 Gweithaswn i'r bytiau hyn yn dweud yn ffwrdd Pwgai Osim 7149 yn cyfrifio manyf abnormalog Fobz ac felly dwi'n adonitio Fobz i Gwyrdd Cynllun. Mae gweithio gweithio gweithio'n fodwn i'n gallu夫 i'n gweithio'n gweithio'n ffwrdd Prifysigol ac rhoi'r wychwanol i'r cyfrifio peth o gwyllgor o ddych yn gweithio'n cyfrifio i gweithio'n gyfrif lotta mae'n gweithio Gwyrdd Cysmul yn gweithio'n cyfrif Alexander. around seven minutes please Ms Forbes. I'd first like to start by thanking colleagues who are participating in this debate and I'd also like to recognise those in the gallery who have come to listen to the debate, recognising that many others would have been here if they had been able to be here. To many people, religion or church evokes images of damp walls and cold pews or an empty but iconic building standing tall and proud, perhaps too tall and too proud for some people's sensibilities. Yet, at the heart of the Christian faith is a story. It's a story that Jesus told about the Good Samaritan, a title that might be the stuff of Sunday school stories but is every bit as relevant today as it ever was. Because it's a story of somebody left battered and bruised, confused and alone by all that life threw at him. There are still too many in Scotland that are still there, living with abuse, addiction, homelessness, loneliness, poverty and fear, forgotten, abandoned and alienated from society, a victim of this world's selfishness, greed and evil desires. For those who know the story of the Good Samaritan, you'll know that individual after individual, with all the right clothes and all the right qualifications, who looked every bit the story of success, hurried past this poor guy, left in the gutter of life, with hardly a glance and certainly no helping hand. So the man remained, still forgotten, still abandoned and still alienated from society until a stranger came along, someone who was vulnerable himself from another part of the world, perhaps subjected to abuse himself and certainly not in step with contemporary culture. He stopped and it says, took pity on the man and went to him and bandaged his wounds. He looked after him until he was ready to face the world again. That story motivates people in churches across Scotland to serve the most marginalised in our society. This afternoon's debate is about churches who stop. I am grateful for the member giving way. Is the member aware of the excellent work done by the Inverness street pastors? I previously had opportunity to go out on one of the patrols. I was inspired by the work that they do. Would the member agree that, like the Good Samaritan, they did not walk on the other side of the road? Kate Forbes. I thank the member for that intervention. I think that that is a great example of what I was going on to say, that there are so many charities and churches who do choose to stop, who do not just walk on by and who stop to help the helpless and who give their time, their care and effort for those who need it, often when we are tucked up in bed and they are out in the cold, the wind and the rain. They follow in the footsteps of those in Scotland who have been a voice for the voiceless and advocates for the marginalised for centuries. In fact, many church-based charities were established decades ago when the public sector was much, much smaller and it was left to individuals and churches to care. People like Thomas Chalmers with his commitment to education or Tom Allen with his desire to see social work established in Glasgow. Of course, the public sector has an important role to play, and I thank the minister, Kevin Stewart, for taking part this evening. Tonight, we are particularly highlighting Serves Scotland, a network of charities such as Blithswood Care, Bethany Christian Church and Glasgow City Mission, who follow gospel teachings to radically love their neighbour and who see every human being as born with inherent dignity and worth. Voluntary work from faith charities produces almost £100 million of economic impact every year in Scotland, and, although that is a whopping big number, the impact on individuals and families' lives cannot be quantified. In fact, at its heart, this debate is about people across Scotland who see the need, who recognise the brokenness in our society and who hate, who hate with such vengeance the injustice that is endemic in our society, who hate the abuse of children, who hate the lone sharks that heat debt on vulnerable people, who hate the revolving door of homelessness, who hate the poverty that entraps families, who hate the fact that we live in a world that is so rich and yet people starve, but rather than just hate injustice, they are also loving others and showing compassion. I am sure that my colleagues—again, I am very grateful for those who are speaking tonight—will be able to highlight specific examples from their own constituencies of how church-based work and faith communities have helped individuals and families. However, I started with a story about the Good Samaritan, and I would like to finish with one. The problem is that there are so many stories that I could not pick one to finish on. There are stories of children living and sleeping on the streets of India now safe. There are stories of men and women who have been homeless in our cities for years and years and now have their own place to stay. There are stories of mothers and fathers who have been borrowing food and skipping meals from other people to feed their children. Yet all of those stories have a positive outcome because of the volunteers, some of whom are in the gallery, because of the volunteers and the churches across Scotland who did not just choose to sit on a pew and talk but chose to get out and act on their faith. For all the stories that we hear, there are plenty more who do not have a positive outcome yet. That is why I want to start this debate by applauding the vital work of churches who hate injustice like we do, who love people and who will not be content until peace and love reigns supreme in Scotland. Thank you very much. May I ask those in the public gallery not to clap or cheer or boo or hiss or otherwise? Perhaps at the end, when the Parliament is closing, we will have the time to show appreciation. I call John Mason to be followed by Maurice Corry. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and many thanks to Kate Forbes for bringing this important debate today. As she has said herself, there are many examples of great work carried out by church-based community groups. I would like to mention one or two of those. During the winter in Glasgow, there has been a night shelter in recent years that has provided shelter for people who otherwise would be sleeping outside. That has been organised by Glasgow City Mission and hosted in the building of the lodging house mission, which itself was an offshoot of the Church of Scotland but helped by many individuals. It has to be said that, at first, Glasgow City Council was sceptical as to whether that was needed and whether there really were people sleeping rough in Glasgow. Sadly, there have been regularly 40 homeless folk using it each night in recent winters, and folk who would otherwise have been sleeping outside in the winter. I am glad to say that the City Council has become much more involved in recent times and has been engaging with the men—and it is mainly men, although there are a few women—in the shelter to try and get them settled more quickly into proper accommodation, which has been a good example of the third sector and the public sector working together. Perhaps we have to accept that, sometimes, the public sector is always going to be a bit cumbersome and a bit bureaucratic, while the third sector, be that faith-based or otherwise, can be a bit more nimble. Another example that is linked to Bethne Christian Trust is safe families for children who have a base in the east end of Glasgow. Their basic concept is to try and help families, support families, often with just a single parent, who otherwise would not quite manage to cope on their own. Before things go as far as fostering or other more permanent and more formal options, they are able to step in and a single parent who is looking after the children full-time can get a few days respite at a time with the children looked after by another family. I just mentioned to the church that I myself am involved in within Easter house in Glasgow—it happens to be a Baptist church—and that is an area that has changed much over the years, as people may know. The needs have changed, so the church input has changed too. For example, we used to run a breakfast club when the schools were reporting that kids were arriving at school in the morning having had no food that day. In many cases, the only meal that the child had was their school lunch, with no other food at all. However, Glasgow City Council has started running its own breakfast clubs within schools, and there is not the same need for the churches and other groups to do that. However, Easter house has changed over the years. When I moved in 27 years ago, it was almost entirely white and English speaking, but things have changed and now there are many more from ethnic minorities. We have a number of folk now whose English is pretty limited, so we, as a church, have started running esol or English for speakers of other languages classes often in a more informal way than the colleges can do. Again, we run a cafe with free tea, coffee and inexpensive food, which is attractive for adults with learning disabilities and their carers. Many of them used to go to the day centres that Glasgow City Council used to have until they closed them down, leaving folk with nowhere to go. The carers themselves often have a very limited budget and appreciate being able to bring their client into somewhere warm and dry and for a friendly chat. I would argue that our church is not unusual, and many Christian and other faith-based groups are doing similar work. However, if there is a bit of bias in some quarters against community groups because they are church-based, that is certainly the feeling of some individuals and some churches. There can be a feeling in certain circles that the modern way to go is secular and humanist and that all faith-based activity is second rate. However, the motion mentions a modern plural Scotland. My understanding of plural or pluralistic is that we are a tolerant society, accepting that there is more than one way of doing things. If we take something like food banks if we are agreed that the aim is to provide food for people who do not have enough, it should not really matter who supplies the food. Coming from a faith background, I am delighted if a humanist or anyone else is supplying the food. However, I would just hope that someone from a more secular background would also be delighted if Christians are doing this work. Again, I thank Kate Forbes for bringing forward this motion. I have Maurice Corry to be followed by Graham D. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I like to begin by firstly thanking Kate Forbes for bringing forward her motion into the debate tonight and bringing forward the work of Serves Scotland coalition to this chamber's attention. It is very good to have members of Serves Scotland in our gallery with whom I spoke this afternoon on their stand outside the chamber. We welcome them here warmly. Churches and organisations that they support in our communities have great capacity to bring around positive change in the lives of individuals, communities and the nation. Research by the cinnamon network shows that there are over 9,000 social action projects being run by churches and other faith groups, providing over 9 million volunteer hours and 2.2 million paid staff hours, all of which cumulatively provides £93 million to our economy. In the West Scotland region where I serve, there are numerous churches and Christian organisations working hard running groups and projects that support the local community with the help of Serves Scotland. For example, the Morgai United Free Church runs a craft group that supports local charities and organisations. Their website highlights a few examples of their work, such as the blank as they have knitted, have been given to local daycare centres, care homes and maternity units. They have also made hats that they have sent to the sailor society. Hospital baby units are troops and active service overseas into the homeless and also support has been given to our armed forces veterans in several ways. Members of the craft group have also knitted poppies that they have sold with the proceeds that are being given to Erskine and Poppy Scotland. Another example is the way ahead group stroke club run in Bearsden by the Kilomant parish church, which helps to support those who have had strokes by holding weekly meetings and afternoon sessions, which include a varied programme of physio run by professional physiotherapists, board games, carpet golf or bowls and an afternoon tea. The third example is the stunning work that various organisations do in the work of the street pastors who play an active role in strengthening our communities and making our streets safer and our communities safer, with groups of street pastors working in Inverclyde, Kirkntilloch and Paisley. Where the work of Servescotland comes in and is so useful to these groups is that it is providing a network where they are able to share best practice, ensure that there is no local duplication of work and create a clear picture of both provision and the gaps in the services provided in our communities. To help those aims, Servescotland has set up four strategic aims for their group, which are to represent the church, to do the national and local government areas on the great community social action work that they do, facilitate the network of Christian social action leaders in order to allow the sharing of best practice, inform the church of national and local community social action policy development and to resource local volunteers advice in fundraising and development work in order to help them to continue their work. All of those are welcome because if Servescotland was not doing this work, then I believe that it would be necessary to create an organization that would. Finally, Deputy Presiding Officer, while meeting with the third sector initiative team in Helen's Rowland only yesterday, I witnessed the importance of Servescotland to the needs of our communities and there demonstrating its great work. I call Graeme Dey to be followed by Rhoda Grant. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Let me begin with an apology to you and the chamber oing to my being required to host an event in Parliament shortly. I will have to leave the debate before it concludes. Last night, I shared the fact that I intended contributing to this debate with my 18-year-old mum, a lifelong churchgoer. Her response was, well, that will be interesting. She was, to put it mildly, amused by the prospect. You see, although I was raised in a Christian household, I have turned out, well, there is no other way to put it, an avowed atheist. I think that my mum fears another collapsing beam episode, if not at the full chamber roof falling in, should I rise to praise the activities of religious groups. But at the risk of tempting fate, let me genuinely congratulate my friend and colleague Kate Forbes on securing this debate, because I think that we absolutely should recognise good work of the nature that Servescotland seeks to co-ordinate, assist and promote. And in so doing, celebrate the contribution of religious groups within Scottish society to making it the society that it is. Presiding Officer, personally, I am increasingly unsettled by the push by some to denigrate and marginalise those of faith, any faith, and to dismiss both their views and their right to hold those views. I was raised to respect, to reasonable and deeply held beliefs of other folk, however much I might struggle to understand those. More than that, to be appreciative of the positive contribution to society that they might make. Both as an MSP and prior to becoming one, I have seen many examples of faith groups converting their beliefs into welcome, praiseworthy action. In our bro, in my constituency, for example, churches there have now been running a street pastors project for the past six years. As members will know, as Dave Thompson and Kate Forbes highlighted, street pastors go out on weekend nights when those—sorry, Dave Stewart, my apologies, Mr Stewart—Mr Thompson. When those of us who are not hitting the pubs and clubs are comfortably in bed to provide, they are out providing a listening ear and make sure that people who may well be feeling the effects of having had too much alcohol are okay. For example, they provide flip-flops to make the walk home that bit easier. Those involved with the scheme go through extensive regular training, including in relation to drug awareness. Last year, I was delighted to attend the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Havela project, which was run by members of St Andrew's Church in our broth. Havela began in response to the desire of some members to reach out to the many in the local community who, for whatever reason, often found themselves excluded, isolated and unloved. Havela helps people struggling with addictions. Volunteers have also visited some of the service users when they have been sent to prison. Some of those people, when they have left prison, have a first port of call, as they know the welcome that they will get. Angus Council and the Church of Scotland's Go For It Fund provide financial support, and the project was in 2015 presented with the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. St Andrew's Church, working alongside the old and happy church in our broth, also operates a food bank in the town. As well as the members of those two curks donating food supplies come from other churches and individuals way beyond our broth have visited the food bank and know of the invaluable service that it provides to people in times of crisis. The saying may well be that charity begins at home, but Angus South Church has also helped to play that part further afield. Members will be aware of the Blysewood shoebox appeal that Kate Forbes touched on, which delivers presents to children in Eastern Europe who may well be going without the joys of Christmas. The old parish church in Cirmure joins many other churches in acting as a co-action point. Returning to St Andrew's Church in our broth, 10 years ago, the Dalceto project was started there following a group of seven young people visiting the Namasoo orphan school and seeing the tough conditions that the children lived in. Now an independent charity operates two daycare centres and orphan residences in Malawi, which care for more than 300 children and provide jobs for 30 staff. It is also working to build another classroom and pay for another teacher, and it is currently working with the local government to build a health centre so that people do not need to take a long trip to receive medical attention. It has responded to flooding and food shortages in the communities. To conclude, I welcome the co-ordinating role that has been taken by Serf Scotland both across churches and reaching out to other services. I thank all the church groups for playing active roles in my constituency and across Scotland. Can I congratulate Kate Forbes for securing this debate, highlighting the excellent work carried out by the Serf Scotland coalition? A coalition of church-based community organisations that look at the needs of their local communities and provide services for them. Serf Scotland provided me with a list of the organisations working in the Highlands and Islands ahead of the debate. While I was aware of them all, what struck me from the list was that every age was covered. There were projects working for the very youngest to the very oldest in our society. In my region, street pastures are a common sight in our city, streets in Inverness to some of the small towns. Kate Forbes and Graham Day mentioned that they were normally tucked up in their beds when they were working. I would have to say that I have seen them in practice on cold, wet nights, helping people who are maybe a little worse for the wear. I have also seen them stop and have a chat with people who maybe just aren't very clear about what they are going to do next. Sometimes they must feel like tourist guides in the summer because people are asking them where to go and what they can do, but they provide a lifeline for people who find themselves in very difficult situations. They work with other organisations, both voluntary and statutory, to help people. Their presence on the street also makes people feel safer. I know that I am walking home and you see a street pastor and you immediately feel much safer because you are not on your own walking along the streets. They are very much hands-on. There are other organisations who have grown to offer a range of services. Kate Forbes talked about blithswood care, which I would like to talk about for a little while. I remember when blithswood care started, and that is maybe given away my age. When I grew up, a local minister, Jackie Ross, who was very active in the community, saw the plight of Romanians and decided to send practical help. A number of other people got involved collecting goods and shipping them to Romania. I remember it being a great community effort to collect useful items that could be sent. I recently spoke to a friend who was one of the drivers that volunteered. He was regaling me with stories of those times. Some of them were hilariously funny, but some of them were very terrifying. It is hard to imagine now how difficult and trying those journeys were, but they brought much needed help and practical support to the people that they were catering for. Blithswood care continued to work in Romania and indeed beyond Romania in other parts of the world, but now they are better known for their work at home delivering food banks locally. I am pretty sure that those early founders never foresaw the circumstances where the need that they catered for abroad would manifest itself on their own doorstep, something that we all wish was not required. However, they are providing much needed assistance at home and abroad. They employ 125 people, but they have an excessive of 1,000 volunteers providing those much needed services. Although I truly wish that people did not need their help, there are many people who owe their lives to it. This debate highlights the practical impact that the Christian community has catering for need in their communities and beyond. Often to people who do not share their religious belief, but that does not matter as long as they can help. Those organisations depend on volunteers who give of their own free time to help others. It is right that the Parliament should pay tribute to their work. Kenneth Gibson, to be followed by Ross Greer. First, I thank my colleague Kate Forbes for lodging this motion and securing this evening's debate. It will undoubtedly help to raise awareness surrounding the invaluable work carried out by churches and other faith groups across Scotland, while also encouraging more people to get involved in this invaluable initiative. The topic of community empowerment has featured strongly many discussions and debates in this chamber over the years, and is certainly a matter in which the SNP Government has always placed a great deal of significance and importance. Although there are, of course, many ways in which a community can seek to be empowered, one sure-fire method is to create the necessary channels for those with the ability and desire to help to connect with those in need of this help. That is in effect perfectly embodied by the services undertaken by Serve Scotland. After its official launch in November 2015, it has been of great interest to follow Serve Scotland's development and its mission to change Scotland for good. It is therefore inspiring to see this umbrella group, which brings together the Christian voluntary sector at both a national and local level, still growing and thereby positively influencing communities almost two years on. In challenging times, people find themselves dealing with hardship and difficulty often seemingly alone. Yet they are not alone. Churches and faith groups are there to offer invaluable support that can make all the difference from helping people to make ends meet by setting up food banks in community cafes, to running night shelters and addiction services for those most at risk. Their dedication to serving the poor, vulnerable and marginalised people in their communities and beyond is invaluable. However, I also recognise the need for this national initiative to be a touchstone for the voluntary sector and those seeking to connect with it. Since its inception, Serve Scotland has helped to bridge the gap, which can appear when secular groups or local authorities need to work with local churches. That is achieved by establishing networks of churches of all Christian denominations and in doing so granting those diverse bodies the ability to band together to better identify community needs, joint areas of concern and access to streams of funding, ultimately allowing efforts to be more far-reaching than any made individually. Although Serve Scotland is currently only operational in certain pilot areas, that is a long-term project that is constantly expanding. That expansion is most welcome and, in fact, to understand that research is already being undertaken by the initiative to show the value and volume of work that is already being carried out by churches and Christian organisations. Throughout Scotland, having witnessed it first hand, I know that, in my constituency of Cunningham North, such organisations play a valuable role in many lives and go out of their way to offer invaluable support to many, many families and individuals, regardless of their background or denomination. I am sure that that evidence is mirrored at and arguably every community around the country in which those organisations are present, and therefore I believe that the findings of our aforementioned research will be welcome and effective in improving services even further. That is crucial not only in recognising the positive impact of voluntary work, but also in engaging the future needs of communities. Serve Scotland's mission to identify needs and, as such, to deliver transformational projects that meet those needs is a testament to the strong sense of community spirit that drives so many people in Scotland and one I fully support. With an overarching and universal goal to help those less fortunate, regardless of background or denomination, I take the opportunity to congratulate everyone involved with Serve Scotland thus far and look forward to seeing what further positive influences it will bestow upon communities going forward. I also pay tribute to all those who have volunteered to provide the services that are discussed here today, from food banks to support work and beyond, both in my constituency and across Scotland as a whole. Community work undertaken by churches and other faith groups inspires just that, faith. Faith that Scotland is working towards an increasingly tolerant, inclusive and plural society and faith that, as Serve Scotland expands, so too will the abilities of the organisations encompassed within it to continue making a difference to the lives of people in need. Ross Greer, to be followed by Stuart Stevenson. Like colleagues, I thank Kate Forbes for bringing this motion to Parliament today and giving us the opportunity to celebrate the huge, often unrecognised contribution that communities of faith make across our country. It has been the case for some time now that, when faith-based organisations make the news, it is more often for negative than positive coverage. However, those organisations provide such a range of services and support across every last city, town and village in our country that, if they were to go, we simply would not be able to cope. That is particularly true in this era of austerity, of public services being hammered by cuts and a concerted effort to reduce the supportive role