Martin Scott, outgoing, convenor of Iona Community Council, reflects on six years of service through the lens of Lent
This year more than most has been an important time for some personal reflection during Lent. It coincides with stepping back after six years of service as Convener of the Iona Community Council. During that period, what have we tried to do together? Perhaps some key themes of Lent can help frame an answer.
Preparing the ground for what lies ahead. Lent is a space when we can dig deep to rediscover the essentials which sustain us. In the cradle of Christianity, the Northern Hemisphere, it is no coincidence that Lent and Spring overlap each other (‘Lent’ derives from an old German word, Lenz, meaning ‘Spring). As gardeners well know, without hard work and careful preparation of the ground, most of it unseen, what emerges from the bare earth of winter will be neither beautiful nor fruitful. Within the Community we live in hope that our foundations of leadership and governance are now well enough established to sustain whatever challenges lie ahead.
Letting things go. It is traditional in the Christian journey to see Lent as a time to let go of something costly to sharpen our senses and help rethink / re-set the familiar. Sometimes this has been made cheap by trivialising the letting go process. Not so in the Iona Community, where it has been evident physically in giving up the Macleod Centre – a painful road. Furthermore, we have sought to renew and widen our purpose by embracing our role as an international / global community. And again, we have wrestled with rethinking the ways we connect with younger people, a critical and ongoing task.
Look to the future. Reflection is not only about looking back but also about looking forward, allowing the future to lure us. Easter follows Lent as surely as summer follows Spring – they are inextricably entwined. When the ground is prepared and the letting go is understood, then looking forward becomes possible. For the Iona Community, we are in a period of transition and that is never an easy place to be for those in leadership. It has been both a gift and a privilege to work with our Trustees and Staff over these years of change and growth – they never fear the fact that leadership can feel uncomfortable and insecure. My hope is that as we look to the future, as members and friends of the Iona Community, you will continue to offer your warmth and support to our new Convener, Jo Morling, as she takes up the role after Easter.
There is, of course, very little that is certain as the future unfolds. What really matters is the principle which underpins all our journey as a Community: rooted in hope, we live in community.
USA North East