literature

Pray for Scotland

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Literature Text

Scotland is a country that occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain
and is part of the United Kingdom.

It is bordered by England in the south, the North Sea in the east, the Atlantic Ocean
in the north and west and the North Channel and Irish Sea in the southwest.

Scotland also has over 790 islands including the Shetland Isles, Northern Isles
and the Hebrides.

The population is over 5 million.
Edinburgh, the capital and 2nd largest city.
Glasgow is the largest city.

FACTS
"Scotland" comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaelic celtic tribes.

The national flag of Scotland has been in use since the 9th century
and is the oldest national flag in the world still in use.

The Shetland Pony was originally bred in the Shetland Isles.

The Highlands are a region in northwestern Scotland.
The area is known for its many mountain ranges.
Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British isles is located in the Highlands.

Inverness, located in the Highlands, is the northernmost city in the United Kingdom.

Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater lake in the  Highlands, 23 miles southwest
of Inverness.
It is known for alleged sightings of the Loch Ness Monster, known affectionately as "Nessie".

‘Loch’ is the Scottish Gaelic and Irish word for a lake or a sea inlet.

The kilt originated as the traditional dress of men and boys in the Highlands during
the 16th century.

Many Scots belong to family clans.
Most clans have their own tartan patterns, which is often incorporated into kilts
or other clothing.

King James VI, who later became James I of England, commissioned the writing
of the King James Bible.

The Great Highland Bagpipe is a famous traditional instrument of Scotland.

Several terrier breeds were bred in Scotland:
Cairn Terrier
Scottish Terrier
Skye Terrier

Collies were bred in Scotland and northern England.

The Clydesdale horse was originally bred in Scotland.

FAMOUS SCOTS
Leaders
Robert I/Robert the Bruce (1274-1329)
Led Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots (1542 – 1587)

Prince Charles Edward Stuart/Bonnie Prince Charlie (1720–1788)
Instigator of the unsuccessful Jacobite uprising of 1745.

Theologian
John Knox (1514-1572)  Prominent leader during the Reformation

Writer
James Matthew Barrie (1860–1937) Author of 'Peter Pan'

Actors
Sir Thomas Sean Connery (b 1930)
Ewan Gordon McGregor    (b 1971)
James McAvoy       (b 1979)
Robbie Coltrane    (b 1950)
David Tennant      (b 1971)
Kelly Macdonald    (b 1976)
Brian Denis Cox    (b 1946)  

DEMOGRAPHICS
88.09%  Scottish
7.38%    Other British
0.98%    Irish
0.63%    Pakistani
0.30%    Indian
0.4%      Bangladeshi
0.32%    Chinese
0.12%    South Asian
0.04%    Caribbean
0.10%    African
0.25%    Mixed

42.4%   Church of Scotland
27.6%   None
15.9%   Catholic
6.8%     Other Christian
5.5%     Undeclared
0.8%     Muslim
0.1%     Buddhist
0.1%     Sikh
0.1%     Jewish
0.1%     Hindu
0.5%     Other

HISTORY
Scotland has been inhabited for thousands of years.

During the Iron Age it was inhabited by various Celtic groups called the Caledonians.

During the 1st century A.D. Rome conquered Wales and England which became the province of Britannia.
The Romans were never able to fully conquer Caledonia.
During this time the inhabitants of Caledonia were called the Picti or Pics,
which means ‘Painted Ones.’

Hadrian’s Wall and the Antoinine Wall were built to protect Roman Britain from attacks from the Picti.

Due to incursions from the Picti, Roman legions abandoned the area during the 3rd century.

During the 6th century the Kingdom of Dál Riata was founded on the north west coast.
The term 'Scoti' which had originally meant all Gaels came to apply to its subjects.

At the same time the Kingdom of the Pictland was established in the north east.

During the 7th century, Irish missionary Columba founded a monastery on Iona
and introduced the Scoti and Picts tribes to Chirstianity.

During the 8th century both kingdoms suffered from frequent Norse raids.
Successive defeats by the Norse caused the Picts and Scoti to unite.

During the 9th Century the Kingdom of Scotland was formed.

From 840-1034 Scotland was ruled by the House of Alpin.
From 1034-1286 it was ruled by the House of Dunkeld/Canmore.

The last Canmore king died in 1286 leaving his infant granddaughter as heir, who died four years later.

England, under Edward I, took advantage of the questioned succession to launch
a series of conquests into Scotland.
This resulted in the Wars of Scottish Independence  (1296-1357)

The wars resulted in victory for Scotland, led by David II (1324-1371)
When David II died without heirs, his nephew Robert II established the House of Stuart.

The House of Stuart ruled Scotland for the next 300 years.

In 1567 after the death of Elizabeth I, James VI, of Scotland, inherited the English throne and became James I.

In 1688 James II was deposed and replaced by his daughter Mary II.
After this the Stuarts lived in exile and occasionally attempted to regain the throne.
The strongholds of Jacobitism were the Scottish Highlands, Ireland and Northern England.

In 1707 Scotland and England were united into the Kingdom of Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales).

In 1801 the United Kingdom was established (England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland).

CONDITIONS
The economy is closely linked with the rest of Britain.

For a long time Scotland’s economy was dominated by heavy industry, shipbuilding,
coal mining and steel industries.

In recent years, Scotland has seen a decline in the importance of manufacturing
and a rise in the service sector.

Scotland's primary exports include whisky, electronics and financial services.
Tourism is also an important industry.

Edinburgh is one of Europe's largest financial centers.
Glasgow is one of the largest seaports in the world.

Many immigrants come from other countries.
Scotland has received an increasing number of Chinese students.

Unemployment is high.

Many suffer from illness.

In larger cities drugs and drug related crimes are becoming a problem.
Alcoholism is widespread.
Ale and beer consumption are seen by many as being inherently Scottish.

Nearly half of all children are born out of wedlock.
The number of single parent households is increasing.

SPIRITUAL CONDITIONS
The Presbyterian Church of Scotland is the national church of Scotland.
Catholicism is the 2nd largest.
There are numerous other smaller groups.

For many, church membership is purely a matter of culture/tradition.
Many lack a true relationship with Jesus.
Church membership has been declining over the years.
There is a severe shortage of clergy.

27% of the population are atheist/agnostic
5.5% are undeclared.

There are smaller groups of  Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and others.

PRAYER NEEDS
Pray for those suffering from unemployment.

Pray for those suffering from illness.

Pray for those suffering from alcoholism and or drug addiction.

Pray that drug trafficking and drug crimes cease.

Pray for children growing up in single parent families.

Pray for the children who are born out of wedlock.

Pray that GOD pour out His Spirit on Scotland.
Pray that churches experience a revival.
Pray that church members gain a relationship with Jesus.

Pray that there be an increase in church leaders and teachers.

Pray that the Gospel spread.

Pray that immigrants be exposed to the Gospel.
Prayer update: Scotland

All of the above info can be found at the following links

Wikipedia
[link]

Prayercast
[link]
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Comments23
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Insanity123's avatar
Sadly, mental illness is such an issue here because of the drugs. Heavy industry moved out of Scotland in the early 20th century and it took us the best part of 100 years to recover. For a long time Scotland was a pretty impoverished country and Thatcher REALLY didn't help.

"Pray for children growing up in single parent families. Pray for the children who are born out of wedlock." - Having known people who have grown up in single parent households and a lot do just fine. A family doesn't need to be strictly, Christian mother + Christian father to work and as someone who was born outside of wedlock I can testify that I do not need someone to pray for me.