It’s a joy to welcome guests to Iona Abbey.
They arrive with a variety of hopes and longings and we create community together. At its best the experience of community can be transformational. The programme is part of that change.
Every week on Iona seems to produce moments of unexpected, exuberant delight, but the season was lit up by Ways of Seeing, Columba Week, Family Week, Youthfest and Care for Creation. We welcomed programme leaders – diverse in ethnicity, background and vocation – who offered broad topics for exploration. We also partnered with organisations whose audiences share similar values and concerns.
Creativity and play
In addition to programming that contributed to information sharing and intellectual growth, we highlighted the importance of creativity, invention and play. A new week, Ways of Seeing, explored the intersection of creativity, Celtic spirituality and design. The week was beautifully led by Iona artist Mhairi Killen and mindfulness teacher Kirsten Felleiter in bright April sunshine.
Pilgrimage of Life with Alastair McIntosh and guests.
Credit: Iona Community/C Mannall
Columba Week was expertly led by Dr Rosemary Power, who delivered expansive sessions and linked with other Columba events on Iona organized by CHARTS. Additional workshops were hosted by human ecologist Alistair McIntosh, musician Luke Concannon and his wife, singer Stephanie Hollenberg, who met during a week run by Alistair at the Abbey in 2012.
Sound and Vision invited guests to explore creativity as an essential part of life, activism and service. In the best traditions of the scriptorium, the Abbey buzzed with the sound of invention through art, creative writing and songwriting, which was facilitated by Iona musician Gerry Akehurst.
Creation Care
Care for Creation in August was held by Melanie Nazareth and Val King of Christian Climate Action. Guest speaker Israel Olofinjana provided a non-Western view and Filipina youth climate justice activist Mitzi Jonelle Tan shared her experience of a country suffering from climate breakdown. Guests came from Scotland, China, the US, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands to share amazing stories of action, activism and love.
Alastair McIntosh returned for his autumnal God Carry Me, melding environmental activism with the soul-enriching magic of Herbridean myth and folklore. Guests included North Carolinians, devastated by terrible storms only days before, and a large young-adult group from New Zealand, who swam with seals at Columba’s Bay. We partnered with EcoCongregation Scotland and Interfaith Scotland as well as our own Wild Goose Resource Group and Wild Goose Publications.
Families and young people
We continued our commitment to families and young people throughout the season by often offering age-appropriate programming so parents could participate.
Family Week included participants from nine countries and nineteen children aged 3-17. Joy and energy echoed through the cloisters and permeated the Abbey as we lived out “life as pilgrimage”. Artist Naoko Mabon led a brilliant kite workshop, with the sky above the Sound being filled with beautiful creations fluttering in the breeze.
YouthFest: Together We Rise included youth from London, Aberdeen and USA. They raced up Dun I, built intricate seaweed sculptures on Calva beach and loved the wildness of Scottish dancing at the ceilidh. Throughout the week they shared some of their feelings about the trip. “It feels like we have another home on Iona” said one. “It’s great because we’re all here, and we’re all safe” said another. “We got soaked on the pilgrimage. It was terrible, then it was good. We all made it the whole way back. We did it!” The week culminated in a moving service of commitment where authentic drama, art and song raised the Abbey rafters, truly reflecting; “Today, We Rise”.
YouthFest honours the best traditions of the Iona Community. It models something close to enlightened Christianity, offers solidarity with young people from deprived backgrounds and opens doors to myriad connections and possibilities. Many thanks to the London Family group and Members who contributed funds to help the London churches make the pilgrimage to Iona.
Time and Space
Programme during Time and Space Week brought a roll call of characters and “coincidental” conversations too varied and magnificent to do justice here. These weeks always include space for personal reflection, embodied spirituality, an exploration of the climate emergency and composing Eco-Psalms. We make time to reflect on how Iona can continue to inform and enrich our lives after an island visit.
USA North East