Over the last week I have been at three different presentations about the upcoming referendum in Scotland, one of which I thoroughly enjoyed, one of which was fun but ultimately so-so, and one that left me disappointed.  So this post is NOT going to try to convince anyone which way to vote - that would be wrong.  And, unlike the various speakers I'm not going to nail my colours to any mast because, as I have observed, so doing polarises people and debate, ending up missing the key point that all the speakers, whatever their asserted position, have tried, to some degree, to make.

Unlike Northern Ireland, Wales and England, Scotland has been given a unique and important opportunity to imagine a new future for itself; the risk, as at least one speaker pointed out, is that the 'independence or not' focus can end up missing the point.  A better question is 'what kind of Scotland would you like to live in, and how best do you go about that?'  A question that could, and should, be asked whichever way the vote goes.  It's not quite as simple as 'if you had a clean sheet of paper, what kind of constitutional format and poiltical governance would you choose' but it does allow some creative thinking about the 'what' and the 'how'.  Defining Scotland over against any other nation state is unhelpful and unhealthy, instead people need to think beyond their own preferences and prejudices and dare to dream.

A lot of work has been done by the churches and by the Evangelical Alliance to encourage Christians to try to bring their faith into conversation with their politics, and there are faith groups for 'Yes Scotland' and 'Better Together' one of which has tried to recruit me (I'm having none of it). I'm not sure to what extent this impacts local churches, many of which think politics and religion should be kept apart.

Listening to people at grass roots, and ignoring what the media has to say, it seems to me that a lot of people have made up their minds already and are disengaging even before the process begins... that's more worrying to me than the outcome.  If, for sake of argument 55% of 40% people chose Option A and 45% of 40% choose option B, that's a bad outcome... if I have a prayer, then it has to be that it is a good turn out and a high vote one way or t'other.

I haven't finally decided which way to vote - I have a definite leaning at present and no-one has convinced me to do the opposite, but I am open to being convinced... for this to happen it has to move beyond rhetoric and blarney and become creative and credible, whichever 'side' it is - sadly as yet I don't see much sign of it from either.

Someone said to me today that they were bored with it all already - which isn't good with three months still to go...

Not an eloquent post for sure - but I hope that those in Scotland lucky enough to have been given this opportunity will take time to think seriously about it and, where they have faith, prayerfully and carefully decide how to vote on 18th September.