In September’s Sounds of Iona, Ruth Harvey reflects on some of the wisdom shared by Kathy Galloway.
“To be a Christian community is ultimately to be part of the whole
Christian community, that is, a community of the resurrection.” Kathy Galloway
Life at Iona Abbey, in full swing as we turn the corner into September, is glowing in its refurbished state. Guests tell us the improvements are transformative and inclusive. Young people filled the place with song and laughter for Youth Festival. Time and Space weeks are thriving. And Members have met in community at various times over this last year.
Back in 2018, in parallel with the fundraising and building work, we asked some experienced Members and staff to remind us precisely what and how it is we are called to be Christian community in Iona Abbey. One contributor, Kathy Galloway, provided clarity that rings true for us today. As we grieve with her family the loss of our remarkable, passionate and faith-full friend Kathy, I’d like to remind us of what she said then about our purpose and our priorities at Iona Abbey:
‘To be a Christian community is ultimately to be part of the whole Christian community,
that is, a community of the resurrection, and to share with it these three things:
A common story: we are people who, in an extraordinary variety of ways, have heard our name called by God, and have answered ‘yes’.
A common life: we are people whose life together, like the bread at communion, is constantly being broken open to be shared and enlarged, who will, sometimes painfully, break open our own intimacy in a closed community to welcome others into it, and to be welcomed into theirs.
A common task: we are people who bear witness to the triumph of life over death.
These, I believe, are the marks of Christian community, because they are the marks of Jesus. ‘Look at the marks, Thomas. Put your hands in my side.’
‘Spiritual Hospitality in the Common Life’, Kathy Galloway, 2018
Our common story, common life, common task, rooted in the life and witness of Jesus of Nazareth, is felt, seen and heard through the intentional community of guests, staff and volunteers at Iona Abbey; in our daily worship and wider worship renewal; in the programmes we offer; through our publications; through our presence at festivals; and in the lives and witness of each Member and Associate Member in Family Group, Region or Common Concern Network. We live this way not because we are concerned with survival, but because we are passionate about salvation – with the right-ordering of the whole world for the good of all. And we do this in community with others because “we are part of the whole
Christian community, that is, a community of the resurrection.”
Sunday: Resurrection
I do not know
what resurrection is
(though I’m almost sure
it has something to do
with hallowing the common ground).
Of course, that’s not all of it.
I expect one day I’ll get up
and find that it sneaked up on me
while I wasn’t looking,
and maybe even that it’s been there all along.
That’s as may be.
There’s no point in trying to see things
before you’re ready.
You have to walk before you can run.
In the meantime,
I believe in it.
And that feels like an initial step.
For now,
it will do.
It is enough.
‘Love Burning Deep’, Kathy Galloway, 1993
USA North East