NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST
FOR SCOTLAND
Encouraging Prayer for Scotland
Breakfast
News 2015
Issue 15
The
Chairman’s
Report
T
he last 15 months or so have been an
incredible period in the history of Glasgow.
The death and destruction caused by the
police helicopter falling from the sky in November
2013 was a huge blow to the City. But to be
followed so quickly by the devastation caused by
the runaway dustbin lorry just before Christmas
2014 added further loss to many families and shock
to Glasgow’s residents. The outpouring of grief and
the way in which it brought the people together was
a true reflection of the city’s motto “people make
Glasgow”.
The Commonwealth Games were an enormous
success for the City and are widely recognised
as being one of the best ever. Not only did it
bring the people of Glasgow together but it also
demonstrated the incredible hospitality of the
people of the City. This was shortly followed by
the Independence Referendum in which a large
proportion of the voters in the region expressed
their desire for independence.
It was in this amazing City the National Prayer
Breakfast for Scotland was held at the very heart
of its local government. The Lord Provost of
Glasgow invited 280 people - representing all parts
of Scottish society - to meet in the magnificent
Banqueting Hall of the City Chambers. Bailie
Scanlon welcomed the guests on behalf of the Lord
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Provost who was, regrettably, unable to attend
herself because of pressure of other commitments.
Music during the breakfast was provided by a group
of musicians from New Scottish Arts.
Sport was very much the focus of the occasion with
only four weeks to go to the Commonwealth Games.
Two outstanding athletes were interviewed and
spoke of their Christian faith and their commitment
to sport. Kirsty Kettles, a Commonwealth silver
medallist for Scotland in the swimming pool, who
now lives in Perth, talked of how her faith in Jesus
Christ had impacted her life. Debbie Flood, the
international rower, who won silver medals at the
Athens and Beijing Olympics and gold at three
World Championships, came from London to
testify to her faith and commitment to reach fellow
athletes with the Gospel.
The guest speaker was Graham Daniels who is
General Director of Christians in Sport. He gave
a powerful address after interviewing Kirsty and
Debbie. Christians in Sport was actively engaged in
outreach surrounding the Commonwealth Games
and worked closely with the team from More than
Gold who generously supported the Breakfast with
some very helpful manpower. The event closed
with a very rousing rendition of the Psalm 23 led by
the New Scottish Arts musicians.
The old motto of Glasgow, engraved on the bell of
Tron Kirk in 1637, was “Lord, let Glasgow flourish
through the preaching of Thy Word and praising
Thy Name”. It was an incredible privilege to bring
the preaching of His Word and the praise of His
Name into the City Chambers on that June morning.
DAVID VARDY
2015 Breakfast Speaker
National
Prayer
Breakfast
2015
Tuesday 16th June 2015
7.00am - 11.00am
Inchyra Grange Hotel,
Grange Road,
Falkirk, FK2 0YB
‘Justice or Mercy:
Do we have to choose?’
Guest Speaker
DAVID STRANG
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector
of Prisons for Scotland
Breakfast will be served at 7.00am
with the programme commencing
at 7.45am finishing punctually at
9.00am. A seminar will follow at 9.30am
finishing punctually at 11.00am.
introducing
DAVID STRANG
David is currently Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector
of Prisons for Scotland, a post he was appointed
to in June 2013. He regularly visits Scotland’s
15 prisons and reports on the conditions and
treatment of prisoners.
This followed a 33 year career in the police
service - first in the Metropolitan Police in
London from the rank of Police Constable
to Chief Superintendent in a wide variety of
roles, including public order teams, CID and
Divisional Commander; then as a Chief Officer
in Scotland. He was Chief Constable of Dumfries
and Galloway Constabulary (2001-7) and then
the last Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders
Police (2007-13). He was awarded the Queen’s
Police Medal in 2002 and was President of the
Association of Chief Police Officers in 20042005.
He believes passionately that justice in
relationships should be at the heart of our
Criminal Justice System - particularly for the
poor and dispossessed, those most marginalised
and vulnerable in society.
After attending Loretto School he earned a BSc at
Durham University and an MSc at the University
of London. He is married to Alison and they have
3 grown children. His home church is St Paul’s
and St George’s in Edinburgh, where he has been
a member for 14 years.
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Report
on THE
European
Prayer
Breakfast
T
he theme was: ‘In Me
you shall have peace’,
based on John 14:27 ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I
give unto you. It is not as the world
gives that I give unto you. Do not
let your heart be troubled, and do
not be afraid.’
