Ash Wednesday Pilgrimage

EMU Leaders, United Reformed Church Synod Moderator, Revd. Paul Whittle, the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, Bishop Mark Strange, and the Chair of the Scotland and Shetland Districts of the Methodist Church, Revd. Mark Slaney, spent Ash Wednesday in Inverness and Nairn, joining in conversation and worship, together with local folk. The EMU partnership is a particular commitment of the Episcopal, Methodist and United Reformed Churches to work together within Scotland where that is possible and helpful. Recognising we have not always taken those opportunities we made this opportunity in order to re-affirm the commitment. We started with tea, pancakes, shortbread and conversation at Inverness Methodist Church. We then made our way to Inverness Cathedral and joined in the lunch-time service for Ash Wednesday. Finally, we drove to Nairn and shared in a service at the United Reformed Church, also focussed on it being Ash Wednesday. The worship supported our conversation about the struggles and opportunities of being the church in a changing Scotland and how we can more effectively do that together, and in partnership with other Christian denominations. Being marked by ash at the Cathedral and sharing in a liturgy of confession at Nairn United Reformed Church were suitable reminders of the day on which we were meeting and also of our dependence on the generous love of God. Our conversation recognised the challenges and the difficulties but also saw the possibilities and encouraged us to remember that we are people of hope – and that we share is far more important than anything that divides us.

Peace and Justice

The National Synod of Scotland of the United Reformed Church expresses its vision through a series of affirmations. These are not fixed in stone, but form a moving (and capable of being updated) vision statement. I am exploring these in turn in a series of brief articles. This piece reflects on the sixth aspiration which focusses on our commitment to PEACE AND JUSTICE. As a Synod we are committed to building peace and justice. These are core values which direct much of who we are. Our commitment to PEACE AND JUSTICE is strong and through the Commitment for Life programme is particularly expressed through Christian Aid, Jubilee Scotland and Global Justice Now. We are a Fair Trade Church and support the work of the Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office. We look to connect with those things that make for a better society, engaging in a range of community and social actions that address key issues and particularly where more vulnerable members of society are too readily marginalised. We would support the prophetic words of the likes of Isaiah – learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow (Isaiah 1:17); of Amos – let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Amos 5:24); and of Micah – he has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? As Jim Wallis said (in The Call to Conversion back in 1981, but stating something that remains true): “The question to be asked is not what we should give to the poor but when we will stop taking from the poor. The poor are not our problem; we are their problem. The idea that there is enough for everyone to live at our standard of living, or that we are rich because of hard work and God’s favour, or that poverty is due to the failures of the poor – all these are cruel myths devised by a system seeking to justify its theft from the poor. …. Charged to be stewards, we have instead become exploiters. Rather than treating the bounty of the earth as a gift for all of God’s children, we have wasted its resources to profit the few. The imperialism of today differs from the old colonialism in that empire is no longer based on the occupation of territory but on the control of resources.” We need to learn to be counter-cultural, concerned about others, rather than always prioritising ourselves. We need also to be concerned about all those things that contribute to people living a life that is less than it should be. This means that we cannot avoid the importance of politics, that we need to speak out on key issues, and that we need to do those small pieces of practical action that are possible for us, including, though by no means limited to, raising money for Christian Aid and purchasing fairly traded products. We also need to put the newspaper (or such other form of obtaining news that we may prefer) alongside the Bible as we do the little we can towards the wonderful Hebrew concept of ‘shalom’.

Falling Upwards

Richard Rohr’s “Falling Upwards”, recently read, offers some interesting insights as to our relationship with God. His basic premise is to divide life into two halves, the first around discovering who we are, and many never get past that, and the second around developing our relationship with God. More fundamentally, he stresses that all God wants of us is that we are ourselves – “All we can give back and all God wants from any of us is to humbly and proudly return the product that we have been given—which is ourselves!” He describes the distinction between these two elements, saying, “There is much evidence on several levels that there are at least two major tasks to human life. The first task is to build a strong “container” or identity; the second is to find the contents that the container was meant to hold.” One of the things I find particularly helpful in what Rohr says is connected to his recognition that sin is an inevitable part of the package that is us. He points out that this is not something that bothered Jesus in terms of his encounters during his earthly life. Rather, the challenge is to discover the positive elements in what is otherwise damaging. “You cannot avoid sin or mistake anyway (Romans 5:12), but if you try too fervently, it often creates even worse problems. Jesus loves to tell stories like those of the publican and the Pharisee (Luke 18:9–14) and the famous one about the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32), in which one character does his life totally right and is, in fact, wrong; and the other who does it totally wrong ends up God’s beloved! Now deal with that!” He expands this by commenting further – “If there is such a thing as human perfection, it seems to emerge precisely from how we handle the imperfection that is everywhere, especially our own.” And he adds -“A “perfect” person ends up being one who can consciously forgive and include imperfection rather than one who thinks he or she is totally above and beyond imperfection.” But perhaps what chimes most strongly is Rohr’s reminder that “Like skaters, we move forward by actually moving from side to side.”

