Kirkin' of the Tartan

[macwilkin]

I was raised Presbyterian and we didn't have any tartan's displayed that I can rememver. I lived in Pennsylvania, you'd think that a tradition that was started in DC would convey..

I think it really depends on the congregation. Remember that Dr. Marshall was also a member of the St. Andrew's Society of Washington DC (and the Atlanta St. Andrew's Society), and so he did have a tie to the local Scottish-American community.

I was raised Presbyterian myself, and the church I attended didn't have tartans either, but my mother and grandmother frequently discussed our Scottish Presbyterian heritage with me growing up.

Whilst the PCUSA has its roots in Scotland and the Kirk, many Presbyterians are unaware of the strong connection.

Regards,

Todd

[Carolina Kiltman]

For Episcopalians, November seems to be a popular kirkin' month for:

St. Margaret of Scotland (Nov. 16)
St. Andrew (Nov. 30)
The consecration of the Rt. Rev. Samuel Seabury (Nov. 14)

The last date refers to the first American Episcopal Bishop, who was consecrated by three Scottish Episcopal Bishops in Aberdeen in 1784.

Regards,

Todd

This is how the Anglican (Episcopal Church) in the new US got its bishops consecrated. The Scots were "non jurors" that is they had not taken an oath of loyalty to the Crown of England as the English bishops had.

You can imagine the furor in my Grandparent's family when my Mother, born in Tobermory, Mull married a Roman Catholic American some 21 years older than she was. . . . It took over 20 years for her Father to get over it, her Mother never did. No more family history now.

[macwilkin]

This is how the Anglican (Episcopal Church) in the new US got its bishops consecrated. The Scots were "non jurors" that is they had not taken an oath of loyalty to the Crown of England as the English bishops had.

Aye, they were indeed...the SEC had many clergy and laity in sympathy with the Jacobite cause, which brought on persecution in the 1700s by the Kirk.

Ironically, Seabury was a Loyalist during the Revolution, but the Church of England wouldn't consecrate him because of the loyalty oath to the sovereign.

Todd

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Please correct me if I am wrong, but as the SEC was not the Established Church of Scotland (which was the Presbyterian Church), is that the reason that they were non-juring? I seem to recall something similar in Ireland after the Anglican Church was dis-establised in the 1840s (or was it in the '60s?--can't recall off the top of my head).

[macwilkin]

Please correct me if I am wrong, but as the SEC was not the Established Church of Scotland (which was the Presbyterian Church), is that the reason that they were non-juring? I seem to recall something similar in Ireland after the Anglican Church was dis-establised in the 1840s (or was it in the '60s?--can't recall off the top of my head).

No, it was not -- the Established church was the Kirk, which was Presbyterian.

http://www.scotland.anglican.org/ind...about/history/

Regards,

Todd

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Todd-- Thanks for the link.
Scott

[macwilkin]

Todd-- Thanks for the link.
Scott

You're most welcome, Scott -- the SEC was the "Jacobite Church" during the 18th century, hence the presence of "non-juring" Bishops.

I've been asked to give an address on the Scottish roots of the Episcopal Church at a Kirkin' service on the 16th, btw.

T.

[Tartan Hiker]

Can someone point me toward a document with a good description of the genesis of the Marshall service? Each year I attend several different Kirkin' services at PCUSA churches that include the erroneous "history" in their bulletins. I'd love to be able to present a document to these folks that they could use to get the story straight next time.

I work in Montreat NC (the Mecca of Presbyterianism in the eastern US) every summer, and was asked to deliver a lecture this past June on tartans and kilt styles. They seemed to take the news that most clan tartans are recent inventions very well, and didn't even revolt when I insisted that the antiquity of the kirkin' service (which is a huge deal in the Montreat church) was probably also fiction. With proper documentation I may be able to get them to update their bulletin insert...

...or I may be tarred and feathered and run out of the valley on a rail.

edit...should have looked at the STM site first. Good article there that I don't remember reading before. Matt, who is Todd Wilkinson and did that article appear in "print" somewhere? I need really good ammunition, and we all know that some folks don't trust web-based authority.

edit again...what do the scholars think of Montreat's own version of this? They include this caveat " While there are many versions on the internet, we believe this brief outline to be accurate."

http://www.montreatscottish.org/even...kinhistory.htm

Thanks!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Matt, who is Todd Wilkinson and did that article appear in "print" somewhere? I need really good ammunition, and we all know that some folks don't trust web-based authority.

I'm not sure, though I hear he hangs out on certain kilt-related internet forums that rhyme with "X Marks the Spot." ith:

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

edit again...what do the scholars think of Montreat's own version of this? They include this caveat " While there are many versions on the internet, we believe this brief outline to be accurate."

http://www.montreatscottish.org/even...kinhistory.htm

Thanks!

With the exception of the two fanciful paragraphs referring to the 18th century, I'd say it was more or less accurate.