Such a timely and appropriate
topic for the European Prayer
Breakfast to focus on when we
only need to watch the news
or look around us to see the
challenges. It was a theme to
encourage and inspire.
I found myself in a cold
and misty Brussels in early
December 2014 to attend
the annual European Prayer
Breakfast: a 2 day gathering
of several hundred politicians,
civil
servants,
diplomats,
business people, church leaders
and activists meeting around
Jesus and his teachings. It may
have been cold outside, but the
welcome, the friendship and
the sense of God’s presence
was warming.
The breakfast itself took place
in the European Parliament
building, and was a powerful
and thought provoking mix of
prayer, music and speakers.
The 2 main speakers expanded
on the theme of peace, with
Dutch MP Gert-Jan Segers
noting that the command ‘Do
not be afraid!’ appears 365
times in the Bible – enough to be
reminded of it on a daily basis.
His challenge - were we willing
to stay where God wants us,
however tough that may be? He
reminded us that God provides
peace and that the Gospel – the
good news of Jesus – makes a
difference in our lives, and that
Jesus is the giver of peace. He
also emphasised the great hope
we have as followers of Jesus.
The second speaker was
a Romanian MP – Florica
Chereches – who I had the
privilege of meeting a couple of
years ago in Bucharest. She told
part of her story – of the fear of
finding herself pregnant, afraid
and alone after her husband
was killed in a car crash – and
how she discovered the peace
of Christ in the midst of trouble,
realising her need to have to
trust God fully. She reminded
us that we are called to be bold
and that we don’t need to be
qualified to be useful for God –
just available.
As the breakfast finished and
we found ourselves leaving the
warmth to go back into the chilly
Brussel’s day, I was very aware
that we all need to carry this
peace and boldness of Christ
everywhere we go, especially
in the midst of our troubled
world. Being reminded of the
peace and strength we have as
believers, and of spending time
praying together around the
tables at the prayer breakfast
with friends old and new, left a
strong sense of hope for Europe
and that we were not of course
doing this in our own strength.
A great boost as I and others
returned to pursuing what
Jesus has called each of us to
do, and certainly a great lasting
legacy from attending the
European Prayer Breakfast.
ANDY WITTY
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more than gold 2014
Our Church Our Games
‘A Christian Church Mobilised in Acts of
Hospitality, Service and Mission’
The ‘friendliness’ of the Glasgow 2014 Games was
its hallmark. The atmosphere across the venues
and throughout the city was welcoming and
wonderful, exceeding all expectations.
The contribution of the churches to this incredible
event was outstanding. It was the greatest response
ever to a Commonwealth Games by the church.
12 major denominations and 45 organisations
came together to respond to this unique moment
in Scottish history. Working in their communities,
with the City of Glasgow and the Commonwealth
Games family, the church helped host the Games,
demonstrating generosity and creating a legacy of
Christian love. Across the nation churches came
together and became the catalyst for neighbours
to become friends.
Lorimer Gray, chairman of More Than Gold 2014,
said, “One of the summer’s great encouragements
has been the way that the Christian Church, with
all its flavours, has worked in harmony and unity,
serving the Games. Many weren’t sure they could
really do that effectively, but across Scotland,
networks and partnerships have graciously served
together. And, what’s more, they are keen to
continue doing so in the future because they have
learnt that working together achieves more.”
The spirit of hospitality that the Scottish church is
known for flourished, as it united offering a warm
welcome full of generosity and love to all. The
Commonwealth Games known as the ‘friendly
Games’, came to a city known as the ‘friendly city’.
As churches engaged with this unique opportunity
they became known as ‘a friendly place, where
people make friends’.
2,000 nights of accommodation were provided
for Clydesider’s and athlete’s family members.
One man chased us down to say thank you. He
shared how his hosts exceeded expectation and
gave him a perfect home from home. Many guests
shared how their hosts became friends they
would stay connected with.
Over 750 churches across the nation opened
their doors, served tea and coffee; home
baked shortbread medals, distributed Penny
Gospels and put on a party for their community.
Thousand’s of people came to big screen events
and community festivals hosted by churches.
50-75% of these partygoer’s were stranger’s to
church. Stranger’s who became friend’s as they
experienced the welcome and love of the church
family.
More than 1,000 official More Than Gold
volunteers from 33 nations joined with churches
to serve; as Street Pastors; to promote social
justice issues; provide 24/7 prayer; by offering free
water; running holiday clubs, youth cafe’s, sport’s
camps & quizzes; entertaining with dance, drama
& music; painting children’s faces; organising
community events and celebrations; on our press
team and in many more ways. Lifelong friendships
were created. Our team became a much needed
friend for many, as they demonstrated Christ’s
love in tangible acts of service.
