1747

Another lovely day. This evening I attended an induction and rededication service at Newton Parish Church in Danderhall just outside Edinburgh. The site has been used as a church since 1747 ( a year after the Battle of Culloden).

The induction was of the Minister, Rev Dr David JunSoo Park. As a student at New College in Edinburgh ( where they train ministers) he attended the church I go to. He is from South Korea and there are links with our church and that nation. An elder at our church in the early 20th century was the Rev Dr John Ross, originally from Easter Ross who went to Manchuria in 1872, learned Chinese and then Korean and translated for the first time the New Testament into Korean, founding the Christian community there.

The new church has been named as the Newton Presbyterian Church John Ross Memorial. A new John Ross scholarship is being set up at New College.

It was an interesting and uplifting service conducted in Korean and English. There was lots of procedure and signing of certificates of friendship between the Church of Scotland and the church in Korea. And lots of good wishes for this new congregation in an ancient historic site where there are even reported links to the notorious grave robbers Burke and Hare.
A certificate was presented to a member of our congregation who had helped them; and to a descendent of the Rev Dr John Ross ( if I recall correctly a great granddaughter.)

At the end of the evening there was some lovely food too!!