of the state. I know from my own congregation that bears down cross-church the sheer volume of services that are provided by volunteers. Take, for example, our Mind That Song club ran with Alzheimer's Scotland for those with dementia and for their carers. The club uses singing to bring together people who can often feel isolated and overwhelmed using the well-documented ability of music to bring back long-forgotten memories. Over the past few months, our church has worked with others across eastern Bartshire to welcome four Syrian families who have settled here through the resettlement scheme. Every week they come to our church halls to learn English as adults and children and to discuss the support that they need to build their lives here. Again, while working alongside the paid staff of the local council, so much of the activity is driven by volunteers, such as my friend Peter Drummond, who has given anything up to 40 hours a week recently, doing everything that he can to make our new community members feel welcome. Those are relatively recent examples. For over 30 years, the churches in my area have been involved in BEAM, Bearsden and Moghais talking newspaper for those with sight and other accessibility challenges. We are not the only ones, of course. Broughton St Mary's here in Edinburgh has done wonderful work with the LGBT community and with other congregations, denominations and faiths who want to improve the support that they can provide to LGBT members of their own faiths and to the wider community. Those are just some personal examples of the thousands of projects that Church of Scotland congregations are involved with. The Kirk is hardly the only one. I know, for example, first hand, of the exceptional work of Glasgow City Mission, which has transformed the lives of thousands of vulnerable people in and around the city, with its emergency night shelter, with parenting classes, services to help those who are trying to find employment after or during periods of homelessness, addiction and other challenges. The City Mission's ethos includes a commitment to unconditional acceptance, one that is rooted in its Christian foundations. That wonderful work, of course, is far from the exclusive domain of Christians. I know from the Jewish community in my own region, a small community, but one that provides a huge number of services. For example, Jewish Care Scotland organises everything from kosher food banks to mental health support and projects to integrate refugees and asylum seekers into their new communities. The likes of Cosgrove Care and Crossreach, run by the Church of Scotland, provide such high-quality care services—sorry, colleagues will be aware that I am having technical issues. It provides such high-quality support services for those with additional support needs, the elderly, vulnerable young people and so many others, that there are some of the largest social care providers in the country. Indeed, I believe that Crossreach is the largest provider outwith the local authorities in Scotland. You are going to have to indulge me for a second. That is much appreciated. That was very nice of you, Kate Forbes. That is fine. I would like to think of a question. Having been a member of a church himself, in what way does his church membership shape his politics? Ross Greer is very much appreciated from my colleague that. It serves me right for trying to rely on technology. It takes me very nicely to what I was trying to reach for. For me personally, the Christian motivation to provide for your community, the Christian motivation that led me into politics, can be very neatly explained by a wonderful line that I found in an article written by young Christian social justice activists in Australia who said, Jesus was overtly on the side of the poor, they excluded, they ignored, the disenfranchising, they exploited. He was on their side when it damaged his reputation, his earning potential and any hopes he had of moving up the ranks of religious and political power. He was on their side when he drove out the price manipulators and the rent seekers in the temple courts, and he was on their side when it cost him his life. That is what has always motivated me, in my faith and my politics, the desire to serve others. Our faith communities are still giving so much every single day in this country, in almost every case they do so without asking for recognition, and often they do not receive any. I thank Kate Forbes for the opportunity to stand here today and say thank you. It did not cut your time down any edit, Mr Greer. On that note, at this moment, due to the number of members who want to speak in the debate, I am minded to accept a motion without notice under rule 8143, to extend the debate by up to 30 minutes. I invite Kate Forbes to move a motion without notice. The question is that the debate to be extended by up to 30 minutes. Are we all agreed? That is then agreed. I now call, I can't remember who came next, Stuart Steenson, to be followed by Finlay Carson. I thought I was nearly as memorable as Kate Forbes, whom I congratulate for providing the time for this debate. South Scotland aims to empower the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalised. It unites local churches and community organisations. It facilitates communication among those organisations. It documents what has been done, so that churches and organisations generally can learn from those experiences. The beauty of South Scotland is that it is a nationwide organisation, but it facilitates local actions. For example, in my constituency of Bamshire and Bucking Coast, the River Church has been a presence in Bams since 2001. It houses a thriving food bank. It stops both by donations from local people and through a partnership with Tesco supermarket in Bams. It also offers a weekly hot meal and company for those in need. Services such as that in Bamshire require local power of volunteers. People who sacrifice time and bring their talents to make the efforts possible. Another example, like in Inverness, which is referred to by David Stewart, is the Peterhead Street Pastors, an organisation that began in 2003. I was privileged to recently attend the induction of some new street pastors. It is a living, expanding, terrific organisation. They walk the streets of Peterhead during the wee small hours of the night. I have been out on several occasions with the police on a Saturday night in the environment in which the street pastors are working. I know the kind of challenges that they inevitably are meeting for. Without any side, without any bias, they care for, listen to and help those who may be out and about and in difficulty of any kind. True to the goal of South Scotland, those groups are a light that shines in the darkest places of society. Those particular groups help to secure the basic needs of food and safety for people who are on the margins. Other groups provide shelter, education, addiction and recovery support to name a few services. Among such, again in Peterhead, is the Salvation Army, who I recently visited at their weekly