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Ship of Fools: Gilmore Place Free Presbyterian, Edinburgh, Scotland
The Mystery Worshipper
Shipmate
Ship of Fools: Gilmore Place Free Presbyterian, Edinburgh, Scotland
Beautiful psalm singing in an atmosphere of absolute misery
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About twenty years ago one of the principal members of this church (who was the Lord chancellor of England) attended the funeral of a distinguished Scottish Law Lord which happened to take place in a nearby RC .church. The Lord Chancellor was severely upbraided by the church authorities which caused a schism and led to the foundation of the Associated Presbyterian Churches. I have to say that before this I had never heard of the Free Presbyterian Church and would have confused it with the Free Church of Scotland.
The interesting thing about this church is that attendance at one of their services would let one see what a typical Scottish Presbyterian service would have been like 170 years ago before the introduction of harmoniums and hymns.
The visible Church in Scotland is awash with Liberalism, Romanism, Pentecostalism, Arminianism, and Neo-Calvinism. The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland seeks to maintain a testimony to the following biblical doctrines, among others.
It is little wonder to me that with this and many other similar comments, the MWer found an atmosphere of absolute misery.
We have a bishop who only ever preaches on two topics, the Real Presence and red button issues. Never on social justice or the environment.
Its totally dispiriting.
@Amanda B Reckondwyth
Lead Editor, Mystery Worship
Yes, very similar (apart perhaps from the much longer sermon at St Jude's!).
I would guess that, with all due respect, and given the nature of their ecclesiology etc., most Free Presbyterian Church services are going to be as alike as the proverbial peas-in-a-pod.
Their church's patron saint seems....apt.
@Amanda B Reckondwyth
Lead Editor, Mystery Worship
The emphasis on sin and man's depravity and unworthiness infusing every single part of the service
from the Glasgow service is much as picked up in the report of the Edinburgh one. Considering the strong role played in each by the Psalm, it's strange that none of the joy in so many of them seems have found its way into the congregation.
It is in many ways like a cappella Gregorian chant in the RC church.or like the singing of the Psalms liturgically in the Orthodox church. In all of these communities the singing of the Psalms was and is a major part of the liturgical music.
When I have visited communities of the Free Church of Scotland (NOT THE SAME as the Free Presbyterian Church) the Precentor ( the man who begins the Psalm singing) would only sing the first opening line,whereas it seems that here,as was once widespread in the Church of Scotland the Precentor would start each line and then be joined by the congregation.
What does the Precentor do in an Anglican cathedral ? I'm sure I've seen that title..
Catholic churches,Anglican churches and most Protestant churches have moved on and introduced musical instruments as well as hymn singing.
The metrical versions of the Psalms still sometimes used in Presbyterian churches as well as other are not the same thing.
I remember when I was studying for my B.Mus decades ago a lecturer played us some Gaelic psalm singing and usked us to guess which culture it came from. Nobody had a clue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S3XDunMj2Y
There just seemed nothing familiar to use as a benchmark, IYSWIM.
(Mind you, if I understood Gaelic, that would have made quite a difference!).
BTW, how much of the service MWed was in Gaelic?
I would assume little or none, given the location.
Still the case here in the UK, as far as I know. S/he often officiates at Choral Mattins and/or Evensong, at least in our local fane.
Referring back to the Youtube of Gaelic psalm singing, the man who leads the singing by starting each line of the tune is called the Presenter.
I stand corrected. But I saw one of them talking about in another Youtube clip what hid did and it very much sounded like presenter with a "z" sound in the middle.
At the time of the Disruption and formation of the Free Church in 1843 music and psalm singing was not an issue but shortly afterwards the Church of Scotland introduced gradually 'kists o' whistles' (harmoniums) followed by organs and choirs and the famous ?Church Hymnary.
With the return of many of the congregations of the Free Church to the Church of Scotland in the late 1920s the remnant of the Free Church,now known popularly as the 'Wee Frees' and most certainly their 19th century offshoot the Free Presbyterians limited any singing to the Psalms of David (as translatedn in the Authorised King James version of the Bible)
Until the 19th century all singing in the Church of Scotland would have been psalm singing either line by line with the precentor or the metrical forms of the Psalms.
Precentor was one of the few terms retained from the preReformation liturgical language.
Until Vatican 2 in the RC Church at the singing of Vespers each psalm would be begun by one person and then taken up by the others. Few RCs would attend Vespers but almost all would be aware of the pre Sunday Mass ceremony 'Asperges me' where the priest would begin this psalm and the choir,or occasionally the congregation would continue with'Domine,hyssopo et mundabor........ (Sprinkle me,Lord,with hyssop and I shall be made clean)
Plus ca change,plus c'est la meme chose ! (the more things change the more they remain the same),but it's not surprising that few people,certainly in a mainly unchurched world would be unaware of the term 'Precentor'
The usual RC term for the one who kicks off the psalms is cantor. It is still used when any form of responsorial music is sung. It was a thing I used to do as a teenager before Vat 2 (the first few notes of the antiphon quietly to the celebrant who would then repeat them aloud and the entire first verse of the psalm - there was associated choreography of course) and our parish still has them for the responsorial psalm where they sing the verses - from the lectern; I insist on that as the psalm is part of the proclamation of the Word. We also use them for "echo" Mass settings.
Very definitely so - to our mind it's not in the same category as a hymn.
@Amanda B Reckondwyth
Lead Editor, Mystery Worship
I am not sure that The Presbyterian Church in Canada can generally be described as 'hardcore' or even close, though a recent MW may not be typical (https://shipoffools.com/mystery-worshipper/central-presbyterian-cambridge-ontario-canada/). "Only one Church of Scotland edifice in Toronto", doesn't sound quite right, as I don't think there would be such a place, the PCC itself being the lineal descendant of the Kirk, and well represented around Hogtown. If you are thinking of St Andrew's, yes - they like a little traditional formality, but if you called them 'high church' they'd likely fall about themselves laughing.
(A bit off topic - sorry - but I couldn't see where else to park it).
A little googling suggests the descriptor may be accurate, as St Andrew's (just) predates the formation of the PCC and was therefore constructed for what was then the Church of Scotland (the Kirk does still have a handful of congregations outwith Scotland, spread across Europe and the smaller former colonies).
@Amanda B Reckondwyth
Lead Editor, Mystery Worship
Do we know, I wonder, how many attend on a Sunday? I'm assuming that it's a gathered congregation, but it would be interesting to know - and also how many children/young people attend...
Sorry - by *a gathered congregation*, I mean one that comes from all parts of the city or town, and not just the local area in which the church happens to be.
Hope that makes sense!
There is an FP congregation in Odessa,Ukraine and also in Santa Fe,Texas.
It means the congregation is not from the immediate surrounds of the church, but gathered from a wider area. In Sydney for example, Anglican churches that are not Sydney Anglican have parishioners that might travel 20 or more km, they are gathered from that distance. There are probably very few Free Presbyterian anywhere in Scotland, so their congregations will have been gathered in.
Except Lewis & Harris, which have 5 congregations.
@Amanda B Reckondwyth
Lead Editor, Mystery Worship