Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Meeting date: Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Official Report 852KB pdf

Time for Reflection

Good afternoon, colleagues. You will notice a slightly different look to the chamber this afternoon; it is my pleasure to welcome you to our first-ever hybrid meeting of the Scottish Parliament. Members are able to participate here in person or remotely from their constituencies.

The first item of business is, as is normal, time for reflection. I am pleased to say that our time for reflection leader will join us remotely. Our time for reflection leader is Pastor Joe C Ochei, who is the minister at Redeemed Christian Church of God, Jesus House Aberdeen, and the chair of trustees at Jesus House Inverness. He joins us by videolink.

I think that we have a technical problem with our first-ever feed. We are seeing the Deputy Presiding Officer, Christine Grahame, and not Pastor Ochei.

Colleagues—this is what happens when we use new technology. We are pleased to say that Pastor Ochei is with us. I will suspend the meeting briefly, because we not only have Pastor Ochei live, but we have him recorded, so I would like to start with his contribution. We will resume when we are ready to go with the broadcast.

After that big build-up, we are ready to resume our first hybrid meeting of Parliament. We begin with Pastor Ochei, who is joining us from Aberdeen.

Presiding Officer, ladies and gentlemen—around the globe, we are all living in unprecedented times, and we are battling an invisible enemy that has a devastating impact on life, the economy, mental health and more. The times call for deep reflection and a connection with our faith, from which we can draw strength. Future generations will read of these historic times, with their enforced social distancing, and when staying at home is crucial in order to protect public health.

The current situation reminds me of an important story in the gospel of Matthew—chapter 8, verses 23 to 27—that is known as “Jesus Calms the Storm”. It says:

“Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ He replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!’”

Our current situation can be likened to the furious storm in the Bible. The wind blowing furiously forced the disciples—many of whom were experts on storms, because of their fishing trade—to call Jesus, who was sleeping peacefully. That story is also recounted in the books of Mark and Luke; it appears three times in the Bible. Now, like the disciples did, we might just need to call on Jesus to calm the storm of Covid-19.

We must ensure that we do not despair and that we remain positive in the face of the disruption to our lives that has been brought about by this furious storm. Henceforth, we must count our blessings and remain grateful, as is stated in the wonderful hymn “Count Your Blessings”, which was written by the Rev Johnson Oatman Jr. We are, indeed, blessed.

I have special appreciation for the heroes on the front line who are doing their utmost to ensure that the invisible enemy is defeated. Those heroes are our national health service staff, first responders, teachers, cleaners, police officers, farmers, retail staff, postmen and women, scientists, Governments and social workers.

I end with this important lesson from the holy Bible: let us avoid anxiety and pray to God in all circumstances and receive his peace. God bless you.

Thank you, Pastor Ochei.

That was a little reminder that, as we introduce the new technology, it will occasionally go wrong.