lunch that they provide for precisely those kind of disadvantaged people. I must say that the soup and pudding is absolutely first class, and they work with others to get the raw materials that they prepare for those who need. Groups do much more than simply address people's basic needs. They are reaching out in love, anchoring themselves and the people that they serve to communities. They create ties that strengthen the civil fabric of our towns and of Scotland as a whole. South Scotland assists local organisations by exchanging information. It links groups together to share experiences. It helps churches and voluntary bodies to get the word out about projects so that they get the help and support that they need. We are in uncertain times. It is heartening to see this effort, to see engagement and education, not elitism, to see generosity and altruism, not greed, to see service and tolerance in place of self-interest. We all here in our contributions are gratefully acknowledging the local volunteers and organisations for their time and efforts to reach out in their communities, and we commend the wider coalition of ServScotland for the bold vision of a tolerant, contemporary and co-operative Scotland. I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak in this member's debate on ServScotland, and I congratulate Kate Forbes for giving us the opportunity to do so. Launched less than two years ago, ServScotland is a passionate movement that brings inspiration and creativity to encourage the Christian faith community to serve the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalised. ServScotland helps to highlight the invaluable role that church-based organisations can play in our modern world. I will never forget a sermon delivered by a minister of mine who will remain nameless. He said that it was really important for Christians not to expect thank or praise for the work that they did in the community on behalf of the church, and indeed he was often seen as very ungrateful, which I know he certainly was not. That sermon is certainly uncomfortable with lots of people in the congregation, because words of praise and thanks can be a spur for a lot of people. I know that they did not just do it for the glory, but a little pat in the back often helps. But ServScotland has become the champion of those individuals and groups. ServScotland does not exist to promote any one church or organisation, but rather all the good work being done by churches and organisations for the good of all people in communities in Scotland. I would like to thank ServScotland for bringing this brief forward and allowing us to thank the communities and individuals that helped. I would also like to thank ServScotland for giving us a briefing to give us some idea of the work that is carried out across Scotland. It estimates that there are 9,000 social action projects run by churches, 93 million pounds worth of economic impact, 9 million volunteer hours and 2.2 million paid staff hours. Those are all massive numbers, but, as Kate said, we must remember that those actually relate as much to individuals. The church has been an important part of my life, as I know that it has for many of the people in this chamber and right across Scotland. Now it is much more about a Sunday morning. Of course, it is about faith, community and responsibility. More increasingly, it is about church without walls, so it is no more of the damp, dingy walls that it is about getting out into the community. However, that has always been the case. It is not a new thing. As we have heard, we love your neighbour and we have heard the story of the Good Samaritan. Organisations such as ServScotland are an important part of that church community. Thousands of volunteers have taken time to serve those who really need a bit of help, whether that be in food banks, debt advice, night shelters or refugee support. That kind of social action is so important to a prosperous and compassionate society. I want to touch on two fantastic examples of this Christian social action through ServScotland and my constituency of Galloway and West Dumfries. Good Companions is a project run by Maxalton West Church of Scotland in Dumfries for its senior members. The project provides regular meetings giving its members lively companionship, speakers and entertainment for the young at heart. In Castle Douglas, the new life church, as well as its regular services, new life provides a range of groups and projects for the local community, including helping hands, food banks, Elderberry's lunch club, hub youth club, parent talk and cap debt centre. Even out of that compass of churches, my own church always remember getting the little tubes of smarties and we ate the smarties and then filled it with 20p pieces to help for water aid abroad, or Gatehouse community church that provides music and youth club events for all the young folk in the village. Those are examples of people who have contributed and it is important to recognise that they are showing their Christian responsibility to help the poor and vulnerable and they are actually taking action. ServScotland are empowering those organisations to ensure that their work has the best possible impact on their communities. I wish ServScotland all the very best in their continuing journey. The last two speakers in the open debate are full to McGregor, followed by Murdo Fraser. I thank my colleague Kate Forbes for bringing this motion and debate to the chamber and congratulating ServScotland on their establishment and the work that they do. It is quite fitting that it is on the back of the Boys Brigade 100th Anniversary for the junior section last week. My constituency, Scopebridge and Chrysyn, as I say regularly in the chamber, is an old industrial heartland of Scotland. Unfortunately, like the fate that befell a lot of those areas, it has fell into deprivation, and while we are all working towards changing that, the community still struggles. However, out of that adversity, as is always the case, brings good. Church and faith groups have been very much at the lead of that. Since becoming an MSP last year, I have learned firsthand just exactly how much works go on. I would like to say that I could not possibly mention in the three months that I have left everybody that has contacted me or that I have had contact with in the constituency that is involved in those organisations. However, I am so famed that they watch as it please do not be offended. Some of the ones that I would like to talk about are Teen Challenge. Teen Challenge, Scopebridge, is a team of volunteers from churches. In the constituency, the bus ministry is a place where vulnerable people with addictions can meet for a couple of hours for food, company advice and support. Addiction support workers are on hand there to support in the beginning stages of recovery, and upwards of 40 people can be at these individual sessions that take place right outside the high-rise flats Jackson Street, which I mentioned specifically because it has recently become in the top 10 social deprivation