July, 2004

'The Flying Scotsman' to perform at 128th anniversary of St. David's Presbyterian Church in Kirkland

KIRKLAND - St. David's Presbyterian Church in Kirkland will celebrate its 128th anniversary on Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. with a special performance by The Flying Scotsman, an accomplished New Brunswick musician and folk singer born in Scotland.

"This will be a very exciting event for us," said Judy Cole, church secretary. "St. David's church is steeped in Scottish, Irish and English history. This performance by an internationally known Celtic musician will bring our history alive as we gather for our annual anniversary service. This will certainly be a worship service to remember for our community."
 
Frank Taylor (The Flying Scotsman) will be joined at the Kirkland service by his wife Jane. Besides their music, the couple shares a common background. They both immigrated to Canada, Jane from Northern Ireland and Frank from Scotland. They met and married after coming to New Brunswick and now make their home in Mactaquac. Jane plays the Celtic bodhran (pronounced bow-rown), a frame drum and is teaching herself the penny whistle. Frank's chief instrument is the guitar, but he also plays the mandolin, banjo and autoharp with flair. Along with his own compositions, Frank's repertoire includes Celtic, Colonial, Contemporary and Canadian selections, spanning from songs by the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns to many current artists.

"The Flying Scotsman is very pleased to be coming to Kirkland," Cole said. "He was especially interested to hear about our roots as the 'Scottish Kirk' and our efforts to have St. David's proclaimed a provincial historic site. It will be wonderful to see him and his wife performing in full Scottish attire. We will be celebrating together with traditional hymns of praise and with special selections by our guest musicians."

The Flying Scotsman has been performing in Canada since 1970 and has enjoyed international recognition through recordings, radio, TV, and concert performances across Canada and into the United States. Two recordings of his music are available. Thistledown Thunder, released in 1999, is a compilation of personal compositions along with traditional Scottish and Irish songs. An Immigrant's Prayer was released in 1996.

The Flying Scotsman will arrive in Kirkland after performing in Halifax, N.S. for the Festival of the Tall Ships. There will be no admission fee to attend the church service. However, St. David's is embarking on a fundraising campaign to help cover the costs of the performance and to make major repairs to the church steeple. Therefore, a generous free will offering will be received.

Memorials to former church members and residents of the community will be included in the Aug. 1 program. Rev. Bonnie Wynn will be officiating. There will also be an announcement about the renaming of the church cemetery fund and the establishment of an "ancestral plaque" commemorating the names of individual donors or families making substantial financial contributions to the church's upkeep and maintenance. St. David's soon hopes to have news from the province on its application for designation as a provincial historic site.

"We are very anxious to draw people to our community and our church to learn about the history and memories found there and to take part in worship services," Cole noted.

St. David's is unique in that it is owned by the congregation in perpetuity. It is believed to be the only Presbyterian Church in New Brunswick to hold this particular status and is one of two Presbyterian Churches known to still remain in Carleton County.

For more information or to include your loved one in the Aug. 1 memorials, contact Rev. Bonnie Wynn at 506-366-3174 or by email at wynn@nb.sympatico.ca or by writing to Judy Cole, 1301 Route 540, Kirkland, N.B., E7N 2K9.

You can visit Frank Taylor's official website at www.TheFlyingScotsman.ca/home.htm