Iona Community

Columba Week (FULLY BOOKED - waiting list open)
2024-06-08 16:00 - 2024-06-14 09:00 UTC | Iona Abbey Centre, Isle of Iona, United Kingdom
Image: Columba’s Shrine by the door of Iona Abbey. Credit: Iona Community/ B. Forsyth
Columba Week 8th – 14th June 2024. – FULLY BOOKED
(WAITING LIST – please contact ionaabbeybookings@iona.org.uk to add your name to the waiting list).
Iconic, flawed, ambitious and unique, Saint Columba emerged from the sorrow of exile to become the foremost figure of his time, spreading the gospel and establishing a thriving island community which one writer called “a beacon of enlightenment Christianity”. Columba’s story is curiously modern. It challenges us to speak truth to power, create genuine openness and welcome, to do the hard work of peace-making and leadership in dark times.

Sunday 9th June, Columba’s feast day, will include the launch of the CHARTS Iona project, bringing an exhibition from Donegal about the saint, and with music, poetry, and a session on placenames and the landscape of Iona. The week will also include sessions on the Book of Kells, created on Iona in honour of Columcille. The poetry created in his memory since ancient times. The artwork of sculptured stone and painted imagery made over the centuries, and a discussion of how beauty, memory and places of pilgrimage can become a springboard for action for social justice in our world. Take part in workshops on music, writing and art, and a guided pilgrimage to stunning St. Columba’s Bay.This week will be led by Iona Community Member and writer, Rosemary Power.

Costs
6 Nights: £762 per adult, £381 for reduced rate – see our programme page for more information.