Co-operating with People of Other Faiths and None

The United Reformed Church's National Synod of Scotland expresses its vision through a series of affirmations. These are not fixed in stone, but form a moving (and capable of being updated) vision statement. I am exploring these in turn in a series of brief articles. This piece reflects on the fifth aspiration, which focusses on our relationship with, and commitment to, people of OTHER FAITHS AND NONE. As a Synod we are committed to all who will work with us, from any faith or from no faith. The Synod is a participant in Interfaith Scotland. Many local Churches seek to build relationships with people of OTHER FAITHS AND NONE to nurture their local communities. We place great value on our common humanity and are happy to partner with others from all backgrounds and belief bases on any matters of common concern and in whatever way might be appropriate. That said, we are especially glad to work with other people of faith and value the things that we share. We therefore support and endorse the Statement of Mutual Commitment agreed by Scottish faith leaders at the September 2022 Interfaith Pilgrimage to the island of Iona. This stated: “WE, representatives of the Scottish Religious Leaders' Forum, meeting on the holy and historic Island of Iona, mark this, the twentieth anniversary of the Forum by restating our commitment to work together. We share this land of Scotland with people of diverse cultures, religions and beliefs. We know that our lives are connected closely to the lives of others around the world and to the earth, our common home. Yet we know that in this beautiful land many live in poverty, as do millions more around the world and we recognise that our way of life and over consumption is causing environmental damage and harm to all. We also acknowledge with sadness the suffering caused by prejudice, discrimination and war and recognise that religious discord has, at times, contributed to this suffering. With all our hearts and humility; 1. We commit to continuing to build good interfaith relations and trust across Scotland and beyond 2. We also commit to working with others to actively respond to the climate crisis; • by emphasising the importance of caring for the earth highlighted in our scriptures • by doing our utmost to live sustainably and encouraging our communities to do the same • by joining with others to convince those in positions of authority and influence to act urgently to implement the agreements made at Cop26 in Glasgow in 2021 3. And finally, we commit to walk alongside and listen to local communities across Scotland and beyond that are facing many and diverse challenges, such as poverty, displacement, uncertainty and disorientation in a time of bewildering change. We share these words on the Isle of Iona, an island that is beautiful and sacred, but with a violent history, and which today is exposed to rising sea levels due to climate change. This Island stands as a metaphor for humanity, and other life on earth: vulnerable, sacred and to be cherished and loved but not abused and exploited. Inspired by this place we make this declaration.”

Ecumenical

The National Synod of Scotland expresses its vision through a series of affirmations. These are not fixed in stone, but form a moving (and capable of being updated) vision statement. I am exploring these in turn in a series of brief articles. This piece reflects on the fourth aspiration, which focusses on our ecumenical commitment and journey. As a Synod we are committed to the ecumenical journey and to continuing ecumenical co-operation. From its formation in 1972 the United Reformed Church has been committed to JOURNEY to ecumenism and is a member of the World Council of Churches and other ecumenical bodies. The Synod of Scotland works closely with ecumenical partners through the Scottish Church Leaders Forum, the Ecumenical Officers’ Meeting and the Scottish Churches Committee. We maintain links with the world church by engaging with global partners, mainly other member denominations of the Council for World Mission. Jesus prayed for his followers, those whom we would now call the Church, asking ‘that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me’ (John 17:21). Diversity is of immense value, but should never lead to disunity. What we hold in common with other Christians is far more valuable than anything that divides us. The ecumenical journey is a complex one and the path to organic unity on which many of the mainline denominations seemed to be embarked during the 1970s, 1980s, and even into the 1990s has, for the most part, not borne the expected fruit. But, as William Countryman (writing in 1992 in The Language of Ordination) pointed out: “The unity of the church does not have to take one particular form. In the twentieth century, schemes of church union have usually stressed the consolidation of overlapping administrative units and the merging of church bureaucracies. This is perhaps not exactly what Jesus had in mind when he prayed that his followers might all be one.” Similarly, Christopher Ellis (in Together on the Way) comments that “Ecumenism is not about throwing all our treasures into a melting pot so that we end up with a uniform church.” Working together organically is one form of unity, and entirely valid, but not the only possible way for ecumenism. Models of co-operation, particularly in practical matters such as foodbanks and street pastors, and in what is often termed ‘receptive ecumenism’ which describes our recognising and valuing the gifts and contributions of others. Learning to appreciate what we can receive from each other as different church traditions has much to commend it. It is also worth exploring what we can gain from contact with the global church. We have a strong tradition of engagement with partners in world mission mainly, though not exclusively, discovered through our participation as a member denomination of the Council for World Mission. Thus, we value our contacts with other denominations in and beyond Scotland, recognising that such engagement demonstrates our unity in Christ, but also carries many benefits as we work with and pray for such partners.