Fred Griffie On The Island Of Iona

Griffie's Predestination Tours to
Scotland Reach 20th Year Mark

by Ray Waddle

It didn't start out as a big thing. But glancing back, Fred Griffie's popular annual Scotland tour looks preordained.

Twenty years ago, the Rev. Griffie took a few friends to Scotland to see places he had known when he was a visiting minister there back in the 1970s.

But word-of-mouth soon spread: Griffie was an amiable guide who knew the terrain and shaped his Scotland tours into a unique Presbyterian experience.

Year after year, his tours grew. Today, Griffie's annual Scotland adventure is a special part of people's lives. Every summer, two dozen travelers from all over the region (several are repeat customers) book his tour for a taste of Presbyterian Edinburgh, Glasgow, Iona, the Hebrides and a wee bit of haggis too.

The name of his service? Predestination Tours, of course.

"It's a catchy name, at least among Presbyterians," says Griffie, a Charlotte, NC native who is minister at First Presbyterian Church in Harlan, Ky.

"I see this as a ministry. We get close to each other on these tours, and you keep up with people when it's over."

Last month, 36 alumni of his tours met in Nashville to renew acquaintances and relive memories of museums, church services, theatre performances and Scottish vistas.

"It takes a certain kind of leadership to make this work," says Tom Neely of Huntsville, Ala., who has gone twice on Griffie's tours.

"He's a soft touch — not overwhelming. He keeps us focused on what we're doing and why. Everybody can be a friend of Fred's."

Griffie is not a professional travel agent, but he started creating these tours because he knew no travel professionals who could tailor a trip for Presbyterians. He learned how to plan his jaunts long before the internet made do-it-yourself travel a breeze.

"The agents could write you a plane ticket, but they weren't bringing much imagination to it, in my experience," he says.

So he relied on his own experience as a former resident. In 1973, Griffie had just arrived in Scotland as a visiting minister to assist at a Church of Scotland congregation in Glasgow — a threemonth stint — when the senior minister took ill with heart problems. Griffie stepped in, and his stay was stretched to a year. He made friends, he visited the sick and learned the religious ways of the Scots.

He didn't know it at the time, but it turned out to be excellent preparation for learning the soul of Scotland and sharing it with other Americans.

Customarily, his tours include touchstones of Scots identity — such as the Military Tattoo exercises at Edinburgh castle.

In 2002, his tour group happened to be at the same Tattoo performance attended by Queen Elizabeth and her entourage. The royal occasion was a ceremonial salute to the 50th anniversary of Elizabeth's coronation. Griffie's group got an up-close look at British monarchy. The evening fireworks display wasn't bad either.

"People kidded me, saying 'That was great planning!' " Griffie says.

"They thought I had arranged it that way."

For this year's tour, July 5-16, scheduling made it impossible to include Edinburgh. Instead, the group will start in Glasgow and journey west to the historic island of Iona, touring Mull and Skye as well as some of the lesser known islands of the Inner Hebrides. Griffie's sojourners will visit tiny church parishes, observe the rugged routines of Hebridean fishermen and, as a finale, be guests for a big meal at the home of some of Griffie's old friends in Glasgow.

Griffie plans to take about 25 on the tour; by now, he's nearly booked up. For information call him at 606-573-9771. Cost is $2,495 per person, which includes airfare, rooms, meals, island sightseeing and theatre tickets.