One of the greatest legacies of these Games is
friendship. New Friendships between people,
churches and nations but most importantly with
God Himself.
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Christians
in Sport
E
ach week in Scotland, over 1
million people participate in sport, within
registered clubs and teams, and yet the vast
majority of them don’t yet know Christ. With this
in mind Christians in Sport longs to see Christians
everywhere living out their faith in sports clubs
and teams, churches everywhere engaging with
their local sports communities, and sportspeople
everywhere having the opportunity to hear the
good news of Jesus Christ.
and youth workers from across each region. The
challenge was given from Matthew 28v19-20 to
GO and make disciples in this nation of sport and
good time was also spent in breakout groups,
discussing the application to different contexts.
It was encouraging to see so many church leaders
there, committed to exploring this whole area of
sports mission, and learning from each other as to
what this can look like in their community.
It was brilliant to see churches across Scotland
embracing the Commonwealth Games and taking
opportunities to engage with their local sports
communities. The challenge post games, has been to
help the church in Scotland to maintain momentum
and to make sport their mission. Here are just
four examples of what’s been happening since the
Games to continue its legacy in Scotland’s churches:
Off the back of Clubhouse our recently launched
Let’s Go campaign is helping cast vision in churches
across Scotland, encouraging Christians with a
passion for sport to get into the sports world and to
make disciples there. Request our Let’s Go Church
Pack here: www.christiansinsport.org.uk/letsgo
1. Clubhouse
After the success of last year’s Commonwealththemed Sports Quiz resource, when over 90
churches in Scotland hosted this event, our
new quiz package is available. This includes a
multimedia quiz and films and booklets presenting
the Christian message. The Sports Quiz is a great
November saw the return of our ‘Clubhouse’ vision
and training events, in four cities of Scotland.
Encouragingly over 160 people attended these
events including sportspeople, church leaders
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2. Let’s Go
3. The Sports Quiz
free resource enabling your church to put on
an enjoyable event for sports people in your
community whist providing the opportunity
to share the good news of Jesus with them in a
really relaxed, friendly environment. Request
the sports quiz here: www.christiansinsport.
org.uk/sportsquiz.
Here’s feedback from one of the churches who
hosted this event as part of their engagement
with sportspeople around the Commonwealth
Games:
‘The venue was superb, the quiz was amazing and
the gospel talk was clear, concise and challengingly
without compromise. We were able to invite friends,
neighbours and colleagues along to a thoroughly
entertaining evening with a gospel edge. I would
heartily recommend this to your church for a
relevant, sensitive and targeted evangelistic event.’ - Wayne Sutton – Senior Pastor, Carrubbers
Christian Centre, Edinburgh
4. Sports Plus
Finally, bookings have now opened for our
summer Sports Plus camps for 11-17 year olds.
These offer ‘serious sports action for the serious
young sports player’ in your church, schools and
communities.
KIRSTEN ROSS
For more information check out our website and promotional DVD:
www.christiansinsport.org.uk/sportsplus2015
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Praying for
those in
Authority
‘Righteousness exalts a Nation.’
Proverbs 14: 34
‘First of all…pray for those in
authority…’ 1 Timothy 2: 1 - 7
We thank God for the National Prayer Breakfast
and Lord Mackay of Clashfern, who hosted back
in 1998. He alerted us then of the likelihood that
that there may not be prayer or multi-faith prayer
in the new Scottish Parliament. He proved to be
right; the Parliament overwhelmingly voted not
to pray or ask God’s blessing on their work, as
happens daily in Westminster. They voted for a
four-minute Time for Reflection by all faiths and
none. That was sixteen years ago on 12th May –
the day that the Parliament was ‘reconvened’ and
Parliamentary Prayer Scotland was birthed that
day in response to their decision.
Highlights from 2014/15 Session
In September 2014, in association with Pray
for Scotland we hosted a Week of Prayer (‘Your
Kingdom come, Your will be done’) prior to the
Referendum. A Day of Prayer for the Nation
on the Sunday was supported by all the main
Christian denominations. The evening prior to the
vote we gathered outside the Parliament, joined
by 250 others exalting God, kneeling before Him,
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as one, and corporately saying the Lord’s Prayer.
