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Parliamentary News Release
0053/99 26th October, 1999
PARLIAMENT’S FIRST ‘TIME FOR REFLECTION’ TOMORROW (WEDNESDAY)
The Reverend Graham Blount, Parliamentary Officer for the organisation Action for Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) will be the first to lead The Scottish Parliament in its Time for Reflection at the start of business tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday).

The Parliament agreed, following a debate on September 9, that the provision of a Time for Reflection should be as follows:

  • Time for Reflection will be held in the Chamber in a meeting of the Parliament normally as the first item of business each week;
  • Time for Reflection will be held in public and will be addressed both to Members and to the Scottish people;
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  • Time for Reflection will last for a maximum of four minutes;
    •
  • Time for Reflection will follow a pattern based on the balance of beliefs in Scotland; invitations to address the Parliament in leading Time for Reflection will be issued by the Presiding Officer on advice from the Parliamentary Bureau;
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  • Time for Reflection will be recorded in the Official Report.

The Parliamentary Bureau today confirmed that the following list of contributors will lead the Time for Reflection period on the remaining Wednesdays of the current Parliamentary term up to 15 December (in alphabetical order):

The Reverend David Beckett (Church of Scotland);
The Right Reverend John Cairns (Church of Scotland);
Bishop Richard Holloway (Scottish Episcopal Church) (to be confirmed).
Principal Donald MacLeod (Free Church);
The Most Reverend Keith Patrick O’Brien (Roman Catholic Church);
Dr Mona Siddique (Muslim Community);
His Eminence Cardinal Winning (Roman Catholic Church);

The contributor leading each week’s Time for Reflection will follow the Presiding Officer into the Chamber at 2.30pm and will take up position at the clerk’s seat to the side of the Presiding Officer.

As the Motion makes clear, Time for Reflection will form part of the official business of Parliament and will be recorded in the Official Report. It will be covered by the Parliament’s broadcasting system.

 
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Andrew Slorance: 0131 348 5389
email: andrew.slorance@scottish.parliament.uk
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