Iona Community

Twenty five years ago this summer whilst celebrating our silver wedding with a holiday at Oban my wife and I made a one day pilgrimage to Iona.

St Patrick came from Scotland and is known as "Apostle to the Irish" whilst St Columba (feast day today) came from Ireland and is known as "Missionary to the Scots". Coupled with the work of St David in Wales and the arrival of St Augustine at Canterbury we have the foundations of Celtic and Roman Christianity in these islands. Rome came to dominate, without loss of the Celtic. Hopefully Rome will again come to take precedence and give unity, without the loss of the Reformers.

The Iona Community today is basically Presbyterian whilst trying valiently to be Ecumenical. It could do with a good dose of the Catholic influence in order to become more balanced and representative.


About The Community

Iona is a small island off the west coast of Scotland, where in 563 Columba founded a Celtic monastery that was very influential in its own times. In the middle ages it was the site of a Benedictine abbey and over the centuries has attracted many thousands of people on their own pilgrim journeys.

The Iona Community, founded in 1938 by the Rev George MacLeod, then a parish minister in Glasgow is an ecumenical Christian community that is committed to seeking new ways of living the Gospel in today's world. Initially this purpose was expressed through the rebuilding of the monastic quarters of the mediaeval abbey on Iona and pursued in mission and ministry throughout Scotland and beyond. The Community today remains committed to rebuilding the common life, through working for social and political change, striving for the renewal of the church with an ecumenical emphasis, and exploring new more inclusive approaches to worship, all based on an integrated understanding of spirituality.

The Iona Community todayhas almost 250 Members, mostly in Britain, over 1500 Associate Members and around 1400 Friends worldwide. An ecumenical community of men and women from different walks of life and different traditions in the Christian church, its members share a common Rule which includes:

Daily prayer and reading the Bible
Mutual accountability for their use of time and money
Regular meeting together
Action and reflection for justice, peace and the integrity of creation

The Community's mainland home is in Glasgow, the base for:
The administration of the Community
Its work with young people
Its publishing house, Wild Goose Publications, and its magazine, 'Coracle'
Its association in the revitalising of worship with the Wild Goose Resource Group Members meet regularly throughout the year in local groups and in 4 plenary gatherings, including a week on Iona. As a Community, members corporately and individually pursue some particular areas of concern:

Justice, peace and the integrity of creation (opposing nuclear weapons, campaigning against the arms trade and for ecological justice)
Political and cultural action to combat racism
Action for economic justice, locally, nationally and globally
Issues in human sexuality
discovering new and relevant approaches to worship
Work with young people
The deepening of ecumenical dialogue and communion
Inter-religious relations.
For further information on the Community and its concerns, please write to the
Leader of the Community - Rev. Kathy Galloway, at:
The Iona Community, 4th Floor, Savoy House, 140 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3DH
Tel: 0141 332 6343 Fax: 0141 332 1090