The service begins at 9:00 a.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church at 5234 Maryland Highway (Route 135) in nearby Deer Park, MD.

As seating is limited, you are encouraged to arrive early. In addition to a short service, members of the Garrett Highlands Pipes and Drums will play. Following the service, refreshments will be offered.

The event is free although donations to support the Garrett Highlands Pipes and Drums will be accepted.

Some claim that the Kirkin' o' the Tartans ceremony dates back to the times of the trouble between the Scots and the English when the wearing of the tartan was forbidden following the Battle of Culloden. According to legend, Highlanders hid a small piece of tartan in their clothing and, during a church service, would hold up their little bits of tartan and pray a blessing upon them.

Others claim that the practice of the Kirkin’ o' the Tartans was begun by the Rev. Peter Marshall as a way to instill pride in their homeland among Scots living in the U.S. when he was the Chaplain of the U.S. Senate in the mid 1940's.

Where and how it began matters not. We gather at the Kirkin' o' Tartans ceremony and display our tartans to receive the blessing of God and in memory of our ancestors and those hardy Scots who crossed the ocean between the old world and the new to build a better life.

Source: http://www.geocities.com/blackbeardian/LonePiper/fergkirk.html