“I WAS SO RAVISHED WITH THE LOVE OF CHRIST THAT NIGHT THAT I COULD SLEEP LITTLE, and all next Morning and day, I was in the same frame . . . All the rest of that week, I continued rejoicing in the near views of the Sacrament in that Place, hoping I would then get my Interest in Christ and my Marriage Covenant with him sealed there.” So wrote Catherine Cameron, after worshiping at a sacramental revival in Cambuslang, Scotland, in 1742.

 

In his book Holy Fairs: Scotland and the Making of American Revivalism, Leigh Eric Schmidt argues that the roots of American revivalism can be found in the Scots-Irish sacramental occasions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. So what sort of eucharistic theology was at work in the midst of these events that were marked by emotionalism and enthusiasm?

 

A significant element of this theology was the use of language from the Song of Songs, as well as other biblical marital imagery, to describe, as did Catherine Cameron, the believer’s union with Christ in communion. Studying medieval writers, along with Calvin, Scottish preachers and worshipers, and American sources, I have found that these American sacramental occasions exhibited a eucharistic theology solidly Reformed. They also included a mystical strain expressed within the context of frontier revivalism. Along with Calvin, who believed that union with Christ was the goal of the Christian life, frontier revival preachers sought to woo communicants with the language of love, promising union, faithfulness, and the fulfillment of longing.

 

That there were such things as “Holy Fairs” may surprise many of us Presbyterians who grew up in churches where the Lord’s Supper was served. We were taught that the practice of quarterly communion came from our Scots-Irish tradition, with no mention of sacramental festivals.

 

Ironically the steadily declining lack of communion observances in Scotland contributed to the rise of the sacramental occasions. In spite of official prescriptions of monthly or quarterly observances, Scottish Presbyterians celebrated the sacrament less frequently, even to the extent of lapsing for several years. As celebrations grew less frequent and annual sacraments became more common, the festival quality re-emerged. From May to October, worshipers and revelers from around the Scottish countryside would make their way from kirk to kirk, celebrating the harvest and renewing ties with family and friends. For many it was their annual time of spiritual renewal; for others it was more about social delights than spiritual ones.

 

Not everyone welcomed these “Holy Fairs.” There was concern that Presbyterian intellectual rigor and the sense of order not be overtaken by the passion and emotion often expressed on these occasions. Still, as Presbyterians today reclaim the centrality of the sacraments, a new embracing of the power of sacraments is in order. While the church need not return to the practices of the American frontier, it must consider how sacramental celebrations might be enriched so that communicants experience spiritual vitality, intellectual understanding, emotional fervor, and physical engagement.

 

Our worship can also be enriched by the recognition that Presbyterian theology and practice has, from the very start, included a mystical strain. In many Presbyterian services in the United States, worship has been drained of any palpable sense of mystery. The tradition’s strong grounding in intellectual understanding has been a gift to the church, but the gift has come at a dear price. An ongoing conversation between those involved in liturgical matters and those who are engaged in the study of spirituality could yield great rewards for the renewal of Presbyterian worship.

 

This look back into our history also reminds us that passion is an integral part of vital worship. Perhaps if there is one thing that can be learned from the holy fairs, it is that in the sacraments we are made part of the mystery and passion that is at the heart of the faith—and that union with Christ is not only something to be understood, but experienced—a union of minds, hearts, and wills that leads to the passionate living out of divine love in the world. Kimberly Bracken Long is assistant professor of worship and coordinator of worship resources for congregations.