First Presbyterian Church of Farmington Celebrates Scottish Heritage

More than 30 families celebrated their Scottish heritage Sunday with a "Kirkin' of the Tartan" at First Presbyterian Church of Farmington in Farmington Hills. 

Church members brought their tartans for blessing during the 10 a.m. service. According to notes shared in a handout, the ceremony began in the U.S. about 70 years ago, with Dr. Peter Marshall at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. But historically, tartans were celebrated for helping to unite clans. 

Karen Stewart Spica, a First Presbyterian member, said she and her husband first experienced a Scottish heritage Sunday at Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church in Detroit. She led a committee of volunteers to plan the local event, which included a post-service celebration with bagpipe music, Scottish dancing and a recitation of poet Robert Burns' "Address to Haggis", followed by a tasting of the dish, a mixture containing meat, oatmeal and spices encased in a sheep's stomach.