Bagpipes to blow at annual Kirkin’ of the Tartans

Montreat’s Anderson Auditorium will reverberate May 24 with Scottish bagpipes playing the hymn “Highland Cathedral” as nearly 100 tartan banner carriers march in one of the nation’s largest Kirkin’ of the Tartan worship services. All are invited.

Sponsored by the Montreat Scottish Society, the morning begins at 10:30 a.m. outside Anderson Auditorium with the Montreat Scottish Pipes & Drum band playing at the Pipin’ on the Green. The 11 a.m. worship service in Anderson Auditorium commemorates the ties of family and Scottish heritage. More than 1,200 people are expected.

The Kirkin’ of the Tartan “is open to everyone from all denominations to attend the worship service – not just those with Scottish background," said Montreat Scottish Society President Brown McCallum.

The Rev. Keith Grogg is guest preacher. Minister to the Montreat Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), Grogg has served congregations in Wilmington and Kannapolis.

Seventy-four years ago, the dark clouds of World War II had engulfed Scotland and England, while America was still months away from the attack on Pearl Harbor. In Washington, D.C., political leaders and the faithful gathered at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church to attend a service by Scottish minister Peter Marshal, future chaplain of the U.S. Senate. Designed to be a relief offering for bombed Scottish churches, it started the Kirkin’ of the Tartan worship services.