William M'Culloch
Encyclopedia
William M'Culloch was Minister
of Cambuslang
during the extraordinary events of the Cambuslang Work
(1742) when 30,000 people gathered in the hillsides near his church for preaching and communion. Many were there struck by their own depravity and horrified at the probable punishment after death. Trembling, wailing, great pain, nose-bleeding and other strange behaviour was followed in some cases by striking conversions when they suddenly felt accepted by Christ
. This gave rise to great rejoicing and singing. It was later calculated that about 400 people had been converted, though many had backslided. The Reverend M’Culloch was a strange person to be at the centre of this phenomenon — one that was being repeated in the American Colonies at the time. He was a poor preacher and claimed never to have experienced the strong feelings of sin or conversion that so many others had reported.
, in Galloway
. The late 17th century was a troubled time. Three years earlier, William of Orange
had landed in England
and was now establishing himself and his wife Mary Stuart
as joint sovereigns of England
and, separately, of Scotland
and Ireland
— replacing the Catholic
King James II of England, VII of Scotland
, his wife's father. One of the key issues underlying this so-called Glorious Revolution
, at least in Scotland, was the structure of the Church of Scotland
. King James had wanted it to be Episcopal
, as the Church of England
was, with bishop
s appointed by the King. Many in Scotland wanted a more Presbyterian type of structure, where each local church was governed by a Kirk Session of Elders, that is converted Christians. Kirk Sessions were to be responsible for the correct behaviour of everyone in their Parish
and had the power to appoint suitably qualified persons as the Parish Minister. Parishes were grouped into area Presbyteries which in turn were grouped into large area Synod
s. The General Assembly
was a representative body of all the Parishes, Presbyteries and Synods. Galloway
, where William M’Culloch was born and received his early education, was an area of particularly fervent Presbyterianism
. During the previous eighty years it has seen a great deal of support for resistance to the Scottish government, in the form of bands of Covenanter
s — those who wished to see the country governed by those who had experienced Christian
conversion.
The new King — William II of Scotland — was from a Dutch
Presbyterian background but was wary of scope for unrest in such a structure, without some safeguards. These his successor (Queen Anne
) finally introduced in 1712 by the Patronage Act. This gave the power to nominate Parish Ministers to local landowners — the Heritors
. It was still up to the Kirk Session to appoint another person (with the agreement of the Presbytery), but this would be without the salary, house, etc., provided by the Heritors. This ancient power had been abolished in 1649 ,(during the Commonwealth
), restored (with the Restoration in 1660 and abolished in the first place by William in 1690 before he re-imposed it in 1712). It led to many struggles between Kirk Sessions and Heritors throughout the 18th and 19th Centuries — including the appointment of Mr M’Culloch — and finally to three secession
s from the Kirk
.
was coming into force. He was very competent in the languages of Holy Scripture — Latin
, Greek
and, particularly, Hebrew — but was also so skilled in Mathematics
and Astronomy
that he taught them to boys in Glasgow
(and displaying great manual skill in producing learning materials for demonstrations). He was also very keen on the details of Calvinist theology
, particularly that with regard to salvation
. However, he was a painfully slow speaker, and this partly explains why it was not until ten years after graduating that he was licensed to preach by his local presbytery of Wigton
. When he preached at local sacramental occasions, he was known as the “yil (ale) minister” as the congregations took his ascent into the pulpit as an opportunity to rise and go to the local alehouse “neglecting spiritual food in the search of bodily refreshment”.
Another reason might have been his anguished self-examination on whether he was fit to be a minister at all. These anxieties he poured out to a neighbouring minister, Mr Wodrow of Eastwood
, at the time of his call to Cambuslang
. He felt he was “nothing but a hollow hypocrite” because he had been preaching since his ordination on the nature of Conversion
and was a "perfect stranger to it himself". He was always very serious and dutiful, and preferred the company of righteous people, but had no inward experience of conversion. He had been “haunted with atheistic thoughts and blasphemous suggestions”. He was jealous and suspicious of friends (he said) and complained of his own pride and “self-carnality”. He was also much depressed by conversations with ordinary people, who told him about their experiences of conversion, which “he has been a stranger to”. Mr Wodrow thought him a sincere, studious and depressive sort of person, with the tendency of such people to be over-critical of themselves and rather obsessive on the details of theological study. He advised Mr M’Culloch that his obvious sincerity and great knowledge both scripture and doctrine
made him a far better person to be a minister than many he knew. Mr Wodrow noted the many “bodily marks” of Mr M’Culloch’s anguish — including piercing headaches. It is obvious he was going through some sort of mental breakdown, though he did report that he got some solace from reading the Bible
in extreme times, when he longed for death.
