Our Scottish Spiritual Roots, October 7, 2015

Every line of strength in American history

is a line coloured with Scottish blood.

~Woodrow Wilson

Hello to all of you from the west coast of Scotland where we are presently in the town of Fort William! We are drawing our extended trip to a close as we make our way back to the big city of Glasgow, Scotland and prepare to fly home in just a few days. 

I mentioned in my last post that our family roots are deep in Ireland and Scotland, with numerous ancestors having migrated to America from Ireland. A number of those Irish immigrants had previously migrated from Scotland to Ireland and then became part of that important, influential influx of Scots-Irish folk to America.

For those of you who are members of the Church of Christ or the Christian Church there is another strong spiritual connection to this land we are visiting. Thomas Campbell and his son Alexander Campbell were two of the key leaders of "the Restoration Movement" of 19th Century America that gave birth to what is known today as the Stone-Campbell tradition, encompassing the Churches of Christ, the Independent Christian Churches, and the Disciples of Christ. 

The Campbells were among those Scots-Irish Protestants who made a great impact on the religious landscape in America. Their Scottish roots are still felt in the heirs of the Stone-Campbell tradition today. There is much about this small country of Scotland for which we can be very grateful, not just genealogically but spiritually as well.

Among the places in Scotland that Cindy and I and our traveling companion Linda visited in recent days was the Isle of Skye, a beautiful resort area just a ferry's ride from the west coast of Scotland. It feels much like the San Juan Islands of Western Washington: wet and cool, green and lush, a place of great scenery and wonderful trails. 

The first picture (above) shows Cindy and me two days ago on a cool, sunny but very windy day as we hiked a remote trail in the hills of Skye with the enchanting Faerie Pools our destination in the background. I saw no Faeries myself on this hike, although someone else in our little group did. Even so, their presence was felt in this special place of beauty and magic.

Scary Days Ahead. Halloween is just a few weeks away, and again this year I plan to put together a slide show of family halloween pictures. If you have a recent or old halloween picture, of a youngster or an oldster, that you would like for me to include, please send it my way.

This second picture shows Shannon and Emma Wilk of Atchison, Kansas in a frightening pose.
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Steve Shepard