Sounds of Iona February

Sounds of Iona February 2026 

The right to non-violent protest across the globe is increasingly under threat from repressive laws, excessive force, arbitrary arrests, unwarranted restrictions and invasive surveillance technology. Our London-based team of Craftivists areworking together this month to extend the reach of the award-winning Fingerprint Labyrinth in order to protect the right to peaceful protest. 

Whether it’s on the streets of Minneapolis or Tehran, in the public squares of Glasgow or Moscow, the right to protest, to bear witness to injustice, to speak out for peace and hope and truth, is being eroded on an unprecedented scale. In the face of this force, we take our inspiration and our hope from Jesus who turned tables in temples; was never afraid to speak truth to power; who empowered those around him to stand in solidarity, to protest injustice and to believe in ‘the greatness of the small.’ 

Gathered in Community last autumn in York we heard the words of Rufus Jones, Quaker in the early twentieth century who said this, in response in 1937 to growing rumblings of war in Europe: “I pin my hopes to quiet processes and small circles, in which vital and transforming events take place.” 

So in the face of false claims to sovereignty unsettling global peace; masked gunmen murdering innocents in the name of a democratic state; regimes slaughtering thousands of protestors under the cover of a communications ban we say, as a Christian community: ‘not in our name.’ And we say that where there are ‘quiet processes and small circles’, so there is hope and promise of justice now and in the future. Look out for the Fingerprint Labyrinth in 2026 coming to a location near you. It will transform your life. 

One further quick update – over the last 18 months we have been engaged as a Community in an exercise to review our values. Many of you, Members, Associate Members, Trustees and staff have taken part in a workshop around kitchen tables, board room tables, refectory tables and coffee tables, moving small pieces of paper around as we discern together the values that best reflect who we are. Council agreed the following text, with thanks to all of you who took part. Please share these widely and consider ways in which we can continue to be true to these in word and in action: 

• RADICAL HOSPITALITY: Ours is a common task. We are a community rooted in relationship and shaped by democratic structures. Diversity and inclusion, compassion and curiosity are pivotal to healthy community. We are committed to welcoming and learning, especially from those living with the consequences of unjust attitudes and structures. We understand that radical hospitality is hospitality that might make us uncomfortable, or that might change us. 

• NONVIOLENT ACTIVISM: We are urgent, proactive and determined in our pursuit of justice and peace, recognising we must model what we want to enable. We are willing to take risks and are committed to continually learning and equipping ourselves as peacemakers. We seek social transformation, and encourage our Members, staff and guests to be engaged in civic and political structures at all levels, knowing that we achieve more when we work together. The scale of our vision and purpose requires partnership with others. We appreciate and draw on the wisdom and expertise of diverse people and organisations. 

• HOPEFUL SPIRITUALITY: Our daily life of work, rest and worship, rooted in the Christian story, is one at ease with questions and doubt alongside clarity and truth. Our faith comes alive as much in times of contemplative stillness as in liturgies of song and story. We welcome people of all faiths and none in a spirit of respectful openness. We encourage, enable and equip the shaping and creation of new forms of worship that are relevant, contextual and participatory. 

• SUSTAINABLE ACCOUNTABILITY We are interdependent and all our actions matter. As Members and an organisation we aim to be transparent and accountable for our use of money, time and the earth’s resources. We seek to operate sustainably to ensure the long-term health of our movement and the wellbeing of people and planet.