GREENSBORO, Ga. — First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro will celebrate Scottish Heritage Day at their 11 a.m. service on May 15. The address is 117 S. Main St. The service is open to the public. For more information go to fpog.org or call 706-453-4956.

Presbyterian Heritage Sunday is celebrated each year on the Sunday closest to May 21, the opening date of the first General Assembly of the Presbyterian church in the United States in 1789. 

As part of this celebration, church members explore their Scottish roots. In Scotland during the 1540s, John Knox became associated with fellow clergy who were Protestant reformers. Later he studied under John Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland, then returned to Scotland and was instrumental in the establishment of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland. When Scots immigrated to America, they brought Presbyterianism with them. Presbyterianism came to Georgia with the arrival of General Oglethorpe and 200 Scottish Highlanders in Darien in 1735. Later, the other Scottish Presbyterians came to Georgia from South Carolina and the northern colonies. In the late 1700s the Presbytery of South Carolina planted churches in Greene and surrounding counties. The earliest mention of a gathering of Presbyterians in Greene County is 1786, although the first official record of a Presbyterian Church in Greensboro is dated 1820. The ceremony of the Kirkin of the Tartans including our worship service was begun by the Rev. Peter Marshall, who was born in Scotland. The Kirkin is a blessing of the Tartans, and the families and heritage they represent.