We finished the week in the Salvation Army on
East Adam Street where we meet weekly on a
Tuesday. We gather from 10.30 – 1.00p.m. and
then go down to the Parliament for Time for
Reflection. Join us any week when the Parliament
is in Session if you have a burden to pray for our
Government and Nation.
On 30th November 2014, St. Andrew’s Day,
we gathered with a Trumpet Call outside the
Parliament. Again about 200 met to acknowledge
and praise God for our Christian heritage, praying
for this new chapter in our Nation’s history. We
continue to pray for God’s mercy upon us at this
time of unprecedented change.
In December 2014, we had the real joy of attending
the best ever Carol Service at the Parliament. We
had an unexpected double blessing when, before
the service, we were asked to put a candle in place
on a beautiful five-foot Menorah which had been
presented to the Parliament the previous evening
in celebration of Hanukkah (see photograph).
The Carol Service led by the Presiding Officer,
Tricia Marwick really honoured God with six bible
readings and seven carols. An extra special touch
was the Deaf Signing Choir who beautifully signed
the Lord’s Prayer. Pray this will continue as a
traditional Carol Service.
In January 2015, we had the eldest contributor
ever to Time for Reflection - Jamie Stuart, 94 years
of age and author of the Glasgow Bible. Having
trained as an actor, he still has an excellent strong
voice, and has twice had the MSPs enthralled
with a recitation of scripture. In the photograph
(right), Jamie is with his host MSP Anne McTaggart
and some of the PPS Team - ‘the thin red line’ - in
the public gallery. For your Minister to lead this
time, write to The Presiding Officer, Rt. Hon Tricia
Marwick, Scottish Parliament. It is four minutes to
bring a word from the Lord to the MSPs and there
is no need to be bound by political correctness!
Tuesday 28th April, 2014 – check your diary
now and book! The next Scotland United in
Prayer for Parliament (SUPP) gathering will be
held in the Members’ Dining Room in the heart
of the Parliament. Arriving for 5.45p.m. and
leaving at 7.45p.m. Our Host this time is MSP
Dave Thompson, SNP. These have been special
meetings with about 100 coming from all over
Scotland.
To book your place, send an email to
[email protected].
Anne McIntyre, Director
(On Behalf of PPS Core Team)
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The European
Economic
Summit
by Douglas Flett
T
he global economy is a Mammon
dominated and highly volatile system. The
European part of it has just announced
emergency measures to shore-up its current fragility.
How is the Christian church to respond and what
should we do?
The European Economic Summit was perhaps the
first event of its kind to begin to review the factors
involved in answering such a question, and to do
so with a wide range of Christian organisations
who all contributed their distinct perspectives:
• The Coalition for Apostolic Reformation
• The Christian Political Foundation for Europe
• Tear Fund U.K.
• The Business As Mission Global Think Tank
• Call2Business Network
• The International Christian Chamber of Commerce
• A Call To Business
• Crown Companies Netherlands
• Europartners
• Jubilee Centre Cambridge
• Marketplace Leadership International
• Unashamedly Ethical
• Inspire Media
The gambling house of money markets of banking,
investment and fund holders are out of control.
Once the engine room of growth, it has become a
toxic presence in the quick moving marketplace of
the nations. This was demonstrated in 2008 when
the UK government had to bail out British banks.
There was a similar bail out in 2001 in the Far East
with the dot-com crash. Paul Szkiler, the Director
of Truestone Investments Plc., reminded the 175
delegates in Amsterdam last September, of the cycle
of approximately 7-year-warnings since 1967’s oil
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embargo, the 1974 Miners Strike, the 1987 crash and
the 1994 bond market collapse.
Some parts of the church say this has nothing to do
with us. Like the Dallas church leader who, when
questioned concerning the dichotomy of conflicting
city statistics, namely the highest per capita church
attendance and the worst indicators of social
deprivation in the USA, said, ‘That’s not my concern,
I’m called to attend the spiritual condition of the city.’
I may have been the only Scottish delegate, although
there were perhaps 20-30 from the rest of UK and
five of the 16 plenary speakers were British.
Bruno Roche, a French Christian working with a multinational company said we will see ‘bankruptcy and
system failure.’ He spoke about the new aristocrats,
the elite 2% who own most of the world’s business,
and the 1% of the world population who own 50% of
the world’s wealth.”
He pointed out that after the 2008 economic collapse
in the USA, the equivalent of 8% of the total GDP
of the USA was injected into the money markets
through banking mechanisms but only 2% growth was
produced as a result. This, he said, is unsustainable.