Certainly, Mr M’Culloch’s talents had not been unappreciated. In 1725, he had been asked by members of the Town Council to preach the “Annual Sermon for the Reformation of Manners” and had been chaplain and tutor to the Hamilton family Aitkenhead, near Glasgow
.
was the Patron
of Cambuslang
and he wanted to nominate (or “present”) another candidate, one Mr Finlater, when the Reverend Archibald Hamilton, Minister of Cambuslang, died in 1724. The Kirk Session was determined to have Mr William M’Culloch and a struggle lasting eight years only ended when Mr Finlater found a post elsewhere. During the interval, the parish was neglected. On 18 February 1731 Mr M’Culloch received the official call from Cambuslang
was ordained by the Presbytery of Hamilton
for the Church and Parish of Cambuslang on 29 April. It was at this time that he went in distress to Mr Wodrow of Eastwood
and it was perhaps because of his physical and mental state that he did not fulfil his duties immediately. For three years and three months no communion services were held and the schooling was neglected.
It should also be said that Mr M’Culloch’s attempts to get the (perhaps disgruntled) Heritor
s to repair the dilapidated church met with little success. He therefore began preaching in a tent next to the church, using letters and printed sermons from New England
detailing the extraordinary events taking place there — the so-called First Great Awakening
. The lack of a minister for many years had led to a huge number of “fellowships”, or praying societies, in the parish. Now Mr M’Culloch added another ingredient — the letters and sermons were supplemented by sermons on his own specialist theme “Regeneration: its nature and necessity”. Mr M’Culloch’s readings from the pulpit, along with his private conversations with concerned parishioners, laid a solid foundation for the historical events that soon followed — the extraordinary events known as the Cambuslang Work
— or “wark” in Scots
— referring to the “work of the Lord”. Later, Mr M’Culloch claimed some 400 people had been converted during the Cambuslang Work
, including 70 from Cambuslang
itself. It is typical of his modesty that we do not know if he himself ever eventually experienced conversion, though he did exclaim at one point during his last illness “The whole is shortly summed up in the words of Jesus Christ; ‘He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned’”
in Fife
), published his father's sermons after his death. He spent a lot of his own money paying for distributing texts of Scripture and the Shorter Catechism to children in Scotland
and America. He secretly gave £200 to the recently established Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge in Edinburgh
. Dean Stanley in his Lectures described Mr M’Culloch as “no wild fanatic, but a learned, unostentatious scholar, a slow, cautious and prudent parish minister”.
Eventually, Mr M’Culloch persuaded the Heritors to repair the church and a “neat, plain edifice” was erected, a new manse following in 1756. On 29 April 1736, he married Janet Dunwoodie, and had one son, Robert. He was very ill towards the end of his life, needing the support of two helpers to lead him from the manse to the kirk on Sundays. He died on 18 December 1771 and was buried in the churchyard “ amid the tears and lamentations of an affectionate people”. His tombstone, now attached to the church wall, stated “He was eminently successful in preaching the Gospel”. His wife died eight years later.
Cambuslang clergy
The sequence of Clergy of Cambuslang reflects pretty accurately the development of the Christian Church in Scotland.-The Catholic Church:The revenues of the Parish of Cambuslang were obviously substantial enough for the priests to carry the title Rector. One - William Monypenny - had enough to...
of Cambuslang
Cambuslang
Cambuslang is a suburban town on the south-eastern outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. It is within the local authority area of South Lanarkshire. Historically, it was a large rural Parish incorporating nearby hamlets of Newton, Flemington, and Halfway. It is known as "the largest village in...
during the extraordinary events of the Cambuslang Work
Cambuslang Work
The Cambuslang Work, or ‘Wark’ in the Scots language, was a period of extraordinary religious activity, in Cambuslang, Scotland...
