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Home  >  News  >  London Kirk Gears Up For Debate as European Churches Urge 'Remain'

News

London Kirk Gears Up For Debate as European Churches Urge 'Remain'

Tuesday June 7

A Church of Scotland church in London is hosting a debate on the EU Referendum tonight (June 7).

The debate in St Columba’s Church, Pont Street, will be chaired by ITN newsreader Alastair Stewart and feature four politicians, one from each side of the debate from both the Conservative and Labour parties.

You can tweet questions this afternoon to the church (@londonkirk) and questions and answers will be tweeted using the #EURef hashtag.

The Rev Angus MacLeod, minister at St Columba's Church which hosted debates on the Scottish independence referendum and the General Election, said: “The EU Referendum asks each of us to make a choice with long term consequences for all of us.

“It is surely right therefore to inform ourselves, by listening to and questioning, those advocating both the ‘leave’ and the ‘remain’ campaigns.

“And in line with the Church of Scotland's encouragement to offer a space for respectful dialogue, the congregation is delighted to be able to do that.”

Meanwhile, the General Secretaries of the European National Councils of Churches – currently meeting in Portugal - have written to the churches of Britain and Northern Ireland supporting a ‘remain’ vote in the June 23 referendum.

The letter, addressed to the various Churches Together organisations in Britain and Ireland, states that ‘peace and reconciliation lie at the heart of the European Union’ and that ‘our calling as Christians to serve God and our fellow humanity must transcend national boundaries’.

Signed by Bishop Sifredo Teixeira, President of the Portuguese Council of Christian Churches, it concludes: “The distinctive British contribution to values of tolerance, democracy and the rule of law has been instrumental in making Europe a better place in recent decades. We urge the peoples of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to continue to help shape our shared European continent for the better.”

The Church of Scotland's official position, restated at last month's General Assembly, is to support Britain remaining in the European Union.


Comments

W. A. B. - Saturday, June 11th, 2016

“France and Germany seem to have decided to end centuries of emnity. Britain made a massive effort to achieve this happy result in the last war. I think we can let them get on with things now. Should Britain stay in Europe to keep the peace between members??”


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