CPC History

Solidarity- on Kirkin’ Day

October 29, 2012 By Bev Dittmer 1 Comment

Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans

It’s a windy, chilly Sunday morning in late October. The only businesses open on Carrollton’s square are Gallery Row and Horton’s. A few students hang around sipping hot beverages, but most are inside out of the weather, which has turned unexpectedly brisk.

More people begin to gather; obvious church goers, in their Sunday best. Only a few at first, so it’s not until the group grows that our similar garb becomes noticeable.

We are not dressed alike, but each of us is wearing some variety of plaid; a scarf, a skirt, a tie, here and there a kilt, a plaid-ribboned hat. Many of us are Presbyterian because of Scottish heritage. However, others of us have not one drop of Scott’s blood running in our veins. We agree to be ‘Scott-ish’ for a day or so because we’re Presbyterian.

As the crowd grows, those bearing standards arrive; they hold aloft wooden poles adorned with strips of plaid that snap and furl in the wind. And then a drummer and a bag-piper appear. The clergy and the choir join the crowd. It’s the Carrollton Presbyterian Church annual Kirkin’ O the Tartan.

I intended to ask people – especially those who can’t claim a Scottish background – why the occasion is important to them. But I don’t ask and end up feeling like I don’t have to.

I don’t ask because the occasion is made somber as we all pause to pray for a local family who had a child struck and killed by a car the night before. Heads bow, lips move silently. We step in to form an even tighter assembly.

And I don’t have to ask because I could see the unity, feel the close ties. Both sorrow and celebration serve to make us recognize the value of our congregation.

We march somberly on to the sanctuary, heads bowed, arms linked.

Filed Under: Adults, Children, Community, CPC History, Families, Music, Photos, Seniors, Worship, Youth

Kirkin’ o The Tartan, a History

October 26, 2012 By Bev Dittmer Leave a Comment

Bagpipes as Carrollton Presbyterian for the Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans

Kirking, from the Scottish Gaelic word kirk which means church, in this usage means “blessing.”

Tartans are the traditional plaid emblems of Scottish clans represented in unevenly spaced colored lines and rectangles on woven wool cloth (Petro).

Nearly every October we hear about Scotland’s Bonnie Prince Charles and his unsuccessful
18th century attempt to restore a Scottish king to the English throne. The English government responded with a decades-long harsh prohibition on all things Scottish, which included a ban of the ‘the wearing of any sign of the Tartan, forbad any speaking in Gaelic, outlawed Scottish music, dancing, or the playing of the pipes’ (Petro).

The story goes that Scottish Highlanders appeared to conform, but quietly rebelled in at least one way. Under their clothing, they wore a piece of Tartan over their hearts and touched the ‘hidden cloth when the minister gave the benediction, thus rededicating themselves to God and their Scottish heritage’ (Petro).

True or not, it’s a charming story. Alas, the origin of today’s Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans is more likely a legend and tradition begun by the Reverend Peter Marshall in 1941 in Washington DC. The legend, however, does not misrepresent the arduous restrictions imposed upon Scottish worshippers.

Religious disputes and persecutions began long before the 18th century, and Bonnie Prince Charles’ unsuccessful attempt to regain the English throne for Scotland is only one brief chapter in the conflict between England and Scotland. According to Todd Wilkinson, it was necessary for 17th Scottish Presbyterians to worship in secret. They would post armed guards to warn of approaching government forces. The protection of the worshipers was no small matter. If caught they ‘could be fine[d], jailed, tortured and in some cases, executed’ (Wilkinson).

So, it’s not hard to imagine a group of Scottish Highlanders taking comfort from a scrap of tartan held close to the heart.

However, I do wonder why the celebration remains so significant to us, the members of Carrollton Presbyterian Church. To be continued…

Sources

Petro, Bill. Bridging the Gap from Strategy to Execution. 27 Oct. 2008. Blog. http://billpetro.com/2008/10/24/history-of-kirking-of-the-tartans/ 25 Oct. 2012.

Wilkinson, Todd. Scottish Tartans Museum. nd. Website. http://www.scottishtartans.org/kirkin.htm. 26 Oct. 2012.

Filed Under: CPC History

A Rich History

March 14, 2012 By Mimi Gentry Jackson 1 Comment

Artist rendering of Carrollton Presbyterian Church

The Carrollton Presbyterian Church on Maple Street in Downtown Carrollton is one of the oldest structures in Carroll County. Built in 1902, its neo-gothic style architecture reflects the Scottish heritage that was principal in the formation of the early Presbyterian denomination. On the front of the church, you can see two towers of different sizes. The right tower is higher than the left. This represents the Reformed church, our constant and never ending journey to strive toward Godliness, and our certainty that we, as humans, can’t attain it.

The sanctuary has been preserved in an almost pristine original state, with handsome millwork railing, rafters & trim, and plaster columns adorned with acanthus leaf details. In 2011 we underwent an extensive renovation of the stained glass windows to return them to their original condition.

