One Body

Hello Everyone,

Well Advent is here. As Christians we believe that the 4 weeks preceding Christmas is an important time to prepare for the coming of the Lord, Jesus Christ. The term Advent comes from the Latin word Adventus, meaning coming. This term refers both to the celebration of Christ's birth at Christmas and to His Second Coming at the end of time. 

By supporting ACN, Christians in Scotland are able to stand in solidarity with their suffering brothers and sisters, with whom they form one body in Christ. Realising we are One Body in Christ and that one of Christ's final prayers (John 17:20-22) was for Christian unity, brings me to an important meeting I attended on Monday.

Monday 1st December...

On Monday, Lorraine and I met with the Scottish representatives of the other charities that work to support persecuted Christians. A first (as far as I'm aware) has now taken place: all of the Scottish workers of organisations serving the suffering Church have come together. 

The purpose of the meeting was to come together to talk and to explore the possibilities of uniting our voices when it comes to advocacy in the Scottish Parliament. 

We met with:

• Colin Mutch (Open Doors),

• Fiona Gardner and Ruth Donaldson (Christian Solidarity Worldwide) 

• Linda Oxburgh (Release International)

• Malcolm MacLeod (Steadfast Global)

For an initial meeting, it was a success and blessing to come together as brothers and sisters in Christ and share information and ideas about our work. 

We plan on coming together on a regular basis. The next meeting is scheduled for the 12th of January to begin planning how we can effectively unite in support of persecuted Christians and champion them in the Scottish Parliament. 

Yours,

Michael