These stones would shout aloud

Living on Mull and Iona you cannot get away from stones, whether it is the massive granite rocks of Fionnphort or the numerous pebbles of Columba’s bay. It fascinates me to hear that the bedrock of Iona is around 2 billion years old, that of Mull a mere half their age (very roughly). If you have ever joined us as a guest and come on our pilgrimage you may have heard my fellow shop colleague Sarah talking about Geology in a knowledgeable and loving way, one of the names she is called by us is the stone knower! Visitors to Iona spend hours searching for just the right stone to hold in their pockets. Stones are powerful symbols of strength, resilience and steadfastness, it is no wonder that Jesus is described as our Rock, the cornerstone of the church.

What have the stones of Iona witnessed in all their long lives, what would they shout aloud to us if we could hear them. St Martins cross, made from a single block of grey epidiorite, probably from mainland Argyll, has stood in the same place in front of the Abbey for around 1200 years. It has witnessed thousands of pilgrims, all with their own stories to tell, including many of you reading this. Would the stones cry out the tales of joy they have heard, or tales of woe, or the crying of the earth they come from. Let us bear witness as these stones do.

We sell stones in the Iona Community shop, some with words of encouragement on, some as jewellery. One of Iona Books publications late last year was A Song Among the Stones by Kenneth Steven, with musical interpretation from Simon de Voil. The series of poems follows the journey of a monk from Iona to the shores of Iceland. It is an evocative and haunting book, and comes highly recommended from me. A book to go alongside this would be Alistair Moffatt’s Islands of the Evening, and how about Emma Major’s book of thoughtful colouring pages, Starlight and Stone, also published by Iona Books.

If you would like to order these books from the Iona shop, or have any recommendations for me please feel free to email me at [email protected]