Kirk urges Christian community to join anti-nuclear weapons rally

‘Nuclear weapons are inherently evil'. This is the stated position of the Church of Scotland and many other churches around the world.

It reflects the indiscriminate nature with which nuclear weapons kill, and the disproportionate level of destruction they are capable of unleashing. It is also the reason why, on Saturday 22 September, people from the Church will join many others at the ‘NAE NUKES ANYWHERE! International Rally' at the Faslane Naval Base.

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Rt Rev Susan Brown, said:

"The possession of nuclear weapons by just a few states and not others has also created a two tier ranking of countries, with the ‘haves' having the power to utterly destroy the ‘have-nots'.

"The churches are convinced that lasting peace comes about not through threatening destruction but through reconciliation and shared prosperity.

"Jesus calls us to be peacemakers and as we approach the UN International Day of Peace, I encourage Christians everywhere to enter wholeheartedly into movements that work for peace and to join with others in celebrating Peacemaking Sunday."

Speaking ahead of the event, Dr Steve Aisthorpe, manager of the Church of Scotland's Building Global Friendships programme, said,

"We hope that many from our congregations and the wider Christian community will join us at Faslane on 22 September where we will be urging our government to show moral leadership by being at the forefront of international efforts towards nuclear disarmament.

"We want to re-assert our vision for Scotland and the UK as a land free of weapons of mass destruction and stand in solidarity will those who support their removal from the whole world."

The 2018 General Assembly decided to restate ‘in the strongest terms' its belief that to possess, threaten or use such terrible weapons of mass destruction is disgraceful and fundamentally threatens the future of humanity.

Last year, 60 UN member states signed the international Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The UK was not among them.

At a time of global and national austerity, our government remains committed to spend many billions of pounds on a new generation of nuclear weapons.

If you are interested in being part of a call for a world free from nuclear weapons, you can find further details of international speakers and the programme for the day is available here.

The Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT), which the Church of Scotland are a member of, have produced various resources for Peacemaking Sunday, as has the Fellowship of Reconciliation.