The Rev Dr Robin Hill, minister at Gladsmuir Parish Church linked with Longniddry Parish Church, delivered a powerful address to the Scottish Parliament on Armistice Day.
The minister delivered Time for Reflection in the debating chamber at Holyrood.
He reflected on a poster he saw in Berlin earlier this year which bore the words: “Auschwitz: not long ago, not far away.”
The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh (Image: Copyright Mat Fascione and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.)
Dr Hill urged people not to bin their poppies and instead use them as a year-round reminder.
He said: “We’ve done Remembrance, so why not let it go?
“Well, here’s why not.
“Across our world of stark division, there are voices being raised in favour of private, domestic, self-interest over and against public international law, effectively suggesting that hubris and aggression and outright cruelty are necessary, acceptable elements of diplomacy for this 21st century.
“These voices, Presiding Officer, have got it wrong.
“That’s why this evening each one of us should take our poppy and fix it onto our computer screen or our bathroom mirror, or any place at all where it cannot be ignored over the year that is to come.
The Rev Dr Robin Hill
“And there, let our poppies serve us, together – as year-long, year-round reminders of the violence and the suffering which continue across this world of injustice and sorrow.
“As a peace-loving nation, it falls to the people of Scotland to live justly, with courage, as we strive for that which is right, against that which is merely expedient.
“Reminders are vital things and we can’t afford to ignore them when November 12 rolls around.
“And while Remembrance is most definitely a noun, it is our duty to treat that word like the verb we all need it to be: we do Remembrance.
“And we must keep on doing Remembrance for the sake of our humanity and our planet.”
Dr Hill visited the German capital earlier this year as part of a holiday.
He said: “A casual stroll with my wife through the Brandenburg Gate, and on to the chic elegance of Unter den Linden.
“Just there, we chanced upon a poster bearing these simple, striking words: ‘Auschwitz: not long ago; not far away.’
“And if, tonight, you remember anything, remember that.”
Speaking to the Courier after attending Holyrood, the minister was hopeful that the message had been received.
He said: “It gets put online and that has gone surprisingly far.”