Won't you be my neighbour?

This morning, our first morning in Edinburgh, we went to church service at St. Giles Cathedral. Fourteenth century and incredibly imposing, it was very different from the modern church we normally attend. We kept seeing a man standing to the side of the congregation, before realizing that it was a statue of John Knox, looking as Calvinistically dour as ever. The day ended up being filled with references to the various wars between Scotland and the "auld enemy" England, especially as we toured Edinburgh Castle. This, together with the fact that I have been studying the British Civil Wars in detail, made St. Giles a particularly appropriate place to start our visit. The Lonely Planet Pocket Edinburgh (Travel Guide) informs me that the cathedral's "proudest moment came in 1637 when a woman called Jenny Geddes, incensed at the king's attempts to impose bishops on Scotland, hurled her stool at the dean and ignited a riot whose aftermath led to the signing of the National Covenant at Greyfriars the following year." The service varied from what we are used to in several ways, not least because we have spent over a year at Providence Presbyterian Church trying to remember to ask forgiveness for our debts, but here in the "Mother Church of Prebyterianism" we asked forgiveness for our trespasses.

Also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh, it is the Mother Church of Presbyterianism. (www.stgilescathedral.org.uk) John Knox

After the opening hymn, the minister — today the Very Reverend Dr. Finlay A.J. Macdonald — gave The Bidding. He opened by recounting how strange he found it, when a child, to see grown ups cry because they were happy. He was used to crying when sad, but the concept that one could cry in response to almost any emotion was unknown to the child.
Eventually he would understand the "tears of a clown." And so the Rev. Macdonald acknowledged the passing of Robin Williams. He noted how often it is the depressive who makes the best comedian, and Robin Williams was both to the extreme.
The discussion of weeping for joy was relevant to both readings. From the Old Testament, we heard the story of Joseph's reunion with his brothers, and from the New Testament the story of the Prodigal son. In both cases there was copious joyful weeping at the reconciliation.