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Reflection
The
Scottish Parliament held its first "Time for Reflection" on
Wednesday 27 October, 1999
Led by Rev
Dr Graham K Blount, Scottish Churches Parliamentary Officer
Each
week's parliamentary business begins with "Time for Reflection"
(on Wednesdays at 2.30pm); the Presiding Officer, Sir David Steel, invites
people from Scotland's faith communities to lead these 4 minute periods of
reflection, in the form of a reading from an appropriate text and a prayer.
This is the
text of the first reflection:
Some words from the
Psalms, which express the common ground of Christian and Jewish faith, and
from the new hymnbook that celebrates the Common Ground of faith shared by
the Scottish Churches:
Psalm 127
If the Lord does not build the house, the work of the builders is
useless; if the Lord does not protect the city, the sentries stand guard in
vain. In vain you get up earlier, and put off going to bed, sweating to make
a living – since he supplies the need of those he loves.
"Let us build a house where prophets speak And
words are strong and true; Where all God's children dare to
speak, To dream God's reign anew …
Built of hopes and dreams and visions … Revealed
in time and space; Built of tears and cries and laughter,
Prayers of faith and songs of grace.
Let us build a house where all are named, Their
songs and visions heard, And loved and treasured, taught
and claimed As words within the Word
Here the outcast and the stranger Bear the image
of God's face; Let us bring an end to fear and danger -
All are welcome, all are welcome in this place."
(adapted from Hymn 4 in Common Ground, St Andrew Press, by Marty
Haugen)
Let us pray:
Living God, the creative spark of your love set our world spinning, and
brought us to life; your determined love, your commitment to us, took shape
in the backstreets of Bethlehem, and soon got entangled in politics; the
lively power of your spirit is here and now, lifting us out of ourselves, to
new horizons.
O Lord, all the world belongs to you, and you are always making all
things new; at this time to reflect on a new beginning, we put our trust and
our hopes in you; you know what we're made of, and you have trusted us with
daunting responsibilities.
Strengthen us to meet that challenge – we can't do it on our own; give
us wisdom to understand our nation, its people and their problems; give us
compassion to feel their pain and their hopes, and integrity to respond
bravely and honestly; let a hunger and thirst for justice be the passion of
this place.
God of grace, as Parliament, we pray for the people of Scotland, for
their common weal and their personal needs, celebrating their rich diversity
and knowing that many are hurting; today especially, we pray for folk caught
up in the horrors of domestic violence, that we may see beyond words and
really make a difference.
As people, here and beyond, we pray for our Parliament, offering our
faith and our vision, that this may be a place where folk can come when they
have no-one else to turn to, a place of listening and of healing and of
hope; we pray for each other, for folk we see as friends, rivals,
colleagues, opponents … aware of the pressures and the failings and the
possibilities we share; so may the peace of Christ, which goes beyond our
understanding keep us close to one another and to our God; may the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the friendship and fellowship of
the Holy Spirit go with us now and always. Amen.
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