'There is no them and us, only us', Moderator tells MSPs

Common humanity is an "extraordinary gift", the Moderator of the General Assembly has told the Scottish Parliament.

Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton said there is "no them and us – only us, and when we do each other down, we dilute our common humanity".

She told MSPs that no one is an only child, no-one makes it on their own and "we are created to be in community".

Mrs Foster-Fulton led Time for Reflection in the debating chamber this afternoon as part of a two-day visit to Holyrood.

Addressing parliamentarians, she said: "Good afternoon. I am coming to the end of my term and all year this is the word I've shared – ubuntu.

"All year, this is the truth I have seen evidenced in the every day – ubuntu.

"Every Moderator is asked to choose a theme and I chose this Zulu phrase, difficult to translate into English but as near as we can manage, it means ‘I am because you ar'e.

"I am because we are.'

"That's a deeply theological statement, that's a powerful piece of subversive wisdom, that is a word we need to hear and heed today.

"No one is an only child but we are created to be in community.

"No one ‘makes it on their own' but we all stand on the shoulders of everyday giants, people who play their part – who love, listen, learn and live their lives in an intricate web of humans, being.

"There is no them and us – there is only us and when we do each other down we dilute our common humanity. And our common humanity is an extraordinary gift.

"Gift.

"Think about it – when you pour your cereal or coffee in the morning, behind that, there are growers and harvesters, producers and packagers, researchers and those marketers who convince you this is the breakfast for you.

"They make your morning happen.

"When you read or watch or hear something that moves you in your bones, people you will never meet made that possible.

"They mixed and measured, wrote and reconsidered words and ways to evoke wonder in you.

"Do we understand that, or do we just consume and assume?

"Ubuntu – I am because you are.

"In a world where so many struggle, unseen and ill-considered – ubuntu – I am because you are.

"In a world where those who've arrived do not want to move – ubuntu – I am because you are.

"What we do and don't do matters to siblings we may never see – ubuntu.

"Over the year, I heard this word sung out in numerous projects and parties and panels and places across Scotland.

"People living for each other, finding themselves completely in service to their siblings.

"This year, I choked that word out at a service in Dungavel, as I stood with asylum seekers stuck in a system bereft of humanity and I witnessed love alive in innumerable people and places where there was a vibrant, relevant response to need, right in front of them.

"Ubuntu, it's not a foreign phrase difficult to interpret, it's a universal truth to transform us.

"Scottish Parliament, you lead us into a now and a future.

"I am because we are – live that truth.

"Thank you."

Earlier today, the Moderator and Elaine Duncan, chief executive officer of the Scottish Bible Society, presented Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone with a commemorative Bible to mark the 25th anniversary of devolution.

Tomorrow, Mrs Foster-Fulton will discuss a range of important issues with party leaders and representatives including poverty and deprivation, climate change, war in the Middle East, assisted dying, ending conversion practices and how people treat asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.

A special parliamentary service for MSPs and staff is being held at Canongate Kirk near the Scottish Parliament tomorrow at 12.30pm.

It will be conducted by Rev Fiona Smith, Principal Clerk of the General Assembly, and the Moderator will preach a sermon.

Ms Johnstone will read Mark's Gospel, Chapter 4: verses 30 – 32, the parable of the mustard seed.