Moderator's Plea for 'Yes' and 'No' to Work Together

Thursday October 9 2014

The Moderator of the General Assembly has reiterated his call for people on both sides of the independence debate to work together for the good of the future of Scotland.

Addressing a gathering organised by the Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office, the Rt Rev John Chalmers said that he hoped 'the 45 [% who voted 'yes' in the referendum] and the 55 [% who voted 'no'] can work together to deliver 100% of what Scotland needs'.

Outlining the Church of Scotland's contribution to the post-referendum period, he said that there was pastoral work to be done to heal the wounds created by the debate; but also practical work in contributing to the continuing debate on Scotland's future.

That will include further public events held through the Imagining Scotland's Future initiative, and a submission to the Smith Commission on further devolution.

The first of the public events will be 'Imagining Scotland's Future Now', at St George's Tron Church in Glasgow on November 5.

Mr Chalmers said: "We are committed to wider discussion with Government figures - here in Edinburgh and also in London. We are consulting with the STUC, SCVO, fellow churches and other faith traditions, and in these conversations the role of the church is to seek to be helpful, to encourage all participants to respect one another and keep to their commitments, and to hold up that larger vision which is beyond partisan advantage or personal preference, but is for the common good.

"Alongside Imagining Scotland's Future Now there are also plans in development under the umbrella of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland to present a common vision for society which could be used by all churches across the UK in the run up to next year's General Election."

The Church will this Friday make an interim submission to the Smith Commission, which is looking at the process of devolving more powers to the Scottish Parliament, before making a full contribution by the end of October.

Mr Chalmers added that he felt the process of further devolution would be better done 'well' than done 'quickly'. He said: "There is an opportunity to make political capital out of the notion that what has been promised cannot be delivered or delivered on time. Please do not let us let that happen. If it takes more time to consult then let's make more time to consult - there is an enormous expectation of civic involvement in this process that will take time and it should be allowed time."

The Moderator's full address is available here.

Comments

There are currently no comments on this post

Add a reply

All fields are required. Email address will not be published.