(1742) when 30,000 people gathered in the hillsides near his church for preaching and communion. Many were there struck by their own depravity and horrified at the probable punishment after death. Trembling, wailing, great pain, nose-bleeding and other strange behaviour was followed in some cases by striking conversions when they suddenly felt accepted by Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
. This gave rise to great rejoicing and singing. It was later calculated that about 400 people had been converted, though many had backslided. The Reverend M’Culloch was a strange person to be at the centre of this phenomenon — one that was being repeated in the American Colonies at the time. He was a poor preacher and claimed never to have experienced the strong feelings of sin or conversion that so many others had reported.
Context — Covenanters and Patronage
He was born in 1691, the son of the schoolmaster at WhithornWhithorn
Whithorn is a former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, about ten miles south of Wigtown. The town was the location of the first recorded Christian church in Scotland, Candida Casa : the 'White [or 'Shining'] House', built by Saint Ninian about 397.-Eighth and twelfth centuries:A...
, in Galloway
Galloway
Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...
. The late 17th century was a troubled time. Three years earlier, William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
had landed in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and was now establishing himself and his wife Mary Stuart
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
as joint sovereigns of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and, separately, of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
— replacing the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
King James II of England, VII of Scotland
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, his wife's father. One of the key issues underlying this so-called Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
, at least in Scotland, was the structure of the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
. King James had wanted it to be Episcopal
Episcopal polity
Episcopal polity is a form of church governance that is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local Christian church resting in a bishop...
, as the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
was, with bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s appointed by the King. Many in Scotland wanted a more Presbyterian type of structure, where each local church was governed by a Kirk Session of Elders, that is converted Christians. Kirk Sessions were to be responsible for the correct behaviour of everyone in their Parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
and had the power to appoint suitably qualified persons as the Parish Minister. Parishes were grouped into area Presbyteries which in turn were grouped into large area Synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
s. The General Assembly
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body[1] An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland, A Gordon McGillivray, 2nd Edition .-Church courts:As a Presbyterian church,...
was a representative body of all the Parishes, Presbyteries and Synods. Galloway
Galloway
Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...
, where William M’Culloch was born and received his early education, was an area of particularly fervent Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
. During the previous eighty years it has seen a great deal of support for resistance to the Scottish government, in the form of bands of Covenanter
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
s — those who wished to see the country governed by those who had experienced Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
conversion.
The new King — William II of Scotland — was from a Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
Presbyterian background but was wary of scope for unrest in such a structure, without some safeguards. These his successor (Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
) finally introduced in 1712 by the Patronage Act. This gave the power to nominate Parish Ministers to local landowners — the Heritors
Heritor
Heritor, was a privileged person in a Parish in Scots Law. In its original acceptation, it signified the proprietor of an heritable subject, but, in the law relating to Parish government, the term was confined to such proprietors of lands or houses as were liable, as written in their title deeds,...
. It was still up to the Kirk Session to appoint another person (with the agreement of the Presbytery), but this would be without the salary, house, etc., provided by the Heritors. This ancient power had been abolished in 1649 ,(during the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
), restored (with the Restoration in 1660 and abolished in the first place by William in 1690 before he re-imposed it in 1712). It led to many struggles between Kirk Sessions and Heritors throughout the 18th and 19th Centuries — including the appointment of Mr M’Culloch — and finally to three secession
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
s from the Kirk
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
.
Education and anxiety
The young William M’Culloch grew up in the thick of this tumult and his father noticed early on his studious and serious manner. It was decided to educate him for the church ministry. He was much impressed by the local Minister, Mr Ker, and was persuaded to join the church formally when he was thirteen by taking communion. He then studied, first at Edinburgh University, then at Glasgow where he took his degree on 26 April 1712, just as the Patronage ActPatronage Act
The Church Patronage Act 1711 or Patronage Act is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain . The long title of the act is An Act to restore the Patrons to their ancient Rights of presenting Ministers to the Churches vacant in that Part of Great Britain called Scotland. Its purpose was to allow...
was coming into force. He was very competent in the languages of Holy Scripture — Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and, particularly, Hebrew — but was also so skilled in Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and Astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
that he taught them to boys in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
(and displaying great manual skill in producing learning materials for demonstrations). He was also very keen on the details of Calvinist theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, particularly that with regard to salvation
Salvation
Within religion salvation is the phenomenon of being saved from the undesirable condition of bondage or suffering experienced by the psyche or soul that has arisen as a result of unskillful or immoral actions generically referred to as sins. Salvation may also be called "deliverance" or...
