Benefice-Priest in Charge
Katrina Dykes
MESSAGE from Nicky - mAY 2019
At the end of March a group of 20 pilgrims from the Anna Benefice and beyond gathered on the island of Iona to spend 4 days at the Bishop's House. We all travelled under our own steam, by car, by coach, by train or by plane. From Oban we took the ferry to Craignure on Mull, from where we traversed the island. Those in cars set out straight away. Those waiting for the service bus had a leisurely lunch first. It was an increasingly wet and misty day, so the views were limited to the foreground and the mountain tops were hidden in cloud. Every now and again there was a glimpse of snow and there were waterfalls cascading down the slopes. We kept our eyes open for Red Deer and I saw four of them grazing quite close to the road.
At Fionnphort we boarded the small ferry for Iona. It only takes a few minutes, but we were aware of the motion of the sea. Soon we were being welcomed to the Bishop's House and being inducted into the ways of the community living there, who would be looking after all our needs. Most are volunteers who cook, clean, garden and generally enable the day-to-day running of the House. We were very well-looked-after, with breakfast, lunch, a teatime snack and dinner all provided. All we were expected to do was to eat up (which we did with alacrity), to clear the tables and to lay up for the next meal. We soon worked out a rhythm of doing this, checking the photograph provided for us after each meal so that we knew what needed to be put on the tables. The food was varied and substantial, so no-one went hungry. Special diets were catered for.
Our bedrooms were warm and had views either of the sea or of the field where sheep and mud-coloured Highland cattle were grazing. To the side of this field was Iona Abbey. We could reach it via a footpath criss-crossed by boggy streamlets. This needed careful negotiation and at least one of our number came a cropper and needed to return to the House where a washing machine was immediately offered!
Each day was framed by the opportunity for formal worship. Every morning there was a Eucharist at 8.00am and every evening Compline at 8.15pm. As residents we were responsible for the services, which were to follow the liturgy of the Episcopal Church of Scotland. The Chapel in the Bishop's House is also the Episcopal Church for the island. On the island there is also a Church of Scotland church and a Roman Catholic prayer room, as well as the Abbey which is the home of the Iona Community. On the Sunday we visited whichever worship centre we chose and so experienced a rich and varied range of services. Priests and Ministers, like the doctor, come over from Mull or Oban, weather permitting.
Our time was free to do as we wished. We could stay in the silent area of the Library, with its cosy fire, to read, or gather to chat or do a jigsaw puzzle in the lounge. Some braved the high winds and occasional heavy shower to explore the Island. A narrow metalled road goes from the ferry slipway in a northerly direction, past the primary school, the ruins of the nunnery and the Abbey, almost as far as the north beaches, which could be reached by walking over moorland among the sheep and cattle, the meadow pipits and skylarks. In the other direction the road runs parallel to the shore and then turns inland and heads west. It runs out at the golf course, beyond which is the western beach. The sand is white and sparkles in the sun. The sea water is clear turquoise. Oyster catchers, eider ducks and divers were among the sea birds. Corncrakes come to Iona to breed, so conservation areas are set aside for them. The lambing season was just beginning. These little ones were enthusiastically exploring the rocky places and hillocks in their fields, or else cuddling up in the lee of their mothers to enjoy the sunshine. The southern part of the island has no road access, so the members of our group who ventured in that direction braved rough, muddy terrain, with some steep slopes. The Bishop's House had a Smart car and a buggy to lend to the less mobile visitors. There are several gift shops and places to enjoy a cup of coffee.
Iona is tiny, but it has a big place in the history of Christianity. St Columba might be the most famous of its abbots, but Iona was already a centre of Celtic Christianity before his mission arrived from Ireland in the 6thcentury. The Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript book of the Gospels, may well have been the work of Iona monks. It is now on display in Trinity College Library, Dublin. Monks from Iona travelled across mainland Scotland and the north of England, preaching the Gospel. Celtic Christianity holds that the image of God is deep in every human being, and that creation is essentially good and so is a revelation of God. At the Synod of Whitby in 664, the Celtic and the Roman missions met head-on. It was decided that Rome should be the way forward, linking Christianity with Europe, with its doctrines of original sin and the badness of humanity and nature. However, the Celtic tradition, though outlawed, never completely died out. It is enjoying a renewal in these days and it is particularly in Iona Abbey and through the work of the Iona Community that its teachings are gaining widespread respect once more.
