Time for Reflection at the Scottish Parliament

“It was a pleasure to have Mrs Carrie Varjavandi leading our Time for Reflection in the Scottish Parliament today on behalf of the Bahá’í Council.

“Time for Reflection allows people from different faiths to share their perspectives on the challenges facing our country.

“The Bahá’í belief in the unity of mankind matches our commitment to build an inclusive society in Scotland.

“It recalls the words of Robert Burns at the Opening of the Parliament in 1999 : “That man to man, the wor’l ower shall brithers be…”

After the last parliamentary elections in Scotland (about two years ago) there was a new Green Party MSP elected for the South of Scotland. As usual two members of the community (Ken and I) went to pay him a courtesy visit. Chris Ballance was very friendly and a down to earth MSP who knew something of the Faith. Towards the end of our meeting he asked the inevitable question: “What can I do for you and the Bahá’í community?” Well, our usual answer may have been, “Well nothing really, we just want you to know we are here.” But this time the Bahá’ís were inspired to ask the MSP to sponsor the Bahá’ís leading the Parliament’s Time for Reflection. He was quite happy to do this and we were happy too!

A year later and no news from Chris Ballance. We met the MSP at a local function and again were inspired to ask if he had managed to do any thing about this. He said yes, he had, and a few weeks later we received a confirmatory email. Then some weeks later a letter of invitation from the Presiding Office came to the local Bahá’ís naming a date for leading the Time for Reflection. Of course as a community we were overjoyed, but at the time I was not sure if I could take time off work. So, after consultation with the external affairs groups of the BCS, it was decided to ask Carrie to do this task and she was delighted to accept and did a marvellous job of it too. It was so wonderful to sit in the Chamber of the Scottish Parliament and hear the words of Bahá’u’lláh read out to the MSPs and the relatively large audience in the public gallery.

Well done to Allan for the text and to Carrie for reading it so eloquently. I hope we can do it again.

I still can’t quite believe the significance of being able to introduce Bahá’u’lláh to the Scottish Parliament at the Time for Reflection on 18th January. When Allan Forsyth, chairman of the Bahá’í Council for Scotland, asked me, back in October, to represent them at the Time for Reflection, I was very happy to do it – my work schedule just now is very flexible, which allows me to follow opportunities that arise for serving the Faith. I consider myself very fortunate in this respect. I knew that it was a big deal, but it did not occur to me how big a deal until afterwards.

My main concern was - what would I say? I agreed to do it on condition that I would get help with the “script”. This had to be sent to the Scottish Parliament at the start of December, and the written script would be exactly what I had to read – no room for improvisations – thank goodness! I had an attempt at trying to condense “One Common Faith” into the four minutes allotted time – an impossible task. Thankfully, Allan was able to compose something much more concise that introduced Bahá’u’lláh to the Members of the Scottish Parliament. His draft was only slightly amended and his text is what I read. On the day, I travelled through to Edinburgh with Farhad, Rezvan Abbasi and Iain Byers, while other friends came from Galashiels, Glasgow and Dumfries. It was thanks to the Dumfries Bahá’ís whose contact with their local MSP Chris Balance had led to this marvellous opportunity to speak to the Members of the Scottish Parliament. There was a great feeling of excitement. I had practised the script only once, and that had been about a week previously. I felt greatly encouraged to know that all the friends, not just those present, were focusing their prayers on this event.

At two o’clock we all reported to the reception. Friends were taken to the galleries overlooking the chamber, while I sat in the area outside the chamber with the Senior Assistant Clerk Mary Dinsdale, who prepared me for what I had to do, whilst waiting on the Presiding Officer George Reid MSP. When he arrived, the official photographer, Andrew Cowan, took our picture. My conversation with Mary Dinsdale and George Reid was of the small talk variety, and I think served as a useful escape valve for my nerves. Two MSPs from my area, Shona Robison and Shiona Reid, passed on their way into the chamber and stopped briefly to say hello. I knew Shiona Reid from Scottish Inter Faith Week, when she attended several of the events organised by the Scottish Inter Faith Council, and Shona Robison had contacted me when she heard I was going to be leading the Time for Reflection, inviting me for lunch, but I could not go. I remember Mr Reid asking me how long I had been working for the Bahá’í Council for Scotland, and I was able to tell him I had a regular job as a supply art teacher in Dundee. He praised Dundee’s Art College, the Duncan of Jordanstone (a man of discernment, I thought, having studied there myself).

Shortly before half past two we made our way to the chamber. There is a small room you enter first, so the door closes and acts as a baffle for any noise that might escape from the corridor outside. Mr Reid was at the front; I was in the middle, Mary Dinsdale behind me. No escape. Not that I would want to, but something made me think of being led to be executed, although I was very happy. By now the part of my brain that governs small talk was going into overdrive, and I found myself looking through the glass at the few MSPs I could see, and asking if the Scottish Parliament ever did make-overs. You can see why I was so grateful to have a written text to read from!

Then it was time to go through the door and follow the Presiding Officer up the steps to the lectern. He introduced the Time for Reflection and my nerves disappeared. I looked up to the people sitting in the galleries – apart from Bahá’í friends there were many other members of the public, including some primary schoolchildren. Some twenty-plus MSPs were in their seats. I concentrated on reading as slowly and clearly as I could, lifting my eyes from the page to look at the people to whom I was addressing this message, praying that I would not lose my place when my eyes returned to the printed page. I didn’t. Having the type in a really large font helped. I am sure the friends praying and willing me to do a good job, as well as the assistance of the Concourse on High played a large part. I do not know how long or short my piece was, although apparently it was almost exactly four minutes. I shook hands with the Presiding Officer, and Mary led me from the chamber into the corridor and up a ramp to the entrance to the Presiding Officer’s Gallery, where I joined some of the Bahá’í friends who were listening to the debate which followed on immediately after the Time for Reflection. We stayed a little while, and then went down to the cafeteria for a “debriefing”, but not before visiting the Room for Contemplation, which is in the “old” part of the Scottish Parliament, Queensbury House. Here, Rezvan chanted a prayer in Persian, a new experience for Franck, the staff member who had been assigned to escorting the Bahá’í group.

The impact of this historic event only gradually began to sink in. In the days and weeks after, phone calls and emails arrived informing me that this message had been received all over the world as people logged on to the Scottish Parliament Website. Who knows how far the ripples will spread? If I had thought too much about it beforehand, I would not have been able to do it.

An interesting coincidence (or was it?) that I noticed when I looked at the website – the Time for Reflection from the previous week was led by the Rev Peter McDonald, of St George’s West Church, Edinburgh. This is the church where Alexander Whyte was the minister. It was his wife, Elizabeth Whyte, who invited Abdu’l Baha to Edinburgh in 1913, forever linking the capital with His blessed presence.

I would like to thank the Dumfries Bahá’ís and the Bahá’í Council for Scotland, especially Allan Forsyth, who so skilfully crafted the words I read, with help from Barney Leith of the National Assembly and Pat Morrissey, and to all those whose thoughts and prayers were there with me. It was a great honour for me and my family, generations past, present and future, and most of all I thank Bahá’u’lláh with all my heart, for having allowed me to play this part in history.