St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church celebrated a unique event Sunday during the Kirkin' o' the Tartans service, when members of the congregation were able to bring their family tartans to be blessed.
According to the Web site clansofscotland.org, "kirk" is the Scottish word for church and tartan is the "traditional pattern of unevenly spaced stripes crossing at right angles woven into a woolen fabric that distinguishes the various Scottish clans."
"Thus, the Kirkin' o' the Tartans is the traditional blessing of the tartans by the clergy."
One of the event's participants, Ian Lapsley, 52, is a member of the Seven Pipers Society, which led the procession into and out of the church.
Though he has only been playing for four years, he said, "Some men buy little red sports cars when they reach middle age. I bought a set of pipes."
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Lapsley's parents and two brothers were all born in Scotland, and although he was born in Canada and raised in the United States, Lapsley has been around bagpipe music all his life and is now able to contribute to his family's heritage.
"It's one of the best things I ever did," he said.
Ellen Poulson brought her tartan from the Leslie clan, and remembers going to church with her Scottish grandmother as a little girl. Wearing the tartan helps her honor that memory, she says.
"I think of my grandparents and the struggles that they went through," she said. "This is a way to remember that."
