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Paul Whittle, as Synod Moderator, represented the United Reformed Church at the National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, on Wednesday 5July, when the Royal Honours of Scotland were presented to King Charles, withQueen Camilla and the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay also present.

The service was preceded by an excellent array of music, including All in the April Evening, Ca’ the yowes, Farewell to Stromness and Loch Katrine’s Lady.

During the service an appropriately inspiring sermon was preached by the Revd. Sally Foster-Fulton, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. She spoke of the need to listen in order to understand and of the importance of embracing different perspectives. She reminded us that diverse customs and beliefs are to be celebrated – and that we are “a saga not a short story, a symphony not a solo”, adding, “We are one global neighbourhood – intricately inter-related and completely co-dependent, woven together, like a tartan.”

The Honours, the Crown Jewels of Scotland, comprise the Crown, the Sceptre and the Sword of State, this last a new sword, named the Elizabeth Sword, commissioned in 2022 and designed and crafted in Scotland. The sword was presented by Dame Katherine Grainger, the sceptre by Lady Dorrian and the crown by the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon.

The diversity of Scotland was represented in blessings and greetings being offered by representatives of the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist and Humanist communities. The service closed with the congregation singing ‘Christ is made the sure foundation’, followed by the recognition of the presence of the Stone of Destiny or Scone, the National Anthem – and the Blessing.

The previous day, Paul ,together with his wife Mary, joined around six thousand people from different aspects of community and life within Scotland to attend the Royal Garden Party at the Palace of Holyrood. Unfortunately, it was perhaps most memorable for the amount of rain, but still enjoyable, particularly some of the music played in the gardens, possibly most strikingly for us a rendition of Highland Cathedral.

A further comment from Sally Foster-Fulton’s sermon sums up these events for me – “We are all a small part of something so much bigger – this beautiful, sacred creation and everyone and everything in it.”

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