index area. I am noticing that the church groups themselves responded to that information, and I have been a couple of times to the bus and witnessed the work that has been done. Helping hands soup kitchens is another example. In 1996, in Vincent de Paul societies of Scopebridge, there was a need for a soup kitchen in the town. The purpose is to relieve the need to hardship and distress of needy people by offering practical assistance, especially providing a meal of hot soup or sandwiches free of charge. It has opened 361 nights of the year and the main service users are young men or women again with drug or alcohol addiction issues, and the volunteers come from various churches throughout Scopebridge. I would also like to touch on the Confortee Institute in Scopebridge. It is a global organisation, inter-religious and intercultural, which promotes integral liberation. I am proud that the Scopebridge organisation is based in Scopebridge. Amongst how much of the work that it does is volunteering in the prison ministry and the faith-routed social justice system, as well as operating a food bank in the town, and just some stats of that food bank from 2016 supported 1,389 adults, 924 children and 330 pets. Staying on food banks, as other members have done, the basics food bank, based in Scopebridge, for Lanarkshire, run by the Scopebridge Baptist Church, has a 51 per cent of all referrals are benefit or state welfare related. In August 2017 alone, it gave out 1,489 food parcels, 48 to families and 100 to individuals. I would like to mention as well the Scopebridge community orchard, which was set up initially through the Hope Church and Scopebridge, which is involved in a range of other activities. The orchard again is something that helps a lot of people to struggle with addiction issues to come together and find and use other skills. I was down at the opening of the orchard and was proud to be able to plant a tree there for that. I could go on with so many, many more Christen Parrys Churching, the closed bank, the go-between in townhead and the job club. What I probably would like to say as I started is that Ross Greer touched on where would Scopebridge and Christen be without those organisations. Maybe it is taking me to become an MSP just to realise the full extent of that, and then is it there for my job to speak in debates like that, promote the good work that they do and do everything that I can as an MSP to help them and continue. I will leave it at that, Presiding Officer. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I start by congratulating Kate Forbes on securing this debate and commend her on her opening speech. The length of this debate and the number of speakers who have participated is perhaps illustrative of the volume of interest that there is in the Parliament in this particular topic. I think that we are aware that across the country there are hundreds of church organisations and faith groups working to make Scotland a better place and we want to recognise their efforts. I would like to echo the thoughts of everybody who has already spoken and join them in welcoming Serf Scotland, which is creating a formal place for church-based community groups to exchange ideas and best practice and providing a forum to highlight projects making a big difference to people across the country. This good work has been going on for many years of not decades. What Serf Scotland is doing is shining a new light on it and that is very welcome. There is a general view that church congregations across Scotland are dwindling, or at least that is what the recent census and surveys have told us. Perhaps what we are learning from this debate, as Finlay Carson said, is that it is less important to have bums on pews on a Sunday morning if that is not unparliamentary language. What is more important is the holistic work that churches do, particularly in the wider community in reaching out with the gospel and in terms of their outreach work. It is a practical illustration of Christian faith that is demonstrating help, relief and love for those who are fortunate. The nature and shape of this relief has changed over time. Some of the partner organisations mentioned tonight are helping Scots with debt, poverty, hunger and mental health problems. In times of crisis, the church is often the crutch that many turn to. I would like briefly to mention three examples in my area of projects that have been identified by Serf Scotland. We do not traditionally associate poverty with beautiful rural areas such as Highland Perthshire, but poverty is just as aggressive and damaging in places such as Aberfeldy and Bellochry as it is in the bigger cities. Residents in Perth and Kinross have some of the highest levels of personal debt anywhere in Scotland. The recent Citizens Advice Bureau report revealed that there has been a 60 per cent increase in the number of people seeking charitable support in Perth alone. In response to that, we have seen the formation of Christians Against Poverty, which is set up to help to provide the tools for people to deal with their debt and give them the precious perspective that is difficult to see when they are in debt over their head. As a result of their work, Christians Against Poverty have won numerous awards and have been recommended by organisations such as Money Saving Expert. In 2016, I had the privilege of visiting one of their centres in Aberfeldy, which serves the Highland Perthshire area, and I was struck by the support that they offered on the sheer number of clients making use of their resources. There are no conditions on this help. You do not need to be associated with a church or even a Christian to make use of their services. There is no judgment, just a place where people can be listened to and helped. This is Christian faith at its best, and I would hope that the Aberfeldy centre can continue to grow and provide these vital services. Ross Greer mentioned his church welcoming refugees from Syria. Last year, in John's Episcopal Church in Perth, it started an enterprise initiative to make migrants and refugees feel welcome. It produced over 3,000 little postcards, produced and distributed to homes and businesses across Perth with the words, you are welcome here and thank you for your contribution to the life of the community in the number of different languages. It is a very simple and effective way of improving community relations and just the sort of message that is needed in the wake of public discussions on immigration. One final local group that I would like to congratulate is the Perth Street Pastors. We have already heard from David Stewart, Graham Day and Stewart Stevenson their experience with the street pastors. I need to say not much more about the excellent work that they do. I had the privilege of spending some time with Perth Street Pastors a short time ago and seeing the excellent work that they do. They exist in many towns and cities across Scotland. I am looking forward to hosting a reception in Parliament here in December to mark the 10th anniversary of the Ascension