 The first item of business this afternoon is Time for Reflection, and our Time for Reflection leader today is Reverend Sarah Brown, St Mackers Cathedral. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Saturday sees the beginning of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, a week when we meet to make decisions about our future. An annual meeting of a unique kind that brings together Ireland and mainland overseas missionaries, delegates from partner churches and a breadth of age and experience of ministers, deacons, elders and youth. Like the Scottish Parliament, it's the place where voices from local communities can be raised to be heard by those in power. Those of you elected into your role know the weight of responsibility that comes from the power that you hold, the way in which you can change lives for ill or for good. Unlike the Scottish Parliament, commissioners come from congregations together to be the power and then disperse from those powers after the week of meetings. A week to discern the will of God and how our church moves forward to the ever-changing challenges before us, and then a shared responsibility of implementing those decisions across the Kirk. As our church changes shape and responds to the challenges of decline, we look for God's presence in new ways that are before us. Reconciling the number of churches to the degreasing number of ministers is not an easy task or time of transition. It comes at a painful time as we still wrestle with Covid and the grief that surrounds many with these past two years of a different way of life. Jesus, in his humanity, knows and understands grief and loss, perhaps the most powerful experiences that we can travel through in life. He knows that answer is love, but even with love all around us we will still experience anxiety, overwhelm and pain when we encounter death and change. As words in John's gospel, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not let them be afraid. A deep breath is what we are gifted. A moment of stillness. A bit of calm in the waves that can wash us under. A reminder that where we are in any moment of change and loss is not where we will stay. A space where the presence of God can dwell. That reminds us that we never travel this world alone. Today I pass that peace on to you. Be brave. Thank you Reverend Brown.