In November’s Sounds of Iona, the Ruth Harvey considers how being rooted in community prepares us for reconciliation.
‘How good it is, how wonderful, to live together in Community’
Spending time with one another in community, whether on site or online, is precious time indeed. At the end of October Members met: 80 of us in central York and another 20 or so online. Led by Paul Parker, Recording Clerk for Quakers in Britain, we explored the theme of ‘Prophets and Reconcilers’. We were reminded of the importance of small acts of prophetic reconciliation and the hard work required to focus not on the binary of ‘for/against’, but on win/win ways forward. Paul reminded us of the insights of Quaker Rufus Jones (1863-1948): “I pin my hopes to quiet processes and small circles, in which vital and transforming events take place.”
New Members at the start of the two-year membership journey also met, along with those entering the second year. We focused on the second of our four-fold Rule: ‘Working for justice, peace, wholeness and reconciliation in our localities, society and the whole of creation’.
We listened deeply to one another as we shared stories about how to live into this aspect of our rule. We reflected on the history and the development of our Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Commitment and asked ‘what does ‘costly’ reconciliation mean?’. We reflected on the experience that costly may mean that we should expect discomfort, or even disarray. And also that when we engage in costly reconciliation together in community, we can and do lean on one another for the solidarity and support that we need.
Kathy Galloway, in her book Living by the Rule, described how our commitment to justice and peace must be visible. Within local, national and international contexts, members of our Common Concern Networks keep showing up for justice and peace: finding ways together to seek reconciliation in the world.
Members of the London Family Group have spent much of 2025 seeking to encourage people to find peaceful, powerful and creative ways to protest. Their work, the Fingerprint Labyrinth, has appeared across Europe and has been an inspiration to many.
Daily, whether together or apart, as we have since our earliest days and still now as we welcome a host of new Members, we affirm our faith. We remember that God’s goodness at the heart of humanity is planted more deeply than all that is wrong. Our roots are embedded in the ground of hope, and we keep that hope alive when we work together for peace and justice. Will you join us?
Photo: Members meet together in York
Credit: Iona Community/R Harvey[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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