Ecumenical Christian community established in 1938
The
Iona Community
, founded in 1938 by
George MacLeod
, is an
ecumenical
Christian
community
of men and women from different walks of life and different traditions within
Christianity
.
It and its publishing house, Wild Goose Publications,
[1]
are headquartered in
Glasgow
,
Scotland
, and its activities take place on the islands of
Iona
and
Mull
, in
Argyll and Bute
and in
Glasgow
.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
The community began as a project led by George MacLeod, a
minister
of the
Church of Scotland
in
Govan
, Glasgow, to close the gap which he perceived between the church and working people.
[3]
He took a group of ministers and working men to Iona to rebuild the ruined medieval
Iona Abbey
together.
[4]
The community which grew out of this was initially under the supervision of an Iona Community Board reporting to the
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
, but later the formal links with the Church of Scotland were loosened to allow the community more scope for
ecumenical
involvement.
The community appealed for funds to renovate the abbey leading to its re-opening, attended by
Princess Anne
, patron of the appeal, after a three-year closure in June 2021.
[5]
The project was blessed by the "Miracle in May", when fundraising in May obtained the £300,000 needed to keep contractors working.
[6]
The re-opening was featured in
Songs of Praise
.
[7]
24 June 2021
Community life and activities
[
edit
]
The Iona Community is a dispersed community. It has members who work and live throughout the world. There are 270 Full Members, around 1,800 Associate Members and 1,600 Friends of the Community.
[8]
Among them are
Presbyterians
,
Anglicans
,
Lutherans
,
Quakers
,
Roman Catholics
and people of no
denominational
allegiance. The community has a strong commitment to ecumenism and to
peace
and
justice
issues.
[2]
The Iona Community runs three residential centres:
Iona Abbey
and the
MacLeod Centre
on the island of Iona, and
Camas Tuath
on
Mull
.
[2]
Weeks at the centres often follow a programme related to the concerns of the Iona Community, and people are invited to come and share the life
[
citation needed
]
. A regular feature for guests staying in our centre on Iona is a pilgrimage around the island which includes
meditations
on discipleship; when the
pilgrims
reach the disused
marble
quarry or the
machair
, the common ground where the
crofters
once grazed sheep, for example, they stop for reflection on work and faithfulness.
[9]
The community has its own ecumenical
liturgy
which is used daily in the abbey and elsewhere.
Speaking about the visitor experience, Ruth Harvey, leader of the community, said: "This is not a hotel or a conference centre. People come for reflection and inspiration, and to explore issues of importance ? the environment, poverty, migration, equality ? in the context of a Christian community and in a beautiful, rugged landscape."
[5]
Worship
[
edit
]
Amongst the most widely known song and liturgical material from the Iona Community is the experimental worship developed by the
Wild Goose Resource Group
, based in Glasgow. The Group exists to encourage, enable and equip the shaping and creation of new forms of worship that are relevant, contextual and participatory.
[10]
[11]
The current team consists of Jo Love, Jane Bentley and Iain McLarty.
The Wild Goose Resource Group was founded in 1987 by John L. Bell and Graham Maule. With their collaborators the Wild Goose Worship Group and more recently the Wild Goose Collective, the WGRG have produced around 50 published books and CDs.
[11]
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Wild Goose Worship Group was influential in introducing songs from other cultures (particularly those from South Africa) to the repertoire of churches in the UK and elsewhere.
The approaches and practices of the Wild Goose Resource Group have been widely imitated and written about.
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
Collections of Wild Goose Resource Group songs and texts have been published internationally, including translations into Swedish,
[18]
Norwegian,
[19]
Finnish, Japanese, Dutch, West Frisian, Danish and German.
