The Moderator reflects on the strength of working together.

ACROSS Deer Sound, from my home in Tankerness, there is a poignant memorial to 200 Covenanters, drowned in a shipwreck off the Orkney coast when they were being transported to America.

They had been taken prisoner after the Battle of Bothwell Bridge in 1679. Earlier in that same year, James Sharp, a Church of Scotland minister, who had embraced the episcopal government of the Church and become Archbishop of St Andrews and Primate of Scotland, was assassinated by a group of Covenanters in front of his daughter at Magus Muir in Fife.

I recounted these historical events on the occasion of the signing of the St Andrew Declaration, affirming a closer partnership between the Church of Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church.

It was important that we didn’t dismiss or sweep under the carpet the tragic and often violent relations between Scotland’s Presbyterian and Episcopalian traditions. For having named past conflicts and hurts, and sought forgiveness of each other, we can, in the words of the Declaration, move forward “to proclaim the reign of God to all the people of Scotland by strengthening our partnership in ministry and mission.”

Such has been the level of agreement, joint working and understanding over recent years, that it would be easy to downplay the significance of Declaration. Nevertheless, it remains the case that until the signing on St Andrew’s Day, our churches had never made any formal joint declaration recognising that we share the same faith and accordingly are ‘true Churches of the Gospel.’

Indeed, during the service in St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Bishop Mark Strange, the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, spoke movingly about how far we had travelled towards each other, even in his lifetime.

I had a similar experience of shared unity, when, at the start of 2022, I participated in a service to mark the 50th anniversary of Grahamston United Church in Falkirk, together with the Rev Paul Whittle, Moderator of the URC (United Reformed Church) Synod of Scotland and the Rev Mark Slaney, District Chair of the Methodist Church in Scotland.

Back in 1972, when four congregations from three denominations came together, it was anticipated that there would be a review after two years. Fifty years on to the day, we celebrated the Jubilee of the united church.

The hymns and readings were the same as on January 9 1972, and included the passage from John’s Gospel where Jesus prays that those who believe in Him may “all be one”. We also read the passage from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, where he describes key features of unity – humility, gentleness with patience, and above all, showing love for one another.

I can’t help but think how the history of the world, let alone the Church, would have been different down the centuries, if these watchwords had been followed.

"Reflecting on both the St Andrew Declaration and the witness of unity in Grahamston, I have a real sense that unity is best achieved in ‘community’

Reflecting on both the St Andrew Declaration and the witness of unity in Grahamston, I have a real sense that unity is best achieved in ‘community’. Just as individuals, we can find fulfilment through our relationships with others, so too, the life and worship of our individual denominations can be enriched by building up partnerships and bridges between us and learning about our respective traditions. The Grahamston United anniversary service included the Methodist Covenant service, which I recalled from student days, and which I believe has been a much-valued contribution to the liturgy of the wider Church.

That feeling of unity through community was reinforced by calling to mind the wonderful African concept of ubuntu, which I first learned about in the writings of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Although capable of lengthy explanation, Desmond Tutu’s brief summation of it still speaks volumes to me, “I am, because we are.”

It is a powerful reminder of our interdependence and our connectedness with each other.

Lord Jim Wallace of Tankerness is Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2021/2022.