We're going to Scotland!!!!

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SueS

Puritan Board Freshman
FINALLY, our pastor has completed his doctoral dissertation and will be going to Inverness to receive his degree and dh and I are going along! Whoopeeeee!!! We'll be leaving 14 September and have a seven day stay. A couple of days will be spent in Dingwall, a small town near Inverness and the rest of the time will be in Edinburgh. Along with other touristing plans we intend to visit the William Wallace memorial, paint our faces blue and have our pictures taken while shouting, "FREEDOM!!" I just made our B&B reservations for Edinburgh - it's really happening!

I have one question for you folks who live in the area - we need to find a good Reformed church to attend that Sunday. We'll be staying near St Giles but it looks like it has strayed from its Reformed roots and although we'll take a tour of the church, we won't be worshipping there.

Soooo, does anyone have any suggestions?
 
SueS said:
we intend to visit the William Wallace memorial, paint our faces blue and have our pictures taken while shouting, "FREEDOM!!"
Click to expand...

I wonder if you get the same sort of "roll eyes" reaction from the locals as do American tourists who walk through Salzburg singing The Sound of Music showtunes.

But seriously, have fun!
 
Jack K said:
SueS said:
we intend to visit the William Wallace memorial, paint our faces blue and have our pictures taken while shouting, "FREEDOM!!"
Click to expand...

I wonder if you get the same sort of "roll eyes" reaction from the locals as do American tourists who walk through Salzburg singing The Sound of Music showtunes.
Click to expand...



Yeah, I'm sure they'll think we're crazy just like the St Augustine locals thought dd and I were crazy for swimming in the frigid December ocean the year we were down there, buy ya know what? I don't care! We've been planning to do this for over three years and it will be worth a few rolled eyes!!!
 
I LOVE Edinburgh!

I don't have any church suggestions (I wasn't there on a Sunday) but if you're a fan of the Harry Potter books (or even if you're not), you must go to the Elephant House, where Rowling wrote the first one. (They also have really good coffee - so if you need a coffee fix....). Also, John Knox's House is great. Horatio Bonar is buried in the same graveyard as Adam Smith - I found it more exciting to see Bonar's grave than Smith's (although both are cool). AND you ought to go for a walk up Arthur's Seat. (Right behind the palace).
 
SueS said:
FINALLY, our pastor has completed his doctoral dissertation and will be going to Inverness to receive his degree and dh and I are going along! Whoopeeeee!!! We'll be leaving 14 September and have a seven day stay. A couple of days will be spent in Dingwall, a small town near Inverness and the rest of the time will be in Edinburgh. Along with other touristing plans we intend to visit the William Wallace memorial, paint our faces blue and have our pictures taken while shouting, "FREEDOM!!" I just made our B&B reservations for Edinburgh - it's really happening!

I have one question for you folks who live in the area - we need to find a good Reformed church to attend that Sunday. We'll be staying near St Giles but it looks like it has strayed from its Reformed roots and although we'll take a tour of the church, we won't be worshipping there.

Soooo, does anyone have any suggestions?
Click to expand...

The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland has congregations in both Inverness and Edinburgh. :)
Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland - Reformed in Doctrine, Worship and Practice
 
BTW, It looks like you will be close to the Brodie Castle when you are at Inverness. I know Robert Brodie who is married to my Pastor Dr. Blackwood's daughter. He is a direct descendant. Go visit it. Also if you have a chance take a Covenanter tour.
 
Thanks for the church suggestions - if there are any more they would be quite welcomed!
 
Montanablue said:
I LOVE Edinburgh!

I don't have any church suggestions (I wasn't there on a Sunday) but if you're a fan of the Harry Potter books (or even if you're not), you must go to the Elephant House, where Rowling wrote the first one. (They also have really good coffee - so if you need a coffee fix....). Also, John Knox's House is great. Horatio Bonar is buried in the same graveyard as Adam Smith - I found it more exciting to see Bonar's grave than Smith's (although both are cool). AND you ought to go for a walk up Arthur's Seat. (Right behind the palace).
Click to expand...

