Another interesting day in Edinburgh.

It began with the General Assembly worship service in St. Giles Cathedral. Needless to say the place was packed and the space was standing room only. (Not an exaggeration – in our part of the church there were a couple dozen people standing around the edges.)

If you are looking for “high church” Presbyterian worship it would be difficult to find something beyond a General Assembly worship service in the mother church of Presbyterianism. No “smells and bells”, but a distinctly secular aspect with the Lord High Commissioner in attendance and part of the formal processional and recessional. And it included singing God Save the Queen. But the music was good, I enjoyed singing hymns not in the common repertoire in the states, with a packed cathedral the sound was very full and rich.

We decided to stay for the second service, pretty much the regular St. Giles Lord’s Day service with the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Good music, not as full a crowd, and a more simple feel. Again, some aspects were vary familiar – the reference in the sermon to being decently and in order got me a nudge from my traveling companions. And some were not, like the gathering in a circle around the very minimalist communion table to pass the elements between us. (That very minimalist is the white box in the picture below.

One of the joys of the day was in the first service sitting below the Holy Spirit stained glass window, this being Pentecost and all. Here is a shot of St. Giles down the main axis of the hall and one of the window.

Looking down the main axis of St. Giles Cathedral

Holy Spirit Window in St. Giles Cathedral

Being in St. Giles, one spot I had to visit was the traditional location where Jenny Geddes was sitting in back in 1637 when the Dean of the Cathedral began using the new service book imposed by the King and in her distaste for the mass threw her small folding seat at him. A riot ensued.  With the poor lighting I did not get a good picture of it, but this page about her includes a picture of the marker on the floor.

After looking at that, we were intrigued to find a plaque to her intended target, the Dean of the Cathedral, posted on a column near by. It reads:

James Hannay DD
Dean of this Cathedral
1634-1639
He was the First and the Last who read
The Service Book in this Church
This Memorial is Erected
In happier times by his Descendant

Here is more on James Hannay if you are interested.

The other Church of Scotland event of the day was the Heart and Soul event in Princes Street Garden. For the PC(USA) folks, imagine the GA exhibit hall moved outdoors into a park, with tents for booths and lasting only for an afternoon. One item Heart and Soul has that you won’t find in the exhibit hall is three stages and some children’s activities.

Overall it was a good afternoon for me as I got to talk with representatives of several organizations, committees and programs I have been tracking from afar. Thanks to them for the conversations and the opportunity to meet a few of them in person.

Heart and Soul actually began last night with a concert and worship of interest to young people. There was an enthusiastic and faithful crowd there for it but a lot of the seats were empty. One of the bands did Christian electronic dance music. Yes, apparently it is such a thing. The crowd was excited to see them and the evening was well received by those who attended. The worship time was fairly good and the preacher did a fine job of giving a Gospel message.

Preaching at the Heart and Soul Saturday night youth event.

So there is a quick wrap-up from today. Tomorrow things get interesting as two more GA’s get under way. Will be tweeting throughout the day but not sure what the posting will look like. We will have to see.

Have a good night