Public urged to pray for peace

Religious leaders have called for a day of prayer

Church leaders across Scotland have called for Friday to be a national day of prayer for peace, after the terrorist attacks in the US.

Senior figures in the Church of Scotland, Episcopal and Catholic churches have joined members of the Sikh and Muslim communities in calling for a day of reflection and reconciliation.

They have urged Scots to set aside their religious differences and pray together for peace.

Participants include all the main Christian denominations, as well as the Edinburgh Mosque, the Scottish Sikh Women's Association and Scottish Interfaith Council.

Rt Rev Miller: "People have turned to prayer"

The Moderator of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly, the Rt Rev John Miller, said it would take the form of locally organised events rather than a mass public gathering.

He said: "It is not a call for no war it is a call for caution, restraint and measured action which will we hope make it easier for reconciliation and a more peaceful world.

"People have been turning to prayer in the anxieties they have about the present and the future.

"The recent Scottish Ecumenical Assembly accepted an invitation to attend prayers at the Edinburgh Mosque and the churches are keen to urge people to pray for our political leaders who have such huge responsibility at this time."

We are asking people to pray on Friday for the solidarity and the peace of the world

Yousaf Inait

Monsignor David Gemmell, of the Catholic Church, said: "We should be sending planes full of food rather than planes full of bombs.

"I think that is the only long term solution that will bring long term peace."

Ravinder Kaur Nijjar, of the Scottish Sikh Women's Association, said: "We have to show that we are all together, people of all faiths are united against any form of injustice or terrorism."

Yousaf Inait, of the Edinburgh Mosque, added: "We are asking people to pray on Friday for the solidarity and the peace of the world."

The Rev Bruce Cameron, head of the Scottish Episcopal Church, said the event was "not a call for God to be on our side".

He said it was "an open call to be on God's side and reclaim the language of God, not vengeance but justice; not war but peace; not hatred but love".