Moderator calls for ‘cool heads and calm hearts’

SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE: The Moderator of the Church of Scotland has called for voters to have “cool heads and calm hearts” when they vote today.

The Right Reverend John Chalmers called on voters to cast their ballot so everyone has a stake in the outcome. Picture: SWNS

Urging people to take part “in a spirit of unity”, the Right Reverend John Chalmers called on voters to cast their ballot “so everyone has a stake in the outcome”.

The Moderator said it was in everyone’s best interests that a post-referendum period was “harmonious and future-focused”.

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He said senior figures on both sides of the debate should “be seen to be clear in both their words and their actions that the issue has now been settled democratically”.

He also suggested voters remove their Yes or No affiliations from their profile images and replace them with a shared symbol of unity, such as the “One Scotland” badge available on the Church of Scotland Facebook page.

The Church of Scotland is playing its own part in fostering reconciliation by inviting people to worship in Edinburgh’s St Giles’ Cathedral at 11:30am on Sunday, when the theme of the service will be commitment to unity.

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