Ooh. My wife's been wanting us to go to Scotland and I've been ho-hum about it. But you make it sound so good. Invoking the name of Horatio Bonar may just push me to do it.
 
Congratulations on your long-awaited plans! I have the same plans in-the-making, but not attached to any educational goal. I just wanna go! I'd prefer to spend a month or so there while I'm off in the summer, but I'd prefer to rent a room in someone's house so I can really immerse in the culture better.

Safe and enjoyable travels to you!
 
Congrats on going Scotland. I hope you enjoy your stay.
When I lived in Edinburgh I attended here Buccleuch & Greyfriars Free Church of Scotland Services are at 11am and 6:30pm on Sundays. The pastor and associate pastor are both great guys. The associate is an American, in case you need to hear an American accent. It's within walking distance to St Giles. But even closer is: Welcome - St. Columba's Free Church of Scotland, Edinburgh It as right beside Edinburgh Castle. As you come to the top of the Royal Mile(High St) at the start of the castle Esplanade on your left is a mini-roundabout. That big ole church building is St C's. Pastored by Derek Lamont it, too is a great church. Services 11am and 5:30pm.
I would not advise going to worship at St Giles as it is the home of Scottish liberal theology.
If you are in Dingwall on a Sunday I recommend here: Welcome to Dingwall & Strathpeffer Free Church www.deep-river.co.uk Scottish Charity SC011143 I have known the Pastor for years and he is a great guy.

In Inverness try and get a trip to Culloden Moor and or Loch Ness and hunt for that monster. You probably won't have time to go to the West Coast, where Scotland's real beauty lies.:p In Edinburgh explore the city's gory past by going to Mary King's Close or do a night time ghosts and ghouls tour. The Edinburgh festival and military tattoo will probably be over by the time you visit. Enjoy some time to hang out in Princes Street Gardens. Grab a sandwich and some other goodies from Marks and Spencer on Princes St and then head to the Gardens- weather permitting.
If I think of more things I'll let you know. Any questions just let me know.
 
I did my fourth year of Univ at St Andrews and spent the summer in Dundee. We honeymooned in the Orkney Islands. Went through Inverness twice. Scotland is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. the West Coast, where Scotland's real beauty lies Yes, spent two weeks in Port Ban across from Jura. Magnificent. Have a wonderful trip and pray the Iceland volcano doesn't blow again.
 
SueS said:
Wayne said:
What is his dissertation about?
Click to expand...


The Lord's Supper - 290+ pages!
Click to expand...

I would like to sometime read a copy of your pastors thesis on the Lords Supper. I am always interested in learning more about the Reformed Protestant beliefs about the Lords Supper. I am a Presbyterian since 2007. I was raised a Roman catholic however.

I just finished reading the article on sacraments by Francis Turetin; From Institutes in Elentic Theology by Francis Turretin.

It helped to clarify my thinking as a Protestant. A lot of the problems I was having with the word sacrament and particularly The Lords Supper was the fault of the false and erroneous teachings I was brainwashed with as a Roman catholic. The article helped me to understand the notion and thinking of the "sacraments " of the Lords Supper and Baptism , the only two sacraments to begin with in the sense it is meant as a Presbyterian Protestant "second, in particular of baptism and the holy Supper, which are the two sacraments of the New Testament instituted by Christ; third, of the five false and spurious ones added by Romanists"

“Still we do not recognize in the signs any implanted or inherent power by which they either act upon grace or on any quality of the soul, whether we call it a stamp or anything similar. For as the sound of the spoken word at length striking the ears and the air does not strike the heart by any power inherent in itself; so neither does the external sign possess any power to affect the soul, but only strikes the senses“.

