This Saturday I will be attending a Service of Thanksgiving to mark the 80th anniversary of the first meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations in Methodist Central Hall, London.
The United Nations came into being in 1945, following the devastation of the Second World War, with one central mission: the maintenance of international peace and security.
The 1946 Assembly was a deliberate act of responsibility — an attempt to build cooperation strong enough to prevent the return of global conflict.
King George VI, First Lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee attended calling for men and women to work for ‘a world of security and freedom’.
The UN website notes: “While nearby Church House was selected as the location for the first-ever UN Security Council on 17 January, a larger venue was needed for the General Assembly. Having survived the war intact, Methodist Central Hall was chosen."
British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin said: “Holding the meeting in a place of worship was symbolic, reflecting both the pain of the war and hope for the future."
The Assembly was in session for over a month.
The UN website notes that "the climate crisis is raging, inequalities are growing, and poverty is on the rise. Terrorism and the nuclear threat persist, and new threats have emerged.’ Artificial intelligence is rushing ahead of regulation".
So at this most troubled time in the life of our world it seems very pertinent that we take time to remember that gathering in London in 1946 – to remember the post-war devastation against which the UN was established and "the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind".
When I sit in Central Hall on Saturday I will remember an Assembly held in a church in the centre of a heavily bombed London. I will give thanks that it was felt there was no better place for such a meeting than a House of God with the atmosphere of prayer already there, prayer that reflected both the pain of the war and hope for the future.
I will pray that the UN can indeed be one place where the world’s nations can gather together, discuss common problems and find shared solutions for our world facing a climate crisis, rising inequalities and growing poverty, a world where terrorism and the nuclear threat persist, and where artificial intelligence is rushing ahead of regulation.
I will pray for our world today. I will pray that once again we can be a world at peace where as United Nations we practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours.
Rt Rev Rosie Frew is Moderator of the General Assembly of The Church of Scotland.
