THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 17, 1994 TAG: 9411150151
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: FROM STAFF REPORTS
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Draped in colorful plaids and ancestral kilts, the procession marched beneath the Gothic archways. The swirl of bagpipes and the roll of drums filled the air.
It was a true gathering of the clans.
Where?
At a remote castle in Scotland?
Guess again.
The pageantry was part of the 17th annual Kirking of the Tartan, held Sunday at Christ and St. Luke's Episcopal Church along the Hague in Norfolk. The ceremony is in honor of St. Andrew, Scotland's patron saint. Kirk is the Scottish term for church. A tartan is a pattern of plaid identifying a clan or family.
``A lot of people in Tidewater are of Scottish descent,'' said Edward B. McCaskey, master of ceremonies and lifelong member of Christ and St. Luke's. ``The Kirking is a proud celebration of our heritage.''
The event was a group effort, including the Scottish Society of Tidewater, the Tidewater Pipes and Drums band, and the Scottish American Military Society. More than 550 people attended the service. The church hosts the ceremony each year in November, the month of St. Andrew's birth.
``We love having this here,'' said Rev. James W.H. Sell, the church's rector. ``There's such a sense of awe. If the city finds out we're going to have to sell tickets.''
About half of the congregation was dressed in Scottish garb, an array of kilts, plaid ties and shawls.
``This is wonderful,'' said Judge William M. Guerry, sporting a tartan tie. ``It's my first time here. It brings back memories of my ancestry.''
But being of Scottish lineage didn't seem necessary to appreciate the festivities.
``I got a lump in my throat when I heard the bagpipes and saw the procession coming down the aisle,'' said Timothy McMahon Pope, a Portsmouth resident of Irish lineage. ``It was sensational, my boys loved it.''
Following the service there was a musical program of bagpipes and dancing in the church courtyard. The Virginia beach Highland Dancers performed traditional ceremonial routines such as the Highland Fling. Onlookers stood elbow to elbow watching the display. A woman taking a Sunday stroll peered in to see what was going on.
``I've never heard anything like this before live, it's great,'' said Andrea Lindblad, who lives in Ghent.
According to Sell, the Kirking is one of the highlights of the year at Christ and St. Luke's. The clergyman noted that the Episcopal Church in the United States has strong ties to the Scottish Episcopal Church.
``After the Revolutionary War, the English wouldn't consecrate our bishops, so we had to go to Scotland,'' Sell explained.
The first formal Kirking in the United States occurred in 1941 in Washington. It was a way for Scots in America to honor friends and relatives fighting in World War II.
Today the ceremony is held in several cities along the Eastern Seaboard. The practice was born out of a Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland in 1745, when the English outlawed wearing the tartan and playing the bagpipes under penalty of death. Scots ignored the ban and wore their plaids to church where the ministers blessed the clans.
The Kirking came to Christ and St. Luke's largely as a result of McCaskey's efforts. In 1975 he and the late Charles McDuffie formed the Scottish Society of Tidewater. The Tidewater Pipes and Drums were coming together about the same time. Inspired by yearly Kirking at the National Cathedral, McCaskey proposed the idea to Christ and St. Luke's in 1978. The celebration has been a growing success ever since. Several years ago the British Broadcasting Company filmed the Kirking and aired it in Scotland and England.
``It's always a big day for the church,'' McCaskey said. ``Today was one of the best.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
The Virginia Beach Highland Dancers perform in the courtyard at
Christ and St. Luke's Episcopal Church.
by CNB