My first contact with the Iona Community was 25 years ago as a guest in the Abbey. At the time my husband Jan and I were looking for a Community that combined Faith and Action.
Ever since, the ethos of the Community has been part of my life. It has helped me in my work as a chaplain in hospital to look for health in mind and spirit, not just physical welfare, and to become active as a representative of workers’ rights. It made me see the poverty of the patients, leading to the starting of a small charity for their immediate needs.
The growing Iona movement in the Netherlands has been a great joy and support. It made membership a possibility, so I joined the Iona Community in 2008.
I took early retirement in 2022, together with Jan. We live south of Rotterdam. We’re in the process of finding a new balance between doing voluntary work and just “being” and enjoying life.
What gets my heart beating faster is Wholeness: for each of us as a person and for the world as a whole. My body, mind and spirit cannot be whole as long as others are suffering from injustice.
USA North East