I believe that the Lords Supper is a memorial of Christ’s Supper and not a sacrifice anew as it is in Roman Catholicism, but a remembrance of the one and only needed sacrifice on Calvary by Jesus for all who believe in Him. I believe Christ becomes present in the communion as we receive the elements faithfully but how he becomes present is a mystery of the infinite and cannot be defined by finite man, which is why I do not any longer accept the Roman catholic teaching of transubstantiation. I do believe as John Calvin taught that we ascend to the Father in heaven in remembering His Sons sacrifice and in celebrating the Lords Supper as He commanded it be done " To do this in remembrance of Me". I believe I experience a reception of a "Personal Jesus" when I take of the communion bread and wine at the Presbyterian communion service.

The Lords Supper service in the Presbyterian fold allowed me also to experience a fellowship and of being "in fellowship" instead of merely "going to church." or just "going to mass" as I use to often say when I was a Roman catholic. I now dislike the phrase "going to church" because it implies the church is a building, when the Bible says the church is the people who know Christ. But even if we change "going to church" to "attending the Gospel Teaching or the liturgy of the word and the Lords Supper or Communion" there is still a big difference between this and being "in fellowship." To me now "Fellowship" means sharing something in common. To be in fellowship with other Christians means that you are regularly sharing your common relationship with Christ with other Christians: discussing what you are learning from his Word, sharing how he is changing your life, talking to Christ together, urging each other to stay faithful to Christ, working together to serve others, showing appropriate affection toward one another, etc.

I believe we experience Christ’s presence in the Lords Supper because of our fellowship and our faith in Him alone. It is through scripture alone we learn of the Lords Supper and How He becomes present is a mystery of the infinite and can not be explained by finite men. It is why I now reject the Roman catholic teaching of transubstantiation. I believe Calvin’s teaching that we ascend to Him and the father in heaven and he becomes present because of that faith we have in Him alone, b y Gods Grace alone in Christ alone for the greater Glory of God alone.
 
Charlotte Chapel in Rose St is where one of my boys has been going since he's been in Edinburgh.
It's Baptist, and very handy to Princes Street. I don't really know anything about any of the C of S ones.
But don't paint yourselves blue - that film is such a travesty of history - just an ego trip for Mel Gibson and yet more of Hollywood's self-indulgent anti-England propaganda!! (had to get that off my chest :) )
 
Further to the Free Church (Continuing) and Free Presbyterian Churches, there are the Free Churches in Edinburgh.
If you're staying near St.Giles, you're within walking distance of Leith Free Church on Casselbank Street. The minister there is Rev Colin Macleod and he's very good.
The website is Leith Free Church - Home

Hope you enjoy your stay!
Blessings
 
Enjoy your trip! You are going to the seat of real Western Civilisation. No country has had such a profound impact upon the world, especially for its size, and never having developed an empire. Scotland is so revered that even the English can't crown a monarch without having a piece of Scotland as their base. ;)
 
LawrenceU said:
Enjoy your trip! You are going to the seat of real Western Civilisation. No country has had such a profound impact upon the world, especially for its size, and never having developed an empire. Scotland is so revered that even the English can't crown a monarch without having a piece of Scotland as their base. ;)
Click to expand...

Pah. We stole it to show that we're best.
 
JonathanHunt said:
LawrenceU said:
Enjoy your trip! You are going to the seat of real Western Civilisation. No country has had such a profound impact upon the world, especially for its size, and never having developed an empire. Scotland is so revered that even the English can't crown a monarch without having a piece of Scotland as their base. ;)
Click to expand...

Pah. We stole it to show that we're best.
Click to expand...
or to put it more poetically, in the immortal words of Flanders and Swann:

The rottenest bits of these islands of ours
We've left in the hands of three unfriendly powers;
Examine the Irishman, Welshman or Scot,
You'll find he's a stinker as often as not.
The English, the English, the English are best,
I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest!
[etc, for several more verses..]
 
Jack K said:
Montanablue said:
I LOVE Edinburgh!

