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Pilgrimage to Culross

14 June 2003 - part of the Mungo 1400 celebrations

“God, our loving Father, you called Mungo from Culross to Glasgow
To live a life of prayer, devotion to your word, and hospitality to your people.

May we be like him in faithfulness to the Gospel
And in our commitment to Jesus and his kingdom of justice, love and peace.

With the patronage of St Mungo,
May the village in which he grew up and the city he founded
Be communities in which everyone matters,
Everyone has an honoured place,
And the dignity of each is assured by faith in you as Father of all.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

On June 14th almost 100 pilgrims from the Glasgow Churches set out for Culross in Fife marking the 14th Centenary of St Mungo who grew up in the Abbey there before coming to what would become our own city of Glasgow.

Present day Culross is a beautiful preserved village on the banks of the Forth, with much of the medieval about it, but its crowning glory must surely be the Kirk set in the remains of the 13th century Cistercian monastery which is itself built on a previous Celtic monastery, one in which St Serf was Abbot and in which St Mungo was educated.

The Rev Tom Moffat gave us a warm welcome at the short service with which our visit began, and then we had the traditional sign of welcome - tea! A look around the church bedecked as it was with flowers, and then the pilgrims set out to explore the ruins of the monastery and the delightful gardens of Betty, the Session Clerk, and her husband Ron in which there was ample room for picnics in the warm sunlight.

A wander through the cobbled streets of the village brought people to the Old Palace, the Town House, the Mercat Cross, the Bishop’s Study, the Red Lion, the Dalmellington Arms, Maggie’s Coffee Shop, the Pottery and lots of other places of interest.

At 3 pm we held our main service in the Kirk, the one part of the old monastery which is not in ruins. There, we were led by Avis at the organ as we prayed for the communities of Culross and Glasgow. Mgr Gerry commented on Culross Abbey being the place where Mungo learned to pray, to cope with hardship, and to show hospitality, and he thanked the community there for continuing the great Celtic tradition of hospitality.

Anne, a member of Culross Abbey parish, gave us a short account of an event in Mungo’s life, and then on behalf of Glasgow Churches Together Elspeth gave the greetings of Liz Cameron, the Lord Provost of Glasgow, and her gifts: a plaque of St Mungo and a wooden copy of the City Coat of Arms. It was fun to add - from GCT and the St Mungo Singers - a Mungo T-shirt, a Mungo Cantata, a tie and scarf in the Glasgow tartan, and some St Mungo wine!

From the Rt Hon the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Councillor Liz Cameron:

“As Lord Provost of Glasgow, St Mungo’s Dear Green Place, I am honoured to have been asked to mark the 14th centenary of our Founder and Patron at Culross with this message.

"I send greetings to the Community and thank them on behalf of the people of Glasgow, St Mungo’s children, for their devotion to the ecumenical ideal and the spirit of faith. May Glasgow flourish through that faith and through our respect and love for those who follow the many different pathways to the same Almighty Creator.”