Today I attended a Kirken of the Tartan at a nearby Episcopal Church by the invitation of a friend. Here's is a link that you can click on to find out what a 'kirken' is all about.
As my friend and I made our way into the church, it was awash in men in kilts, tartan flags, bagpipe music, and church members sporting their clan colors. I was in heaven, as this was my first live exposure to such a historic and traditional Scottish event.
My husband and I, along with my son and his family, are presently making plans to go to Scotland sometime in 2015. Every day I pray for God to bless us as we add to our savings account for this trip and to guide us in the planning of it. I've already made a surprising contact with a one of my facebook friends who travels back & forth to Scotland on a regular basis. When we became FB friends, I had no idea she was even interested in Scotland, much less a regular traveler there. It just never came up in our conversations. So you can imagine how excited I was when I saw the pictures she posted after her previous trip there. I contacted her immediately asking for advice on places to visit when my family makes our trip. She was a God-send.
Also, I have an epal friend in Scotland, who like me is a pastor's wife, and has 4 children. We have been communicating for quite a while. If I am able to do what I hope, then I definitely plan to visit her while we are there.
When I visited my son back in January, he began talking to me about planning a trip to Scotland and it became apparent he wasn't just making conversation! Then it slowly began to dawn on me that my dream trip to Scotland might just become a reality. Whew!
But today as I listened to the Communion Service recitations, bagpipe music, and watched the pipers enter and exit the service playing their powerfully beautiful music, this uncanny idea planted itself into my brain,
Hey girl, your journey has begun. You are on your way to Scotland!
After that realization, a follow-up thought inspired me to create a blog & journal my trip beginning with the first leg of my journey, The Kirken of the Tartan! And that's just what I did! So enjoy these few pictures and join me as I travel to Scotland!
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| Episcopal church where the Kirken of the Tartan Communion service took place. |
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| Something stirred deep within me as the bagpipe music played. Must be an explanation for that. I mean couldn't there be Scots in my lineage somewhere? These pipers played Scotland the Brave as they proceeding out of the church. Oh my, it was glorious! So next time something happens on my journey, I'll let you know about it, HERE! |
