Iona Community

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The Iona Community, founded in 1938 by the Rev George MacLeod, is an ecumenical Christian community of men and women from different walks of life and different traditions in the Christian church that is committed to seeking new ways of living the gospel of Jesus in today's world.

It is headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, but its main activities take place on the island of Iona, and to a lesser extent also on Mull, in Argyll and Bute.

The community began as a project led by George MacLeod, at that time Church of Scotland minister in Govan, Glasgow, to close the gap which he perceived between the Church and working people. He took a group of ministers and working men (the original community was all male) to Iona to rebuild the ruined medieval Iona Abbey together and to find common ground in work and in spirituality. The community which grew out of this was initially under the supervision of an Iona Community Board reporting to the Church of Scotland's General Assembly, but later the formal links with the Church of Scotland were loosened to allow the community more scope for ecumenical involvement.

The Iona Community is a scattered community. Its members live mainly in Scotland, England and Wales, others live in Australia, Germany, Malaysia and the United States. There are at present 260 Full Members, 1600 Associates and 1600 Friends of the Community. 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.

Kathy Galloway
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Kathy Galloway

The leader of the community is elected by the members. The leaders todate are:

  1. George MacLeod 1938-1967
  2. Ian Reid 1967-1974
  3. Graeme Brown 1974-1981
  4. Ron Ferguson 1982-1989
  5. John Harvey 1989-1996
  6. Norman Shanks 1996-2003
  7. Kathy Galloway 2003 till 2010

The Iona Community runs 3 residential centres: Iona Abbey and the MacLeod Centre on the Isle of Iona, and Camas Tuath on Mull. These are places of welcome and engagement giving a unique opportunity to live together in community with people of every background from all over the world. 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. A regular feature of a visit to 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.

The community has its own ecumenical liturgy which is used daily in the abbey and elsewhere. Experimental worship is developed by the Wild Goose Resource Group, which takes its name from one of the ancient Irish symbols for the Holy Spirit. The Group exists to enable and equip congregations and clergy in the shaping and creation of new forms of relevant and participative worship. The group consists of two resource workers, John L. Bell and Graham Maule supported by a small administrative team lead by Gail Ullrich.

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.

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