I don't have any church suggestions (I wasn't there on a Sunday) but if you're a fan of the Harry Potter books (or even if you're not), you must go to the Elephant House, where Rowling wrote the first one. (They also have really good coffee - so if you need a coffee fix....). Also, John Knox's House is great. Horatio Bonar is buried in the same graveyard as Adam Smith - I found it more exciting to see Bonar's grave than Smith's (although both are cool). AND you ought to go for a walk up Arthur's Seat. (Right behind the palace).
Click to expand...

Ooh. My wife's been wanting us to go to Scotland and I've been ho-hum about it. But you make it sound so good. Invoking the name of Horatio Bonar may just push me to do it.
Click to expand...

I didn't realize he was buried there. My friends and I went to see Adam Smith's grave, and accidentally stumbled on Bonar's too. It was a fantastic surprise!

Really, its a beautiful place. Your wife has the right idea!
 
JennyG said:
JonathanHunt said:
LawrenceU said:
Enjoy your trip! You are going to the seat of real Western Civilisation. No country has had such a profound impact upon the world, especially for its size, and never having developed an empire. Scotland is so revered that even the English can't crown a monarch without having a piece of Scotland as their base. ;)
Click to expand...

Pah. We stole it to show that we're best.
Click to expand...
or to put it more poetically, in the immortal words of Flanders and Swann:

The rottenest bits of these islands of ours
We've left in the hands of three unfriendly powers;
Examine the Irishman, Welshman or Scot,
You'll find he's a stinker as often as not.
The English, the English, the English are best,
I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest!
[etc, for several more verses..]
Click to expand...

The verse on the scotsman is as follows:

The Scotsman is mean, as we're all well aware
And bony, and blotchy, and covered with hair!
He eats salted porridge, He works all the day
And He hasn't got Bishops to show him the way!

This only really works if you believe the established church is the way to go. The Scotsman has historically done well enough without Bishops, and rightly so.
 
JonathanHunt said:
The verse on the scotsman is as follows:

The Scotsman is mean, as we're all well aware
And bony, and blotchy, and covered with hair!
He eats salted porridge, He works all the day
And He hasn't got Bishops to show him the way!

This only really works if you believe the established church is the way to go. The Scotsman has historically done well enough without Bishops, and rightly so.
Click to expand...
the best verse has to be this one:

the Irishman, now, our contempt is beneath,
He sleeps in his boots and he lies in his teeth.
He blows up policemen (or so I have heard)
And blames it on Cromwell and William the Third
 
Any Free Church of Scotland Continuing, Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, or Free Church of Scotland congregation should be a treat. My worship experiences in Scotland were all in Free Church Continuing congregations.

Don't spend all your time in Edinburgh. That is storybook Scotland. Take the train to Glasgow, the real gritty Scotland.

You can easily get trains out of Glasgow to all sorts of interesting places which you can visit in a day.

Women may want to carry some sort of head covering so as not to feel out of place in a conservative Scottish church.

Visit a Scottish pub. Pub food is great.

Try the great Indian food in Glasgow.

Though it is something of a tourist attraction, the Royal Military Tatoo in Edinburgh is well worth seeing if you are there in August.
 
Thanks Pastor Glenn. Glasgow is way better than Edinburgh. I lived in Glasgow for 10 years and it is so full of everyday street culture. Some great architecture in the city as well. Also the people are friendlier too. But Glasgow does have a seedier underside to it. I never liked being in the city center after dark.
And yes, great Indian food. The Koh-i-Noor or the Ashoka Palace are probably the two top Indian restaurants in the city.
 
21st Century Calvinist said:
Glasgow is way better than Edinburgh.
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I don't think I can let that pass! Everybody knows Edinburgh is miles better. More history, more culture, better architecture and the most breathtakingly beautiful city centre in Europe (which means in the world, of course). It wasn't for nothing it was called the Athens of the North.
As for the seething crime after dark - they may have lagged behind on that one, but yes, I believe nowadays they even have that too :p
 
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