Thought for the Week

In October 1517 a German monk, Martin Luther, pinned 95 Theses to the door of the church in the German city of Wittemburg, asking for issues which he considered to be abuses in the church to be addressed.

His protest became the basis of the Protestant Reformation, and this year churches throughout Europe are marking the 500th anniversary.

In the west of Scotland we are as aware as anyone of how the Reformation has had deep effects in our lives, both positive and negative.

As minister of Cambuslang Parish Church I was delighted with Fr Paul Morton of St Bride’s Roman Catholic Church asked how we could commemorate these events together, celebrating the positive, and seeking healing and reconciliation for the things that have kept us apart.

It was wonderful to me that our Christian brothers and sisters in another tradition wanted to help us with this anniversary.

We want to rejoice together in the strength that other traditions, other ways of seeing things, bring to our community; we want to talk honestly about the intolerance that has sometimes been hurtful and unhealthy both in Scotland and in other parts of the world, we want to commemorate the past and build a future together.

In March members from a number of Churches in Cambuslang are planning to meet together to learn more about the Reformation.

We are grateful for the past, for how it has made us who we are.

We know that the most important thing for us now as churches is to be working together to build a future in which celebrating difference and welcoming those who come from outside our tradition will become all the more important.