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G4 0QZ - Glasgow Cathedral Commemorations to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War have taken place in churches across Scotland this year. The Moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Reverend John Chalmers has been reflecting on the role that the Church has played in those commemorations: “Locally, ministers and congregations have been particularly conscious of the memories that are evoked. In communities all over Scotland, people have been putting on World War One exhibitions, tracing the line and lives of families who were lost. “As well as nationally, holding a service at Glasgow Cathedral and a Drumhead Service in Edinburgh, we’ve seen perhaps in local communities, some of the most significant remembrances.” For those who attend a service of remembrance this year, what is John Chalmers hoping they take away? “Nowadays it’s not even clear who the enemy is sometimes,” John Chalmers says. “Even the politicians struggle to know where conversation or reconciliation could make more of a difference than conflict itself. I fear that perhaps we continue to use the old methods of sabre rattling and threat and even military action too quickly – and that we don’t talk enough. “I hope that what people are learning from a long reflection on the First World War is that we have to do more to break through our understanding of what leads to conflict and to break through to a place where, across the nations, we can live with our differences instead of fighting about them.” Image Copyright: Martin McCarthy/Getty