Tha Yeir o Grace

Anne Smyth

Tha twalmond jist by[1], we wur minin[2] quhit happent tha fowk in monie a wee Ulstèr toon an village in tha yeir 18 an 59 — Tha Yeir o Grace. Ye’ll can taak tae fowk in the Coontie Antrim an quhiles[3] ther’ll be a bodie at haes some freen or ither in thair faimlie at haes tha wittins[4] yit o tha daeins[5] o thae days.

At tha fore-enn[6] o tha centurie tha fowk wusnae aa that gospel greedie[7] — in troth[8], tha feck[9] o thaim wus daeless[10] bodies aa oot[11], quhan it cum tae tha guid o thair sowls. Tha Moderator o tha Synod o Ulstèr in 18 an 25 wus Doc Henthery Cooke, an in his discoorse[12] tae tha Semmlie[13] thon yeir he murnt[14] tha wye baith tha mïnnystèrs an thair hearers didnae leuk tha gate o[15] tha Wurd o God ava[16].

Syne[17], a wheen o tha mïnnystèrs taen tent[18] frae tha Wurd at bak an forrad tha Loard haed gien by-ordnar[19] blissin[20] oot o tha guid o his hairt[21] in tha day o tha Auld Testyment proaphets an in tha michtie daeins o Pentecost. The’ gaed intae[22] tha kittlin[23] o tha kirk in Scotlann, tha like o tha unco[24] day at Kirk o Shotts in 16 an 30 quhaniver five hunnèr fowk wus convertit, tha ‘great Wark o Camslang[25]’, an no sae faur bak tha mïnnystries o McCheyne in Dundee an Burns in Kilsythe, an mair an mair the’ ettled eftèr[26] siclike[27] blissin fur thair ain lann.

Aboot tha spring o 18 an 56, a wee wumman frae Gatesheid, nixt Newkessel-oan-Tyne, caa’ed Mistress Colville, landit intae Bellamaina fur tae dae dorr-tae-dorr visitin. She quat tha toon wi a sair hairt at tha hinnèr-enn[28] o tha yeir, fur she thocht she’d no din onie guid. Twathrie[29] days afore she tyned[30] tha toon, she caa’ed intae tha hoose o a Miss Broon at leeved in Mill Raa. Inby[31] wus twa weemin at wus threapin[32 ]anent ‘predestynation’ an ‘freewill’ wi a callan[33] the’ caa’ed Jamie McQuulkin. He axed[34] Mistress Colville wus she a Calvynist, an tha wee bodie wudnae threap[35] ava. She towl ’im he maun get weel in wi tha Saviour an pree[36] tha saiconn bïrth, bot. Thon stairtit him castin ower[37] quhit wye he wus guidin hissel[38] and, no lang eftèr, he wus convertit got[39] unnèr tha mïnistrie o a genèral missionar o tha Methodies in Antrim toon bae tha naem o Cammell.

Jamie’s hame airt wus Kells, quhaur afore this he haed raired up fechtin cocks. Noo he taen tha wice[40] o his mïnnystèr, Rev. J H Moore o Connor, tae get yokkt til[41] warkin wi a Saibith Schuil[42] in Tanneybrake, nixt[43] Connor. Jamie an twathrie ither callans at wus rinnin tha Saibith Schuil wus fasht aboot[44] tha mithers an faithers o tha weans at gaed tae tha schuil, an the’ ettled at haein a gaitherin[45] furtae pit up a wurd[46] an lairn tha Bible, an bïd thae fowk an thair neebors tae this gaitherin. Aa tha fowk foregaithert[47] frae tha hairst[48] o 18 an 57. Tha mair[49] the’ wudnae hae onie taak ava adae wi[50] pairtie[51] swee[52], an wudnae collogue[53] anent onie spierins[54] at wus like tae[55] weer till[56] threapin, afore lang tha hoose wus that fu the’ cudnae steek[57] tha dorr[58]. Tha callans rinnin thae gaitherins kent richtlie[59] the’ cudnae dae ocht[60] athoot[61] a rowth o[62] prayer, an syne[63] the’ taen an auld schuil hoose nixt Kells furtae howl eident[64] prayer gaitherins. Thair mïnnystèr, forbye, eikit till[65] tha gaitherins tae[66] thar wus mair nor a hunnèr ilka[67] aidays[68] thereawa[69].

Aa ower tha kintrie[70] thar wus daeins tha like o[71] tha yins in Connor. Throch tha fowertaen yeir afore 18 an 59, tha mïnnystèr o Furst Cummer Kirk, Doc J M Killen, haed bin howlin gaitherins furtae prig[72] tha blissin o revival. Athort[73] Ulstèr thar wus mair an mair preachin ootby[74]. Syne the’ got wurd o tha revival in Amerikay, quhaur tha by-ordnar gaitherins fur prayer haed stairtit in September 18 an 57 forbye[75], an tha fowk in Ulstèr taen hairt at tha Loard wud dae a like wark hereaboots.

