Plenary, 29 Jun 2005
Meeting date: Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Official Report
837KB pdf
Time for Reflection
Good morning. As always on Wednesdays, the first item of business is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is the Rev Dr Paul McKeown, minister of Belhelvie Parish Church, Aberdeenshire.
The Rev Dr Paul McKeown (Belhelvie Parish Church, Aberdeenshire):
There is an old adage that religion and politics do not mix and I must confess that that used to be my viewpoint. I grew up in Northern Ireland and left the province at 18 with a rather jaded view of single-issue politics and some of Ulster's more single-minded clergymen. It has taken nearly 20 years to rehabilitate me, 15 of them in Scotland and five of those working as a minister in inner-city Glasgow. In that time, my views have changed.
As you begin today's business, I want to offer you a phrase to hold on to, which brings together the seemingly disparate worlds of religion and politics. The words come from Irenaeus, a second century bishop, but I first read them on the letterhead of a church in Possilpark, one of Scotland's poorest communities. The phrase is, "Gloria Dei, vivens homo," which means, "God is glorified when people are made fully alive."
Is not that the core business that we are in, whether we are talking about politics or faith—enabling people to become fully alive socially, economically, physically, culturally and, for those in my profession, spiritually? Is not the desire to help people become fully alive what is at the heart of all your policy making and much of my work as a parish minister?
Whatever our religious affiliation, all of us believe in life before death. An amazing potential for good is unlocked when people of different convictions are able to unite around a common cause. I saw that in action last year when I was involved in caring for the families whose loved ones were caught up in the explosion at the Stockline Plastics factory. We waited with them for four days and nights in Maryhill Community Central Hall, during which time professionals and volunteers of all persuasions worked together seamlessly to ensure that the families were given the best possible support. It was an extraordinary and exemplary effort by everyone concerned.
On a much larger scale, in a few days' time hundreds of thousands of people will be taking to the streets of Edinburgh to try to make poverty history. People from all walks of life—religious and non-religious—are pulling together because they all want the same thing: for the world's poor to have the chance of a decent life.
We may or may not care about God's glory but, when we help to make life better for others, I believe that we are about God's work. So may God bless you in all the responsibilities that you carry in the great on-going work of helping people to become fully alive. Thank you.