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Kirkin' of the Tartans
11:00 a.m.
...followed by that great Southern tradition; Dinner on the Grounds. Please join us!
“Kirk” is a Scottish word meaning “church,” and in Scotland it usually means the Church of Scotland – the Presbyterian Church. As a church which is part of the Reformed Tradition, we hold to an essential tenant of the faith that it is our calling in life to glorify God and to serve God forever. The central act in which we do this is worship, which is the center of our existence and at the heart for our reason for being. Clanjamfry is a wonderful event each year where we remember our Scottish heritage and celebrate that heritage with the community. In the midst of this celebration we gather together on Sunday morning to worship, for Clanjamfry would have no meaning apart from worship. So we worship in celebration with the Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans, a service which begins with a grand processional of the choir and clans led by the Wolf River Pipes and Drums with the strains of Evergreen’s magnificent pipe organ throughout the service. During the service each clan presents its tartan to be blessed, in recognition of the Scots’ Christian heritage and the clan’s rededication to God’s service. The first Kirkin’ in the United States was held by the Scottish-born Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, Dr. Peter Marshall, who was minister of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C. The date was April 27, 1941. Since 1954, the St. Andrew’s Society in Washington has sponsored it, and it has been held in the Washington Cathedral. Of those of us who would prefer to think that the American Kirkin’ does have its roots in Scottish history, there is some rather sketchy evidence. After Bonnie Prince Charlie’s forces were defeated in 1745, the wearing of the tartan and the playing of the bagpipe were forbidden in Scotland for many years. It is said that during those years some clansman wore pieces of tartan material concealed on their persons to the Kirk. At some point in the service, they would touch the hidden tartans, and ministers would give a blessing. Like many good legends, if this is not true, it should be.
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