. However, he was a painfully slow speaker, and this partly explains why it was not until ten years after graduating that he was licensed to preach by his local presbytery of Wigton
Wigton
Wigton is a small market town and civil parish outside the Lake District, in the administrative county of Cumbria in England, and traditionally in Cumberland. It is the bustling and thriving centre of the Solway Plain, situated between the Caldbeck Fells and the Solway coast...
. When he preached at local sacramental occasions, he was known as the “yil (ale) minister” as the congregations took his ascent into the pulpit as an opportunity to rise and go to the local alehouse “neglecting spiritual food in the search of bodily refreshment”.
Another reason might have been his anguished self-examination on whether he was fit to be a minister at all. These anxieties he poured out to a neighbouring minister, Mr Wodrow of Eastwood
Eastwood, Strathclyde
Eastwood was one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996, lying south-west of the City of Glasgow....
, at the time of his call to Cambuslang
Cambuslang
Cambuslang is a suburban town on the south-eastern outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. It is within the local authority area of South Lanarkshire. Historically, it was a large rural Parish incorporating nearby hamlets of Newton, Flemington, and Halfway. It is known as "the largest village in...
. He felt he was “nothing but a hollow hypocrite” because he had been preaching since his ordination on the nature of Conversion
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
and was a "perfect stranger to it himself". He was always very serious and dutiful, and preferred the company of righteous people, but had no inward experience of conversion. He had been “haunted with atheistic thoughts and blasphemous suggestions”. He was jealous and suspicious of friends (he said) and complained of his own pride and “self-carnality”. He was also much depressed by conversations with ordinary people, who told him about their experiences of conversion, which “he has been a stranger to”. Mr Wodrow thought him a sincere, studious and depressive sort of person, with the tendency of such people to be over-critical of themselves and rather obsessive on the details of theological study. He advised Mr M’Culloch that his obvious sincerity and great knowledge both scripture and doctrine
Doctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
made him a far better person to be a minister than many he knew. Mr Wodrow noted the many “bodily marks” of Mr M’Culloch’s anguish — including piercing headaches. It is obvious he was going through some sort of mental breakdown, though he did report that he got some solace from reading the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
in extreme times, when he longed for death.
Certainly, Mr M’Culloch’s talents had not been unappreciated. In 1725, he had been asked by members of the Town Council to preach the “Annual Sermon for the Reformation of Manners” and had been chaplain and tutor to the Hamilton family Aitkenhead, near Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
Call to Cambuslang
The Duke of HamiltonDuke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that Peerage , and as such its holder is the Premier Peer of Scotland, as well as being head of both the House of Hamilton and the House of Douglas...
was the Patron
Patrón
Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
of Cambuslang
Cambuslang
Cambuslang is a suburban town on the south-eastern outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. It is within the local authority area of South Lanarkshire. Historically, it was a large rural Parish incorporating nearby hamlets of Newton, Flemington, and Halfway. It is known as "the largest village in...
and he wanted to nominate (or “present”) another candidate, one Mr Finlater, when the Reverend Archibald Hamilton, Minister of Cambuslang, died in 1724. The Kirk Session was determined to have Mr William M’Culloch and a struggle lasting eight years only ended when Mr Finlater found a post elsewhere. During the interval, the parish was neglected. On 18 February 1731 Mr M’Culloch received the official call from Cambuslang
Cambuslang
Cambuslang is a suburban town on the south-eastern outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. It is within the local authority area of South Lanarkshire. Historically, it was a large rural Parish incorporating nearby hamlets of Newton, Flemington, and Halfway. It is known as "the largest village in...
was ordained by the Presbytery of Hamilton
Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Hamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...
for the Church and Parish of Cambuslang on 29 April. It was at this time that he went in distress to Mr Wodrow of Eastwood
Eastwood, Strathclyde
Eastwood was one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996, lying south-west of the City of Glasgow....
and it was perhaps because of his physical and mental state that he did not fulfil his duties immediately. For three years and three months no communion services were held and the schooling was neglected.