Trust, which runs the street pastor programmes across Scotland. I hope to invite fellow MSPs to attend and I hope that many will be able to come along. I think that what this evening's debate has shown is how important Christian organisations and the Christian faith are to many communities across Scotland. I would like to finish by wishing to serve Scotland all the best as it continues its important mission. I call Kevin Stewart to respond to the debate around seven minutes, please. Thank you very much. First of all, I congratulate Kate Forbes on securing this very important debate, highlighting the work of Serve Scotland. I want to thank all the volunteers who are here in the public gallery. More importantly, I want to thank you and all the volunteers of Serve Scotland for the time that they give. Certainly, the Government appreciates your efforts. Kate Forbes has told me that it is often the case that the very people who are supported by Serve Scotland, who then go on to volunteer, which is a tribute to both volunteers and the organisation as a whole. My own experience is a constituency MSP. I find that that is very often the case, that those folk who have benefited from folk volunteering often take on the role of volunteer themselves. Long may that continue. I thank Shirley-Anne Shirley, who was at the Serve Scotland stall earlier on today, for the leaflet showing the projects in my own patch in Aberdeen, many of which I am aware of. Like others in the course of the debate, I have nothing but praise for the Aberdeen street pastors who do an amazing job in my city. I am always struck by church organisations and how they rally round. The Living Well Project cafe that I attended at Ferryhill Church is another prime example of people doing good things. Our country has a strong sense of social justice and faith communities, including Christian communities, play a key part in that. Often they are amongst the first to speak up for social justice and against poverty and inequality and set up charities or projects to take practical steps to make a difference. We still see that today and their role is absolutely vital. I want to pay tribute to the range of projects that Serve Scotland covers. They provide, on average, per year 10 million hours of annual volunteering and paid work across Scotland, which in itself is a truly remarkable achievement. Their approach to engage with communities nurtures and encourages the historical and theological concept of selflessness and encourages living your neighbour. Words of faith put into action. Their work supports local organisations to effectively grow in their work to provide services in areas of poverty and debt advice, homelessness, addiction, refugee support, food banks and night shelters, and the many other topics that we have covered in this debate today. Partnering with organisations that adopt a faith-based, but not faith-biased approach allows Serve Scotland to use best practice from existing projects to respond to the pressing and particular needs of local communities. I am sure that we all agree that the power of volunteers is one that provides tremendous strength to the work and communities right across our country. Helpers, volunteers, the people taking positive action and giving their time up for others, not for fanfare or reward because it is right and because of the rewards that volunteering brings to them. That is the golden thread that runs throughout our families, our communities, giving pace and innovation to change and making a difference every single day. We continue to face challenging economic circumstances and people unfortunately continue to live in poverty in Scotland. With further UK Government welfare cuts due to the roll-out of universal credit and certain policies, that is going to push more and more families into poverty. The reality is that that work will need to continue and needs to be more important to react to local need. A fairer and more equal Scotland is at the heart of the Government's ambitions. Last year, the fairer Scotland action plan included key messages that will take all of us to build a fairer Scotland. However, we are clear that our actions need to be hand in hand with community-based organisations among others. Served Scotland is an important part of those efforts and actively works on achieving equality for all by alleviating food poverty and building more connected communities day in and day out. That kindness and compassion is helping to improve the lives of people all over Scotland. Glasgow and Dundee's local networks are both unique with many churches, including the independent churches and Christian organisations involved in community projects. The networks create bridges between councils and faith groups and the richness that volunteers are able to attend and share their experiences directly with council representatives. They contribute to greater interfaith dialogue, the launch event for Scottish Interfaith Week is taking place in Dundee this year and creates an opportunity for different faith communities to connect and engage in dialogue to foster mutual understanding and acceptance. The focus of this year is creativity in the arts. Scottish Interfaith Week will commence on Sunday 12 November, ending on Sunday 19 November. That is an opportunity for all faiths and those of none to highlight their way of life, whether it be through artwork, architecture, music or dance. We have already heard from many speakers about the role that Served Scotland has had in helping refugees, newcomers to our country. It is very clear the contribution that Served Scotland has made in that regard. We, as a country, have a strong reputation of welcoming people of all nationalities and faiths, including those seeking refuge in asylum from war and terror elsewhere. I want to pay tribute to the response of faith organisations and communities to supporting refugees who have come to Scotland. Our nation's values are clearly apparent by the humanity that is displayed to those who are most in need. Those fleeing persecution, war, rape and displacement have found a warm welcome in Scotland, and the way that our communities have responded has played a big part in that. I am immensely proud that we have received around 1,850 Syrian refugees under the Syrian resettlement programme since 2015. I think that Served Scotland and others should be proud for their endeavours in making folk welcome here. Presiding Officer, it is powerful to hear that more local networks will be developing in the coming months. Faith groups and community organisations like Served Scotland will continue to play a vital part in creating the Scotland that we all want to see. Modern Scotland is a strong multi-faith and multicultural society, and I believe that it is our fundamental commitment to diversity and our celebration of difference that will help to make this country a better place for everyone. Finally, Presiding Officer, I thank all those folks who have volunteered for Served Scotland and more power to your elbow. That concludes the debate, and I now close this meeting.