Leaders and notable members
[
edit
]
The leader of the community is elected by the members. The leaders to date are:
- George MacLeod
1938-1967
- Ian Reid
1967-1974
- Graeme Brown
1974-1981
- Ron Ferguson
1982-1988
- John Harvey
1988-1995
- Norman Shanks
1995-2002
- Kathy Galloway
2002-2009
- Peter MacDonald
2009-2017
[20]
[21]
- Michael Marten 2017
[22]
[23]
- Kathy Galloway
and Caro Smyth 2017-2018
[24]
- Kathy Galloway
and Christian MacLean 2018-2020
[25]
- Ruth Harvey
, since 2020
[26]
[27]
[28]
Notable Members
[
edit
]
Bruce Kenrick
, the founder of housing organisation
Shelter
, was a member.
[29]
Maxwell Craig
, first general secretary of
Action of Churches Together in Scotland
(ACTS), was a member.
[30]
Douglas Haldane
(1926-2012),
child psychiatrist
was a member of the community.
Helen Steven
, was Justice and Peace Worker for the Iona Community from 1979 to 1985.
[31]
John Bell
, hymn-writer and Church of Scotland minister, is a member of the Iona Community.
[32]
[33]
Graham Maule (1958-2019), youth leader and founder member of the Wild Goose Resource Group, was a member.
[34]
[35]
Non-binary
minister
Alex Clare-Young
is a member and the moderator of the Community's LGBTQ+ Common Concern Network.
[36]
Alison Phipps
, first
UNESCO
Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts and at
Glasgow University
is a member.
[37]
[38]
Miles Christi
[
edit
]
Miles Christi was a name given to the members of the Iona Community by its founder
George MacLeod
. The origin of this image of being a Soldier for Christ may have its roots in
Martin of Tours
who as a former Roman soldier applied similar discipline to Christian life and was a great inspiration to the early Church in Scotland.
St Martin's Cross
, a high
Celtic Cross
carved in stone, stands to this day outside the entrance to the Church of
Iona Abbey
. The image also reflects a tradition of someone remaining on watch. The early Christian Community on Iona founded by
St Columba
sent members out to evangelise mainland Scotland and beyond, with some members remaining behind. George MacLeod had been a decorated soldier in the
First World War
. He founded the Iona Community just before the outbreak of the
Second World War
.
Publishing activities
[
edit
]
The community's publishing group, Wild Goose Publications, produces books on
social justice
, political and peace issues,
holistic
spirituality
,
healing
, and innovative approaches to
worship
, including music (books, tapes, CDs), short drama scripts and material for personal reflection and group discussion. Many of these are the work of
John L. Bell
and the Wild Goose Resource Group.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Wild Goose Publications - Publisher for the Iona Community"
.
- ^
a
b
c
"About the Iona Community"
. The Iona Community. Archived from
the original
on 5 May 2010
. Retrieved
11 March
2010
.
- ^
Ferguson, Ron (2001).
George MacLeod: Founder of the Iona Community
. HarperCollins.
ISBN
1-901557-53-7
.
- ^
"Biography of Reverend George MacLeod, Lord MacLeod of Fuinary"
.
University of Glasgow
. 1 February 2008
. Retrieved
11 March
2011
.
- ^
a
b
Sherwood, Harriet (6 June 2021).
"Scotland's 'cradle of Christianity' on Iona is saved by small mercies"
.
Observer
. Retrieved
6 June
2021
.
- ^
MacLennan, Chris (5 June 2021).
"A seven-year £3.75million refurbishment of Iona Abbey's living quarters has finally been completed"
.
Press and Journal
. Retrieved
7 June
2021
.
- ^
Horne, Marc (5 June 2021).
"Iona Abbey's survival prayer answered"
.
Times
. Retrieved
7 June
2021
.
- ^
Craig, Maxwell (May 2009).
"REPORT OF THE IONA COMMUNITY BOARD May 2009"
(PDF)
.
Church of Scotland
. Retrieved
11 March
2010
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Iona Abbey Worship Book, 2007, pg. 164)|date=November 2009
- ^
"Wild Goose Resource Group - the Iona Community"
. Archived from
the original
on 29 March 2010
. Retrieved
2 April
2010
.
- ^
a
b
"wgrg.co.uk"
.