It should also be said that Mr M’Culloch’s attempts to get the (perhaps disgruntled) Heritor
Heritor
Heritor, was a privileged person in a Parish in Scots Law. In its original acceptation, it signified the proprietor of an heritable subject, but, in the law relating to Parish government, the term was confined to such proprietors of lands or houses as were liable, as written in their title deeds,...
s to repair the dilapidated church met with little success. He therefore began preaching in a tent next to the church, using letters and printed sermons from New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
detailing the extraordinary events taking place there — the so-called First Great Awakening
First Great Awakening
The First Awakening was a Christian revitalization movement that swept Protestant Europe and British America, and especially the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, leaving a permanent impact on American religion. It resulted from powerful preaching that gave listeners a sense of personal...
. The lack of a minister for many years had led to a huge number of “fellowships”, or praying societies, in the parish. Now Mr M’Culloch added another ingredient — the letters and sermons were supplemented by sermons on his own specialist theme “Regeneration: its nature and necessity”. Mr M’Culloch’s readings from the pulpit, along with his private conversations with concerned parishioners, laid a solid foundation for the historical events that soon followed — the extraordinary events known as the Cambuslang Work
Cambuslang Work
The Cambuslang Work, or ‘Wark’ in the Scots language, was a period of extraordinary religious activity, in Cambuslang, Scotland...
— or “wark” in Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
— referring to the “work of the Lord”. Later, Mr M’Culloch claimed some 400 people had been converted during the Cambuslang Work
Cambuslang Work
The Cambuslang Work, or ‘Wark’ in the Scots language, was a period of extraordinary religious activity, in Cambuslang, Scotland...
, including 70 from Cambuslang
Cambuslang
Cambuslang is a suburban town on the south-eastern outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. It is within the local authority area of South Lanarkshire. Historically, it was a large rural Parish incorporating nearby hamlets of Newton, Flemington, and Halfway. It is known as "the largest village in...
itself. It is typical of his modesty that we do not know if he himself ever eventually experienced conversion, though he did exclaim at one point during his last illness “The whole is shortly summed up in the words of Jesus Christ; ‘He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned’”
Final years
His own fame grew. Despite his slowness of delivery, his thoughtfulness and his teachings were widely admired and he was often asked to preach in other parishes. He wrote out two sermons a week and committed them to memory. His son, Robert M’Culloch, also a minister (at DairsieDairsie
Dairsie, or Osnaburgh, is a village in north-east Fife, Scotland. It is south-southwest of Leuchars Junction, and east-northeast of Cupar on the A91 Stirling to St Andrews road. The village grew out of two smaller settlements , and developed principally around the industry of weaving...
in Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
), published his father's sermons after his death. He spent a lot of his own money paying for distributing texts of Scripture and the Shorter Catechism to children in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and America. He secretly gave £200 to the recently established Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. Dean Stanley in his Lectures described Mr M’Culloch as “no wild fanatic, but a learned, unostentatious scholar, a slow, cautious and prudent parish minister”.
Eventually, Mr M’Culloch persuaded the Heritors to repair the church and a “neat, plain edifice” was erected, a new manse following in 1756. On 29 April 1736, he married Janet Dunwoodie, and had one son, Robert. He was very ill towards the end of his life, needing the support of two helpers to lead him from the manse to the kirk on Sundays. He died on 18 December 1771 and was buried in the churchyard “ amid the tears and lamentations of an affectionate people”. His tombstone, now attached to the church wall, stated “He was eminently successful in preaching the Gospel”. His wife died eight years later.
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- From Dr Fawcett’s account of the Cambuslang WorkCambuslang WorkThe Cambuslang Work, or ‘Wark’ in the Scots language, was a period of extraordinary religious activity, in Cambuslang, Scotland...