The Lord's Supper at St. Giles...

The bus came in plenty of time for me to make it to St. Giles Cathedral, the Mother Church of Scots Presbyterianism.  St. Giles was formerly a Roman Catholic Church prior to the Scottish Reformation.  It became the church from which John Knox brought the Reformation to Scotland.

The church was beautiful inside with high, vaulted ceilings, gorgeous stained class windows, a world-class pipe organ, a phenomenal choir, and some of the most unsingable hymns I have ever encountered.  That being said, the service was excellent.  The sermon was on Galatians 1:11-24 and the communion service immediately followed.  It was a truly International congregation, although you could tell some of the regulars because the men were in kilts and corduroy, the ladies in woolen jackets and skirts.

Communion was entirely different than American Presbyterian communion.  The elders did not serve in any way.  They only carried the elements from the table when the service was concluded.  The congregation came forward in sections and encircled the table.  The bread was passed.  Then the cup was passed around the circle.  Because everyone shared and drank from the common cup, wine was served instead of our typical grape juice.

I have always intellectually understood the global reach and breadth of the Church of Jesus Christ.  Today I truly sensed it.  The girl I sat near was from China.  The couple in front of me was from Japan.  The man who stood next to me at communion was from Texas.  

We prayed for the Church throughout the world.  I particularly prayed for my congregation and friends in Gloucester and then for all the other congregations I have served.  We prayed for the church in persecution.  We celebrated the Church throughout the ages and the common ground we share as disciples of Jesus Christ.

 I walked the Royal Mile, visited the Sir Walter Scott Memorial, Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood House (where the Queen stays when she visits Scotland, and the National Museum of Scotland.  There is so much history here.  Too much to see in just a day and a half!

Tomorrow, it's back to the train station for my trip south to the Northumbria Community, where I will be in retreat again until Friday.  I will continue to post as I am able.

God is good and I see God's hand everywhere.