Peace and quiet became a permanent fixture at Edinburgh`s fast-growing international airport terminal on Wednesday 11th June, 2003 when the Moderator of the Church of Scotland`s General Assembly gave…
Peace and quiet became a permanent fixture at Edinburgh`s fast-growing international airport terminal on Wednesday 11th June, 2003 when the Moderator of the Church of Scotland`s General Assembly gave his official blessing to the airport`s new multi-denominational prayer room.
The prayer room, opened at the airport`s international arrivals area, has been designed as a place of worship and quiet reflection for travellers of all major religions and none. Religions considered in the development of the facility include Christianity, Sikhism, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism.
Opening the chapel, the Right Reverend Professor Iain Torrance, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said: “So many of the most significant or stressful moments of our lives involve travelling: sometimes because our circumstances are changing and our lives are on the move; sometimes because someone far away desperately needs us; sometimes because our responsibilities lie in many places; and sometimes to satisfy curiosity or adventure or an important passion in our lives.
“A bustling place like Edinburgh Airport needs to cater for each of its precious passengers, and make space for their excitement or fragility or worry or wonder. A place to remember our faith and our deepest priorities can meet many of those needs, and so deserves to be celebrated today.”
Edinburgh Airport has been transformed in recent years, with a new terminal building and check-in area the main features of a £100 million development programme. The chapel is the latest in a raft of new facilities handling a passenger throughput of some 7.2 million a year.
Richard Jeffrey, managing director of Edinburgh Airport, said: “The development of a chapel and what is a peaceful and quiet area represents a welcome addition to the passenger facilities at Edinburgh Airport.
“As the airport gets busier with people of many faiths travelling at home and abroad, this is a natural development and one which we hope will prove valuable to many people.”
Local minister, the Reverend Glenda Keating, who has served as airport chaplain for seven years, welcomed the development. She said: “There is no doubt that the spiritual needs of the staff and travellers are as great as the practical airport arrangements and I am delighted that the airport has introduced this peaceful area for the quiet prayer and reflection of those of all faiths.”
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