COMMON CONCERNS

Members of the Iona Community are committed to living out the Christian faith in the areas of justice and peace.

We reflect and act locally, nationally and internationally in political life and the life of our churches and faith communities.

Members and Associate Members (including Young Adult Group Members) meet together to pray, reflect and support one another through the following Common Concern Networks (CCNs) listed below.

If you would like to join one or more of these CCNS visit our membership page to see if becoming an Associate Member of the Iona Community is right for you. Once you’ve joined as an Associate Member you will have full access to all the CCNs.

ENVIRONMENT

The Common Concern Network focussing on the environment is an international group with broad interests and experiences lived at the intersect of faith and environment.

Members of this CCN seek to give agency to the Iona Community Rule to act in solidarity with victims of environmental injustice, to support structural change in our own countries to reduce resource consumption, and to rekindle community with the Whole Creation. In all of this, network members are committed to showing mercy, seeking justice and walking humbly.

See below the Iona Community at The ‘COP26’ summit in Glasgow in November 2021

POVERTY & INEQUALITY

The members of the Poverty and Inequality Common Concern Network are passionate about the Iona Community’s commitment to promote just social, political and economic structures in the UK and worldwide.

We share information on the issues that concern us and on campaigns and actions that we support in this area of concern that crosses borders.

We plan to meet once a month to hear a speaker and have an in-depth discussion on a related issue.

MIGRATION AND REFUGEES

The CCN on migration is for people who are concerned with issues to do with migration and particularly forced migration.

The current members are focused on the reception of refugees across Europe and particularly in the UK but we welcome members with other interests in the area. Some of us are very involved with work with or on behalf of refugees, while others are more concerned with sharing and communicating this concern across the wider Iona Community.

ISRAEL/PALESTINE

The Iona Community has a strong and long-standing commitment, through prayer, protest and the active engagement of many members, to seeking peace and justice for all in Israel/Palestine.

The CCN prays together, shares updates on developments and campaigns, leads occasional events, and offers support to those seeking to act on the Iona Community’s statement of 2017. Also strongly connected to Sabeel Kairos, we believe in pursuing a just and peaceful settlement between Israel and the Palestinians which is in the interests of both sides of this asymmetrical conflict and which honours the God-given dignity of every individual in the region.

Many of our Members have acted as ‘accompaniers’ through the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel.

LGBTQ+

The LGBTQ+ Common Concern Network enables us encourage, inform and challenge each other.

Our Community and the world with regard to justice and peace, wholeness and reconciliation, for those who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Questioning and all others who identify with the LGBTQ+ umbrella. We spend time learning about topics of relevance to LGBTQ+ social justice from members and invited speakers, sharing news, and supporting each-other.

If you are interested in LGBTQ+ social justice, please join us. We look forward to hearing from you so that we can move forward together.

May we find new ways to touch the lives of all.

RECONCILIATION, PEACE AND DISARMAMENT

The Iona Community has a long-standing commitment to pacifism, campaigning and action for peace and peace-making.

We also have significant involvement in reconciliation work. We share information in these areas to inform and educate ourselves, meet to deepen our understanding of the issues involved and encourage and challenge each other in our commitments. We are also involved in campaigns and actions in support of these concerns.

We work closely with partners such as XR Peace, Reconcilers Together, and Spirituality of Conflict.

FAITH & SPIRITUALITY

Our experience of worshipping together transforms our understanding of how we relate to God, the world, and one another – through practices of prayer, through new ways of reading scripture, and through radical hospitality.

From the start of our life, the renewal of worship has been one of our core aims.

This network focusses on five threads: