W W D Gardiner marks the re-opening, after restoration (Henry F Kerr, architect), of the Church and gives an account of its 17th century beginnings and original plan and ordering, with notice of later damage, division and rebuilding and with reference also to the signing of the National Covenant of which the tercentenary had recently been celebrated. Illustrated by 3 drawings – restored interior, exterior (wrongly labelled), and exterior in 1637.
Denzil G M Patrick evaluates the conference, as “a stage in a process” indicating both its “positive significance” and “points where criticism is necessary” (among these, the arrangements for worship, and a perceived Orthodox and Anglican, and English language, dominance).
Ninian Hill, after referring to biblical foundations, considers “godly fear and awe” and its expression in deportment in church.
William McMillan examines in detail the evidence relating to services of worship during the period 1661-90, dealing mainly with the practice of “outed” ministers and their congregations, and referring to the influence of the Westminster Directory, to psalmody, prayers, posture, “prefacing”, “lecturing”, sermons, Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and burial customs.
David A. Hodges draws attention to the 1937 General Assembly’s commendation of a Youth Committee Memorandum on the “League of Young Worshippers and the Attendance of Children at Church” and examines several different avenues of approach to the problem, affecting practice in both Sunday School and Church Service. A responsive “Opening Service of a School” is appended.
Duncan S. MacGillivray describes a nativity play presented the previous Christmas in the Cathedral, after four years in Govan Old Parish Church, for which it had been devised. In his judgement it had “the merit….of containing no spoken word (save) the intermittent reading of the Gospel record, and carols sung by a screened choir”. An indication of its effect on participants and audiences is added. 2 illustrations.
William T Cairns uses his recent acquisition of a copy (1754) of Offices of Devotion by an English Puritan Divine, James Foster, to describe the volume, rather more than half the pages of which are in manuscript, apparently written by William Cameron and containing carefully wrought prayers of which he was the author. He goes on to give details of Cameron’s life as a student of James Beattie in Aberdeen, as the most active member of the Committee on Paraphrases, and as Minister of Kirknewton.
William George Sym, M.D., Surgeon, Elder in St Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh, and member of Council of the Society
Millar Patrick contributes notices of
Church Music in History and Practice: Studies in the Praise of God by Winfred Douglas
Hymnody Past and Present by C S Phillips
William McMillan contributes notices of
The Anaphora or Great Eucharistic Prayer. An Eirenical Study in Liturgical History by Walter Howard Frere
The Worshipping Community by H C L Heywood
What mean ye by this service? by S C Carpenter
The Parish Communion. A Book of Essays edited by A G Hebert
The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described by Adrian Fortescue (sixth, revised, edition)
The Mystery of Sacrifice. A Meditation on the Liturgy by Evelyn Underhill
The Highway of Praise: An Introduction to Christian Hymnody by J R Fleming
Andrew L. Drummond notices
Adventures in Light and Colour: An Introduction to the Stained Glass Craft by Charles
J Connick
There is an unsigned notice of
Prayers for Everyday by J G Grant Fleming
The Church presence at the Empire Exhibition, and the stained glass there
Embroidered Saltires on a ministerial scarf
The institution of The Scoto-Russian Fellowship of St Andrew
The forthcoming A G M of the Society to be addressed by Dr Nicholas Zernov
The publication of What is a living Church? by J S Whale, incorporating most of his address to the previous A G M
Halving of subscriptions to generate more widespread support
A list of the articles published in the first nine issues of the Annual.
Greyfriars Church (Interior) - Page 6
Greyfriars Church - from the North-West - Page 8
Greyfriars Church in 1637 - Page 8
The Stable that was a PalaceFacing - Page 56
Mary and Elizabeth exchange Greetings - Page 57