Todays Worship I truly hate to admit that as the vice-chair of the six year old Scotland County Highland Games, that I have yet to attend their worship at Old Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church for the Kirkin o the Tartan service. . . until today. Attired in my less than formal kilt and accessories, I crossed the porch and entered the church or Kirk of the 158 year old house of worship used by the 217 year old congregation. On the wall as I entered hangs the 7 foot tall Foundation Cross made of wood salvaged from the original foundation. It is shaped as a Celtic cross with the circular sun in the middle and engraved with Celtic knots and symbols representing the Christ as written in the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible. King of Kings, Prince of Peace, the True Vine, Lamb of God, and the Rock, are just a few of the symbols on which to reflect and begin meditation. The sounds of the bagpipes and organ, practicing together for their duets of Highland Cathedral and the postlude of Amazing Grace filled the air and raised the spiritual anticipation of the morning. Men dressed in the various hues of clan tartan kilts began to enter along with the ladies dressed in tartan skirts, many bearing their tartan flags. For certain, this worship would be colourful. The Rev. Deck Guess had even organized the service using creeds, hymns, and scripture that reflected the early days of the Presbyterian church. As the pipes accompanied by the organ played the beautiful Highland Cathedral the dozens of tartan flags entered, borne by those of whom they represent, and as the congregation sang The Lords My Shepherd, Ill not Want, the tartan flags were placed in their holders at the front to the church. Following a prayer for forgiveness, the Laurel Hillbillies, a group of church members played and sang the beautiful song, In the Sweet By and By, which you may find posted earlier on this page. The beautiful Bluegrass beat, the lovely harmonizing voices, and the accompanying guitars, mandolin, and upright bass could not have been better, nor more appropriate. Bluegrass and old timey mountain music are spun off of the old fiddle tunes the Scots-Irish brought down the Appalachians. Following the sermon taken from the third chapter of Philippians, 4b - 14, the Scots Confession of 1560 was recited by the congregation. This was followed by a new congregational hymn that I had never heard: Bread of Life from Heaven. We then celebrated the Last Supper or what we commonly call Communion. The final congregational hymn was also a new one to me, but it was also beautiful and uplifting beyond measure: My Soul Cries Out with a Joyful Shout, to the tune of Star of the County Down. This Irish song/tune recalls our faith of old merging with our new or reborn faith and moving forward into the future with promise. The pianist was accompanied by the Laurel Hillbillies on this special selection that I would have captured on video and sound except it was simply too much fun to sing. The fast tempo made this a song to remember. Following the sung benediction, the pipes and organ played a duet of Amazing Grace as the tartan flags were carried from the church. The view combined with the music was fulfilling. Following the morning worship the church members did what southern, rural churches do best: they fed the masses a delicious and varied selection of meats, veggies, casseroles, and desserts. Personally, I had fried chicken, baked ham, pork barbecue, collards, butter beans, string beans, and boiled potatoes, chased with sweet tea. There will be no need for another meal until Monday morning. I had tears of joy several times during the beautiful musical selections. The bagpipes and organ combinations are hard to beat, but the Laurel Hillbillies were equally enjoyable and spiritual, and they will be performing next Sunday at the First United Methodist Church in Laurinburg.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 22:25:28 +0000
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