- ^
Hawn, C.Michael, Gather Into One: Praying and singing globally, Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids/ Cambridge, 2002; p.189-223,
ISBN
0-8028-0983-9
- ^
Forrester, Duncan B., & Gay (editors), Doug, Worship and Liturgy in Context: Studies and case studies of contemporary Christian practice, SCM Press, Norwich, 2009,
ISBN
978-0-334-04168-9
- ^
Forrester, Duncan B. & Murray, Douglas M. (editors), Studies In The History Of Worship In Scotland, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1984, 1996; p187-188
- ^
Rudebark, Victoria, Den Genomskinliga Platsen, Verbum Forlag, Stockholm, 2002,
ISBN
91-526-2867-1
- ^
"473 Interview with hymn writer John Bell on a new book & new ideas for ministry - Articles - Read the Spirit"
. Archived from
the original
on 11 September 2012
. Retrieved
2 April
2010
.
- ^
http://www.reformedworship.org/magazine/article.cfm?article_id=855
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"Bocker, biblar, psalmbocker och forsamlingsuppdrag | Verbum"
.
- ^
"Bibelselskapet | Nettbutikk"
.
- ^
Cooper, Neil (4 March 2020).
"Obituary: Peter Macdonald, radical Church of Scotland minister whose brilliance as a preacher inspired many people"
.
Herald
. Retrieved
7 June
2021
.
- ^
"BROUGHTON MOURNS LOCAL MINISTER"
.
Spurtle
. 13 February 2020
. Retrieved
7 June
2021
.
- ^
"New Leader for Iona Community"
.
Life and Work
. 1 March 2017
. Retrieved
23 May
2020
.
- ^
MacMath, Terence Handley (21 July 2017).
"Interview: Michael Marten, leader of the Iona Community"
.
Church Times
. Retrieved
23 May
2020
.
- ^
"Report of the Trustees and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 December 2017 for The Iona Community"
.
Companies House
. Retrieved
23 May
2020
.
- ^
"Report of the Trustees and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 December 2018 for The Iona Community"
.
Companies House
. Retrieved
23 May
2020
.
- ^
Turner, Karen (6 March 2020).
"Statement about the Iona Community's new Leader"
.
Iona Community
. Retrieved
8 March
2020
.
- ^
"New Iona Community Leader"
.
Life and Work
. 26 May 2020
. Retrieved
26 May
2020
.
- ^
Amos, Ilona (24 March 2021).
"Citizens' assembly sets out vision for green and pleasant Scotland"
.
Scotsman
. Retrieved
30 May
2021
.
- ^
White, Michael
(19 January 2007).
"The Rev Bruce Kenrick"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
11 March
2010
.
- ^
Shanks, Norman (26 October 2009).
"The Rev Maxwell Craig"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
29 April
2014
.
- ^
"Helen Steven, 1942-2016"
.
Dangerous Women Project
. 21 June 2016
. Retrieved
21 February
2022
.
- ^
Handley, Paul (26 August 2017).
"John Bell: 'Why I came out'
"
.
Church Times
. Retrieved
30 August
2017
.
- ^
Lake, Meredith (26 May 2019).
"John Bell and the Iona community"
.
Soul Search
. Retrieved
31 May
2020
.
- ^
Cooper, Neil (28 January 2020).
"Obituary: Graham Maule, revered Iona Community youth leader and founder member of the Wild Goose Resource Group"
.
Herald
. Retrieved
13 June
2021
.
- ^
"Obituary: Dr Graham Maule"
.
Church Times
. 24 January 2020
. Retrieved
13 June
2021
.
- ^
"
'Living in Love and Faith' New CofE Resource on Gender Identity and Sexuality"
.
The Iona Community
. 10 November 2020
. Retrieved
11 February
2021
.
- ^
"University of Glasgow - Schools - School of Education - Our staff - Professor Alison Phipps"
.
www.gla.ac.uk
. Retrieved
31 July
2021
.
- ^
"Interview: Alison Phipps academic, linguist, artist"
.
www.churchtimes.co.uk
. Retrieved
31 July
2021
.
Further reading
[
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]
External links
[
edit
]