Thanks for your prayers while we 11 folks toured Presbyterian sites in Scotland. In case you are interested in knowing more about the travels, look under each photograph below.

Here we are on the Island of Mull, a day or so before we traversed the length of the island to go to Iona. In this photograph, we have just returned from a 3-hour boat tour that went by some historic sites and gave us an opportunity to spot wildlife (we saw seals). As part of the tour, we entered the Bloody Bay, a famous battle from the 1400s. The Scots back then fought a lot. When they were not fighting the English or the Vikings or other interlopers, they tended to fight each other. Sometimes, the fights were over religion. Just as often, they were for power. If you look in the background, you can see the buildings all painted in vivid colors on the harborfront. This was in the town of Tobermory, where we spent 3 days.

This building is the oldest standing building from the religious community on Iona. It is a chapel, dating from the 1200s, in the middle of the cemetery. That cemetery is the resting place of kings and royalty from Scotland, Britain, and Scandanavia, as Iona has been a place of pilgrimage for more than 1500 years. By the way, the cemetery is still in use today. We saw graves from the last couple of years. We were privileged to worship in the big abbey on a Sunday, which is the one day of the week that the community comes together for communion. Taking communion with people from around the world was a highlight of the trip.

A non-pretentious building next to the abbey at Iona contains the pieces of history that makes Iona so special. This is what is left of one of the original stone crosses. The ceiling was probably 15 feet tall, and you can see the cross almost reaches it. Just in front of this cross is a remarkable piece of history. St. Columba, given credit as the missionary who brought Christianity to Scotland, was said to have used a stone as his pillow. That very stone is in this building. Although it is encased in a protective cage, visitors may touch it - and we did. Whether that was the exact stone Columba used is unknown. But we do know it has been a symbol for more than 1500 years of Christianity in Scotland, and we know that Scottish beliefs were so important in the founding of Presbyterianism in the Carolinas. So that stone represents so much. It was a privilege to see it.

Here is the happy group at our hotel in Inverness. The hotel was built in the 1890s, and the staircase was the model for the staircase used in the Titantic. No Presbyterian history here, just interesting! The folks on the tour were, bottom row, Hannah S., Flo B.; second row: Dollie S., Page W.; third row, Harry G. Sigrid S., Tim C.; last row, Fred G. (our guide and a friend of Avondale from all the years he was at Harlan Presbyterian Church, where he hosted our workcamps), Peggy B. ( who served 30 years ago as the children's choir director at Avondale), and Bill T. Barbara T. was out of the picture, helping all the others to pose!

This is the exterior of Stirling Castle, between Edinburgh and Glasgow. This castle was the home to royalty, and some of the great Scottish-English battles were fought here. The castle was the home of Mary Queen of Scots, among other rulers.

This was our hotel for 3 nights in Edinburgh - really. It is Carberry Towers castle. Its history dates to the 1500s - although it was completed updated. The castle is owned by the Church of Scotland, and is used for retreats. The Presbyterians in the United States have Montreat; the Church of Scotland has Carberry Towers.

This in inside St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. This is the church from which John Knox preached in the 16th century, and his thundering beliefs helped shape the Reformation in Scotland. This particular room is new. Knox was buried beside John Knox, but burial records apparently were not given much attention when they needed attention. Knox's grave is now beneath the parking lot. Anyway, we also went to the John Knox home (which may or may not have really been his home), where we were given a private tour and heard about the Scottish Reformation. We also learned more about the Church of Scotalnd and its activities today.

Here we are in front of Edinburgh Castle. It is still an activity military facility, it is a museum, it is a tourist destination, and it brings home many implications of the Reformation.