Thar wus a michtie lippenin[76] o blissin tae cum, an tha kirk wus fain[77] tae hae it. In Connor, tha wark kep oan fur echtaen months wi a siccar[78] eikin[79] tae tha nummers o converts but no ower muckle takkin oan[80]. In December o 18 an 58 tha revival spreed til Ahoghill an syne Rannalstoon. Tae tha wast[81] it wun tae[82] Portglenone, an eftèr tae aa tha airts[83] roon aboot Bellamaina. Or[84] tha follaein May it got tha lenth o Cullybackey an Brochshane tae tha noarth, an Ballyclare tae tha sooth. Aboot tha hinner-enn o tha month it haed wun tae Bilfawst, an frae tha citie tae aa tha airts roon aboot, an aa tha road tae Newrie.

In June forbye, tha revival cum tae tha Coontie Derrie, an in Derrie Citie itsel in the simmer[85] eens[86] the’ haed a gaitherin in tha Victoria Mercat[87] wi gaitherins fur prayer in tha kirks roon aboot. Fowk in tha boarder coonties an tha Coontie Armagh forbye rin[88] tae tha meetins in thair thoosans, an tha wark o tha Halie Spïrit wus pooerfa. In troth, thar wusnae yin pairt o Ulstèr at didnae fyn[89] tha hann o revival oan it.

Tha twa things anent this brakkin oot[90] at ye’ll can jube oan[91] is straucht-forrit[92]. Furst, ye’ll tak tent[93] at[94], tha mair tha mïnnystèrs wus yokkt til aa tha daeins, fur tha maist feck tha revival spreed sae quïck throch leal-hairtit[95] warkin fowk pittin ower[96] tha gospel tae thair neebors[97].

Saiconn, ye’ll hear tell at tha 59 revival wus naethin mair nor a maittèr o fowk bein ower aisie[98] riz[99]. Gin[100] thon wus tha wye o’t[101] ye wudnae hae heerd a wurd aboot it a towmond[102] eftèr[103], seein[104] the’d likelie[105] hae thocht shame[106] afore lang. Contrarigates[107], tha maist feck o fowk hel tae thair guid leevin[108], an bodies at haed gane an ill gate[109] afore tha Yeir o Grace wus douce[110], upricht an leal[111] eftèr it.

Editor’s note

Tha Ulstèr-Scolch Leid Societie merked tha hunnèr an fiftieth anniversarie o tha Yeir o Grace wi tha ootsettin[112] o tha Guid Wittens o Luke. This is tha furst o tha gospels tae be owerset[113] wi[114] oor core[115] o warkers, unnèr tha owerance[116] o Philip an Heather Saunders, o tha Wycliffe Bible Translators. We launched it oan tha 8th o December, sae it’ll be weel oot afore ye hae this copie o Ullans. It’ll no be ower dear, fur we’r daein oor devoir[117] tae mak siccar[118] aabodie can haud oot tae[119] the coast o’t.

Notes

[1] Last year

[2] remembering

[3] occasionally

[4] knowledge; information

[5] happenings

[6] early part

[7] zealous, fond of churchgoing

[8] indeed

[9] greater part, most

[10] careless, ineffective

[11] entirely

[12] talk, sermon

[13] Assembly

[14] bemoaned

[15] take an interest in

[16] at all

[17] Then

[18] took careful note

[19] extraordinary

[20] blessing

[21] through grace

[22] examined

[23] movement

[24] remarkable

[25] Cambuslang

[26] sought after

[27 ] similar

[28] latter part

[29] A few

[30] left

[31] Inside

[32] arguing

[33] young fellow

[34] asked

[35] argue

[36] experience

[37] considering

[38] behaving

[39] became (completed action)

[40] advice

[41] involved in

[42] Sunday School

[43] near

[44] anxious about

[45] meeting

[46] pray

[47] met

[48] autumn (harvest)

[49] Although

[50] concerning

[51] sectarian

[52] tendency

[53] discuss

[54] questions

[55] likely to

[56] lead to

[57] shut

[58] door

[59] knew well

[60] anything

[61] without

[62] plenty of

[63] so

[64] diligent

[65] added to

[66] until

[67] every

[68] week

[69] locally

[70] country

[71] similar to

[72] plead for

[73] Across

[74] out of doors

[75] too

[76] expectation

[77] desirous

[78] steady

[79] expansion

[80] getting worked up

[81] west

[82] reached

[83] areas

[84] ere, by

[85] summer

[86] evenings

[87] Market

[88] ran

[89] feel

[90] outbreak

[91] become aware of, notice

[92] clear

[93] observe

[94] that

[95] faithful

[96] expounding

[97] neighbours

[98] easily

[99] excited

[100] If

[101] that was so

[102] twelvemonth, year

[103] afterwards

[104] as

[105] probably

[106] been ashamed of themselves

[107] On the contrary

[108] religious behaviour

[109] been badly behaved

[110] quiet, gentle

[111] faithful, honest, sincere

[112] publication

[113] translated

[114] by

[115] team

[116] supervision

[117] doing our best

[118] sure

[119] afford