The leaders of Scotland's major Christian denominations have made history by speaking as one voice in their first ever joint Christmas message this week.

The signatories on the Christmas message include the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev Sheilagh Kesting, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, and the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Rev Idris Jones.

The message coincides with the start of Advent and encourages Christians to look beyond human tragedies and disappointments and see goodness and beauty in the people around us.

"We're often told that Christmas is stressful for some and lonely for others and too much of a spending frenzy for the majority. It needn't be," the Church leaders state. " Christmas is also a time when we look beyond ourselves and when deep down we want only the best for those closest to us and for all who are in need in our world."

They continued by appealing to Christians to see the efforts that people are making to change the world for the better, despite many difficulties.

"Christmas is a time for looking beyond these to see goodness and beauty in those around us; to look at tragedy and see the stories of kindness and compassion that carry with them the hope of life beyond the darkness; to look at the violence and see the efforts made to change these patterns and see in them signals of hope for a safer world; to look at our environment and see the beauty that is there and to hear the call for green alternatives as signals of hope for our planet.

"When we accept the invitation to look beyond the surface, we become open to signals of hope for ourselves, our families and our world. This is part of God's gift that is celebrated at Christmas but which does not stop there. God invites us to look beyond," they said.


The Christmas message is issued in the name of:
 His Eminence Keith Patrick Cardinal O' Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh
 Right Rev Sheilagh M Kesting, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
 Most Rev Idris Jones, Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church
 Rev Lily Twist, Chair of the Methodist Synod in Scotland
 Pamala McDougall, Clerk, General Meeting for Scotland, The Religious Society of Friends
 Major Robert McIntyre, Scotland Secretariat, The Salvation Army
 Rev David Cartledge, Moderator of the United Free Church of Scotland
 Rev John Humphreys, Moderator, United Reformed Church Synod of Scotland
 Brother Stephen Smyth, General Secretary, Action of Churches Together in Scotland