Day 07 - Edinburgh: Extended Christian Heritage Tour Edinburgh, Free Time, Farewell Dinner

Today is all Scotland! Local guides Paul & Izzy James-Griffiths led us through Edinburgh’s old city, focusing on the extraordinary Christian history of the Royal Mile. 

We began in the National Museum which houses Christian artifacts from the early centuries AD showing early Celtic Christianity. Paul explained how Celtic crosses contained continuously woven elements to reflect God’s infinite nature, and how the cross, as a symbol of the gospel, did not incorporate pagan elements - but displaced them. We saw a treasure trove of monastery tableware - left buried, likely because the monks hid the chest as a viking raid began, but the monks did not survive to retrieve it. We also saw the document of the National Covenant along with many other artifacts of Christian significance.  

Paul then took us deep into the heart of Edinburgh - right into Magdalen Chapel (built about 1541) and the birthplace of the Scottish Reformation led by John Knox. The hall has been used for many redemptive purposes: a hospital for the poor, the chapel of the guild of the Hammermen, meetinghouse for the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, a place of redressing of martyrs for burial, and other purposes - now owned by the Scottish Reformation Society. Paul finally took us to see the Covenanter Graveyard and Prison, where many died from privation, and many others executed for wanting to worship freely, and not be made to kneel before the sacrament or to continue practices which they considered idolatrous. Paul explained how the church in Scotland simply wanted freedom to read God’s Word and live it out under the leadership of local elders, rather than be told by bishops to kneel before the sacrament (and many such rules created to maintain vertical power structures inherited from Roman Catholicism). 

We ended the tour where we began - and spent a last free afternoon perusing Edinburgh - Castle Hill (used as a royal stronghold since early medieval times - 7th century), St. Giles Cathedral (aka “High Kirk of Edinburgh) founded 1124 - so just over 900 years of worship, local food and culture, shopping, and of course - the beautiful landscape.

We closed the day by gathering as a group to remember what God has done among us this past week:

- What places or events or people impacted us and why?

- What did we find beautiful on this trip?

- What did we learn about God or ourselves or our lives?

We were impacted by the scholars at Tyndale house - and encouraged! Also by the faithfulness of so many who died to give us the Bible in English and freedom of worship. We were challenged to be devoted to God and His Word and His mission. To pull back from the world, and then take that filling back to the world. May we return to our families, work and lives back in America with a renewed commitment to love God and people, to sacrifice for things that matter, to see and appreciate God’s beauty around us, and to live for things that matter in eternity. Adam closed our week with a prayer and blessing over the group.

Thanks to all for joining us on this trip - and may God’s grace be with you!