Although the current brick structure was completed in 1902, the actual organized church is older still. In 1841, two decades before the Civil War began; West Georgia was a frontier community bordering the unknown wilds of Alabama. It was that year that individuals who lived in the area made a request of the Flint River Presbytery, in session at West Point Georgia, to be constituted as a church known as the Carrollton Presbyterian church. In response, the Presbytery directed two of its members to repair to Carrollton and organize a church. This makes Carrollton Presbyterian the oldest organized church in Carroll County.

In 1952, Westminster Hall, the three-story addition to the original church, was completed and has since then been renovated several times over. This space houses Sunday school rooms, meeting rooms and the Fellowship Hall.

When the church was built in 1902, an article in the Carroll County Times – Feb. 13, 1902, read:
“The present elegant and lasting edifice is the outcome of studious investigation, extending over several years past by members and friends of the Church, with a view of originating a building plan, not too expensive for the means of the Congregation, and yet one which, while meeting every requirement of taste and comfort in its interior appointments, would insure a structure creditable in the estimation of the community and responsive to civic pride in our growing and ever progressive City.”

A very interesting feature of the church is that the founders chose not to put their names on a cornerstone, preferring instead to dedicate the building solely to the glory of God.

HISTORICAL FACTS
• New Church constructed between July 1901 and February 1902
• Architects: Butt & Morrin, Atlanta
• Contractor: J.A. Pierce, Gainesville.
- Bids $10,000.00 up to $17,000.00.
- Raised Low Bid
- $1,000.00 to cover a mistake on the Stone Work.
- Total Contract Amount = $11,000.00
• Pastor: Rev. William Edwin Dozier (1894-1915)
• Building Committee:
- L.C. Mandeville
- Mrs. Mary Aycock
- Abner A. Simonton

Filed Under: Community, CPC History, Worship Tagged With: Christianity, history, neo-gothic architecture, presbyterian, presbytery, Scottish heritage, stained glass, west georgia

Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans

November 1, 2011 By Mimi Gentry Jackson Leave a Comment

Kirkin' o' the Tartans on the Square in Carrollton

In the swirl of pipes and the beating of the drum, CPC brings a time-honored Scottish tradition to town- the “Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans.”

The Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans is a ceremony based on Scottish history and legend. After Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Scottish forces were defeated by the English at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, a British act was passed that forbade the Scots from wearing tartan. In fact, orders were given for British troops to shoot, on sight, any person dressed in Highland garb.

Tartan was the hand woven plaid material that was worn by the occupants of that rugged country. It not only provided warmth, its different designs and colors represented the wearer’s family connections. Forbidding the display of the tartan was like cutting them off from their community. But the stubborn Scotts prevailed, secretly carrying a scrap of the cloth hidden in their clothing when they went to Kirk (church). The minister slipped a blessing (a Kirkin’) into the service for those tartans and the families they represented.

After fifty years, the Act was repealed, and the Church of Scotland celebrated with a Service of Family Covenant, where the tartan of each family was offered as a covenant expression for the Lord’s blessing.

Every October, Carrollton’s own Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans recalls that tradition, beginning at the Square and continuing to Carrollton Presbyterian Church, where the actual service takes place under the gothic arches of the historic sanctuary.

Jan Stewart Tolbert, the pastor at Carrollton Presbyterian Church says this about the Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan, “This part of the country was settled in great part by people from the British Isles . . .Scotland, Ireland, England. This service is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate that heritage that so many of us here share.”

Filed Under: Community, CPC History, Fellowship, Music, Worship

CPC Preserves History

June 12, 2008 By Mimi Gentry Jackson 1 Comment

The Manse

Carrollton Presbyterian Church celebrates historical preservation in Carroll County by refurbishing the original Thomasson Family home that stands next to the church on Maple Street.

The house was built in 1897 and named “Magnolia Terrace” by the original owner.

According to the book, Carroll County Heritage, the owner J.J. Thomasson returned to Carrollton and purchased the newspaper “The Carroll County Times.” He also had various leadership roles in establishing West Georgia University and Carroll County’s public schools.

Mr. Thomasson enjoyed regional celebrity during his lifetime. On his 90th birthday, the Atlanta Constitution wrote, “He rose at 5 o’clock after an Edisonian sleep of six hours, and he needed no alarm clock. He has instinctively come within five minutes of that mark for years. He fed and milked his cow, attended his chickens, donned his long-cuffed canvas gloves and tied up the lot, ate breakfast and reached the office by 8 am.

As the hour hand edges toward 5 in the afternoon, Editor Thomasson will arise and pronounce whimsically, “Well, if there is nothing else for me to do around here, I think I’ll go home. “ About an hour later, clad in overalls and gloves, his face ruddy from barnyard chores, he will appear to hand a quart of milk through the door to his son, Frank Thomasson, tireless publisher of the Times.”

The historic house has been in possession of the church since 1983 when they purchased it from the Thomasson family. For the past 20 years, the building has served as the church manse (“manse is a Scottish name for “the home where the minister lives.”), as well as for Sunday school classes, youth center, and now as our administrative offices.

Karen Hartley, a professional interior designer and Elder here at CPC orchestrated the handsome new look www.decdens.com/khartley. Bobby McMillian’s company R&R Enterprises http://www.rrenterprises.net/about-us.shtml were the contractors that brought Magnolia Terrace back to its full glory.

Filed Under: Community, CPC History