Nicky
At Fionnphort we boarded the small ferry for Iona. It only takes a few minutes, but we were aware of the motion of the sea. Soon we were being welcomed to the Bishop's House and being inducted into the ways of the community living there, who would be looking after all our needs. Most are volunteers who cook, clean, garden and generally enable the day-to-day running of the House. We were very well-looked-after, with breakfast, lunch, a teatime snack and dinner all provided. All we were expected to do was to eat up (which we did with alacrity), to clear the tables and to lay up for the next meal. We soon worked out a rhythm of doing this, checking the photograph provided for us after each meal so that we knew what needed to be put on the tables. The food was varied and substantial, so no-one went hungry. Special diets were catered for.
Our bedrooms were warm and had views either of the sea or of the field where sheep and mud-coloured Highland cattle were grazing. To the side of this field was Iona Abbey. We could reach it via a footpath criss-crossed by boggy streamlets. This needed careful negotiation and at least one of our number came a cropper and needed to return to the House where a washing machine was immediately offered!
Each day was framed by the opportunity for formal worship. Every morning there was a Eucharist at 8.00am and every evening Compline at 8.15pm. As residents we were responsible for the services, which were to follow the liturgy of the Episcopal Church of Scotland. The Chapel in the Bishop's House is also the Episcopal Church for the island. On the island there is also a Church of Scotland church and a Roman Catholic prayer room, as well as the Abbey which is the home of the Iona Community. On the Sunday we visited whichever worship centre we chose and so experienced a rich and varied range of services. Priests and Ministers, like the doctor, come over from Mull or Oban, weather permitting.
Our time was free to do as we wished. We could stay in the silent area of the Library, with its cosy fire, to read, or gather to chat or do a jigsaw puzzle in the lounge. Some braved the high winds and occasional heavy shower to explore the Island. A narrow metalled road goes from the ferry slipway in a northerly direction, past the primary school, the ruins of the nunnery and the Abbey, almost as far as the north beaches, which could be reached by walking over moorland among the sheep and cattle, the meadow pipits and skylarks. In the other direction the road runs parallel to the shore and then turns inland and heads west. It runs out at the golf course, beyond which is the western beach. The sand is white and sparkles in the sun. The sea water is clear turquoise. Oyster catchers, eider ducks and divers were among the sea birds. Corncrakes come to Iona to breed, so conservation areas are set aside for them. The lambing season was just beginning. These little ones were enthusiastically exploring the rocky places and hillocks in their fields, or else cuddling up in the lee of their mothers to enjoy the sunshine. The southern part of the island has no road access, so the members of our group who ventured in that direction braved rough, muddy terrain, with some steep slopes. The Bishop's House had a Smart car and a buggy to lend to the less mobile visitors. There are several gift shops and places to enjoy a cup of coffee.
Iona is tiny, but it has a big place in the history of Christianity. St Columba might be the most famous of its abbots, but Iona was already a centre of Celtic Christianity before his mission arrived from Ireland in the 6thcentury. The Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript book of the Gospels, may well have been the work of Iona monks. It is now on display in Trinity College Library, Dublin. Monks from Iona travelled across mainland Scotland and the north of England, preaching the Gospel. Celtic Christianity holds that the image of God is deep in every human being, and that creation is essentially good and so is a revelation of God. At the Synod of Whitby in 664, the Celtic and the Roman missions met head-on. It was decided that Rome should be the way forward, linking Christianity with Europe, with its doctrines of original sin and the badness of humanity and nature. However, the Celtic tradition, though outlawed, never completely died out. It is enjoying a renewal in these days and it is particularly in Iona Abbey and through the work of the Iona Community that its teachings are gaining widespread respect once more.
Nicky