Dr Arleen Westerhof, local Pastor, organiser and host,
was delighted with the event and was particularly
impacted by the warning trends of a rapidly ageing
European population and the dangerously high
levels of youth unemployment across the continent.
They plan three, round table events this year –
one for politicians and civil servants, another
for entrepreneurs and SMEs, and a third for the
Millennium Generation. As Arleen says, “God has a
Plan and we have a hope.”
Keep in touch via www.economicsummit.eu or
contact Douglas Flett [email protected]
Youth
Prayer
Initiative
T
he executive of the National Prayer
Breakfast for Scotland have decided to
introduce an exciting new initiative to our
programme this year. It is our desire to give the
young Christians across the nation a platform from
which to celebrate their passion for their faith and
inspire their generation to pray.
We are inviting youth groups in various locations
throughout the land to hold a special prayer
event that is run by young people for young
people. These youth groups will plan and run
their own event, in whatever style or format they
wish, whilst inviting young people from churches
throughout their region to attend and participate
in this youth prayer initiative. We have asked
these regional groups to make a presentation of
their event for 10 minutes at the post breakfast
seminar session at the National Prayer Breakfast
for Scotland event at the Inchyra Grange Hotel
in June. The presentations, in the format of a
PowerPoint or video, will be made at the seminar
by a representative or representatives of their
group, sharing key points regarding what their
group prayed for and how they inspired people in
their generation to open up their hearts in prayer.
Our hopes for this initiative are threefold. Firstly,
there is much that we could learn from the
younger generation of fellow believers. They have
an energy, creativity and freshness that is unique
to their generation. In this fast changing, fast
paced modern world, we can learn how the young
generation pray and celebrate their faith within
the context of the complexities and challenges of
today. Secondly, we want to encourage and inspire
people to pray. There is no greater privilege in this
life than to come before the throne of grace and
engage in conversation with the living God. Prayer
is a core element of enjoying and deepening our
relationship with our Heavenly Father. To see and
hear of our young people throughout Scotland
arranging their own events to pray together,
drawing closer to God, would be an inspiration
and encouragement to us all. Thirdly, we want to
achieve growth and succession in the activities
of the National Prayer Breakfast for Scotland.
Encouraging more people to pray throughout
Scotland heightens the potential for us all to see
our nation return to being recognised as both the
land of the book and a nation covenanted with
God. Engaging more young people to pray through
NPBS gives us a group to pass the baton onto in
hope and expectation that in time to come they
will encourage, inspire and pass the baton on to
the generation after them.
We invite you to pray for the success of this
initiative.
STEVEN TURNBULL
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Annual Financial
Statement 2014
The Trustees and Executive of the National Prayer
Breakfast for Scotland would like to thank you for
your gifts over the last year. We particularly want
to thank the Friends of the Breakfast who gave so
generously. We know that this is only through our
great God and His goodness to us in providing for all
our needs.
The total income of the Breakfast during the year
ended 31 July 2014 was £6,860 and expenditure
was £6,613. Due to the change in format of the
2014 Breakfast, the majority of our income was
received in the form of donations, totalling £6,584.
With most gifts being gift aided, we received
additional income of £760 in August 2014. Whilst
we are looking at ways to keep expenditure down,
there is also a need to increase our income.
The viability of the National Prayer Breakfast for
Scotland continues to be dependent upon your
generous financial support. Your donations help us
to cover our costs whilst ensuring the reputation of
the Breakfast as a high quality event.
Income 2014 £6,860
Expenditure 2014 £6,613
Trustees:
Mr John Deighan, Mr Murdo Fraser MSP, Mr Neil Innes, Mr David Laing (Chair), Dr Gordon Macdonald,
Rev Dr Fergus MacDonald, Mrs Louise Purvis, Mr Dave Thompson MSP, Mr Andy Witty
Members of the Executive Committee
Mr Gavin Cargill, Mr Douglas Flett, Mr Douglas Hunter, Mr Jonathan Innes (Treasurer and Administrator),
Ms Ruth Penman, Mrs Louise Purvis, Mr Keith Scott, Mr Kieran Turner, Mr Steven Turnbull, Mr David Vardy
(Chair), Mr Ken Wilson, Mr Andy Witty
Administrator Contact Details:
Post: Jonathan Innes, NPBS, Innes & Partners Limited, Innes House, 18 Shairps Business Park,
Houstoun Road, Livingston, EH54 5FD
Tel: 01506 441251
Email: [email protected]
Scottish Charity No. SC022447
For more information, please visit our website: www.npbs.info
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National
Prayer Breakfast
for Scotland