor, who is rector of St Mary's episcopal church in Aberdeen.
The Rev Graham S Taylor (St Mary's Episcopal Church, Aberdeen):
Let me begin by thanking you so much for your kind invitation to share this time with you in the Parliament.
Within the church calendar, we seek to journey through this season of Lent to reach the great celebration of Easter once again. This is a time for us to stop, to think and to examine ourselves; it is a time when we remember once again that out of death comes resurrection.
Jesus, in the gospel's account, takes time to pray that we may all be one. In November last year I moved parish from the town of Peterhead, on the coast, to Aberdeen—the granite city itself—and to a church that is known locally as the tartan kirkie, because of all the rich colours that are contained within the brickwork of that magnificent building, dedicated to the glory of God, that we may all be one. As we reflect on that skilled brickwork, which was designed carefully to create a beautiful landmark, so may we reflect that as a gathering, as a parliamentary body and as a nation, we are all—as we all know only too well—very different. Yet, how rich it can be when we take stock of the great unity that our diversity can create within us, as all of us put our differences together to generate vibrancy of life and harmony between us.
May I encourage you to think deeply on that during this season of Lent and, somehow, to celebrate the different views and opinions that we might have and to see beyond those differences to something wonderful and rich that is created for God and for his kingdom.
May God bless you in all your debates and in all your differences. May you seek common ground as you are able to reflect a Parliament of power, of wisdom and of authority among one another, to those whom you serve and above all to almighty God.
Let us pray.
Father, we thank you for this day, we thank you for this moment when we celebrate our diversity and realise the great richness that lies within this body. Bless all who debate in this place for the common good of our country and bring close to us all during this period of Lent a greater understanding of you and of all your ways. This we ask in Jesus' name.
Amen.