9. Greyfriars Church of Scotland, Edinburgh: February 2022

 

During our February half-term break in Edinburgh I attended the 11am Sunday service at Greyfriars Kirk in the Old Town; a church made famous by its association with Greyfriars Bobby, the tale of the dog who refused to leave his master’s grave in the kirkyard.

Scotland, at least on February 20^th, still had the Track and Trace policy regularly in force, so I duly gave my details to the very welcoming young man at the church’s reception.

Greyfriars was the first church to be built in Edinburgh after the Reformation.  Therefore, unlike St Giles Cathedral just a stone’s throw away, it has never had a previous life as a Roman Catholic church.  Today it is beautifully maintained and has, in recent years, been ‘re-ordered’ with the installation of a circular Communion Table, behind which the grey robed choir sit, and to the other side the congregation is seated.

Nothing much happened before 11am, but as the hour chimed so the bible was brought in and placed in the pulpit, followed by the entrance of the minister as the organist played the opening voluntary on the splendid new instrument installed in the gallery.

Being a Church of Scotland service, we began with a Welcome and Call to Worship.  In truth, I was entirely at home as the liturgy was basically the same we use at AFC.  It reminded me of just how much Amersham Free Church reflects the worship traditions of The Church of Scotland.

Greyfriars has a very well maintained and informative website, so I had ‘seen’ the service many times before.  I’ve also had the delight of listening to its minister, The Revd Dr Richard Frazer on both the Sunday and Daily Services on BBC Radio 4.

The welcome I received was very friendly and the hymns were carefully chosen (although I was surprised by the lack of volume coming from the congregation, who seemed to rely heavily on the choir leading the worship).

For me, I confess, the most inspirational part came in the sermon.  The minister’s style was gentle yet authoritative, he took his theme from scripture and worked hard at applying it to life.  He preached a brave sermon, full of integrity, warmth, balance, and insight.  Richard Frazer is a gifted preacher, and it was a real privilege to hear him.

Greyfriars was far from full that morning.  Indeed, I attended this service having just come from an earlier one at St Gile’s Cathedral that was equally empty.  Maybe Edinburgh just has far too many churches for the dwindling numbers attending.

On Sunday morning, at Greyfriars, I attended a service where every word, in both liturgy and sermon, had been thought through with such meticulous attention and care.  The city is blessed to have such a fine church and such an inspirational minister.  Indeed, if it were my city and home, I would be in my seat every Sunday at Greyfriars at 11am, thankful to God for such a community of faith.