Salvationist 27 November 2021

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Picture: JOHN YOUNG

various ‘gifts of God’ while children brought these gifts – including a Bible, food and drink – to be placed on the altar. The sermon was delivered by the Rev Dr Susan Henry-Crowe, general secretary of the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church, who based her words on Psalm 23. As part of her reflection, she drew on the three art installations on display in the cathedral: Returning and Into your Arms by James Pfaff; I Will Sit with You and I Will Learn to Listen by Gardner and Gardner; and A Lament in Black Paint by ID Campbell. She said: ‘For those of us who are claimed by faith … our stories of faith acknowledge the stories of God’s goodness in creating our world. We know the stories of how it began and how exquisite it was. And we have a special responsibility to listen to those living closest to the earth and seas – indigenous communities, animals, birds, fish. ‘We begin to hear a way forward. Return the seas to a clean home for its inhabitants. Do not pollute the waters. Return the habitation of your communities to clean and healthy spaces. Do not ruin communities for your greedy purposes. So – how do we get there?’ Additional contributions were given by Bishop William Nolan from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland and the Most Rev Mark Strange, primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Lord Wallace, the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, gave a Bible reading. Other faith leaders contributing to the service represented the All Africa Conference of Churches, the Pacific Conference of Churches, the Anglican

Communion, the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the World Council of Churches, Eco-Congregation Scotland and the Scottish Church Leaders’ Forum. The General remarked: ‘I had a sense that, as we stood with each other and with faith leaders from nations beyond our borders, we welcomed into our ecumenical faith participants from the world. There was a sense of joint concern as we worshipped, prayed and articulated mutual concern for our world.’ The Rev Mark Johnstone, parish minister of Glasgow Cathedral, reflected: ‘Over the past week we have welcomed the world to Glasgow. On Sunday, it was wonderful to welcome people from many nations to Glasgow Cathedral, a place where people from all over the world have gathered for centuries to meet and to worship.’

The team at Glasgow City Centre Corps

Glasgow City Centre Corps was a support base for people attending the conference. The Salvation Army hosted Glasgow Churches Together for the duration of COP26 and corps officer Lieutenant Scott Garman said he was delighted to welcome people from all over the globe. He said: ‘In our small part we have been able to provide a place of welcome for bishops, social justice “rock stars”, members of governments, international visitors who have been directly involved in blue zone conversations, local residents, protesters, activists, journalists, schoolchildren and politicians – to name a few. ‘We are right next to the main conference venue and we were present every day from 8am to 8pm to provide hot meals and support. ‘We also hosted Nourish Scotland, a charity focusing on food policy and food justice so, during the planning for COP26, we looked at what we serve and, as a result, designed a menu that contained sustainable and ethical produce. We hope this will help educate the people we feed about how these sorts of items can be incorporated into daily life. ‘We were delighted to welcome Glasgow Churches Together into our building for the period of the conference. The aim was to provide a cross-denominational opportunity for conversation and signposting to services, meetings and church events for all interested in climate change. ‘We are thankful for the congregation of this corps, the staff of our café, the staff and volunteers of Nourish Scotland and individuals from the wider community for coming together for this important event.’ – AR Salvationist 27 November 2021

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