Family lineage will be the topic of...

Family lineage will be the topic of the day at the Riviera United Methodist Church’s “Heritage Sunday,” a service to commemorate St. Andrew’s Day.

Although the church stresses that the service is meant to celebrate everyone’s heritage, a bagpipe and drum band will perform to remind everyone that this day traditionally belongs to the Scots.

“The pipe and drum band is the keynote to the service, but we focus on the heritage of everyone present,” Pastor Lawrence Young said. “We have a diverse congregation, and we see this as a time to honor everyone’s heritage.”

The band, known as the “Misty Isle Pipe and Drum Band,” is led by pipe master Tom Reoch, a Scotsman. There are a dozen or so other accomplished, though not necessarily Scottish, pipers.

The band, which has played throughout the country and hopes to travel to Scotland to join in international competition, will open the service with a procession down the aisle and will play intermittently throughout the service.

In addition to the bagpipes, another Scottish tradition will be emulated during the ceremony. According to Young, Scots the world over gather on St. Andrew’s Day to celebrate their heritage and to dedicate themselves and their families to God and the church.

The Scots do this through the Kirkan of the Tartan, that is by laying their tartan on the Communion table. The tartan is the plaid of the clan; each clan has its own unique plaid.

The tartan on the pipers’ kilts, for example, is known as the Flower of Scotland, which is not affiliated with any single clan, but rather represents all clans associated with Scotland.

The church will be recreating this ceremonial Kirkan of the Tartan today by inviting everyone--Scottish or not--to bring a small symbol of their own heritage, such as a flag, book, cloth or family crest, to place on the Communion table during the ritual of dedication.

Service will be at 9 and 10:30 a.m. at Riviera United Methodist Church, at 375 Palos Verdes Blvd. in Redondo Beach, just south of Riviera Village.