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Trip to Iona

A group from Christchurch with friends from Walsall and Shropshire recently travelled to the Island of Iona for a week. We stayed in the Bishop’s House, a retreat centre run by the Episcopal Church of Scotland. This is a delightful place to stay, on the coast a short walk from the Abbey, looking across the sound to Mull. We attended some of the services in the Abbey church, joined the weekly pilgimage, explored the island, or sat and read, according to inclination.

The Bishop’s House provides full board, has a large very comfortable lounge and an extensive library. At the centre of the building is St. Columba’s Chapel, where the Eucharist is celebrated every morning before breakfast and compline or evensong in the evening after dinner. Attendance is not compulsory, some people preferred an early morning walk, or a lie-in (oops!). The Bishop’s House can take 23 people; there were only 14 of us but most of the other places were filled during the week so we made new aquaintances. On the Sunday morning we all attended the service in the Abbey church, which was full, with people coming over from Mull to attend. The service on the Thursday evening was more imtimate, and was a ‘sending out’ for the Abbey guests who would be leaving the following morning.

The island itself is full of history, from St. Columba’s arrival in 563 AD, founding the monastery. This was ravaged by Viking invaders in the 9th century, became a Benedictine abbey in the 13th century (when the nunnery was also established) and was abandoned after the Scottish Reformation in the 16th century. In the 20th century the church was rebuilt by the Church of Scotland, then the rest of the abbey was restored by the initiative of Rev George MacLeod from Glasgow, which became the Iona Community.

Reminiscences from the others:

“A lovely week on Iona – after a wet start there were five days of glorious sunshine plus a cold wind from the N/NW. Eating, walking, chatting, reading, relaxing, attending services in the chapel to start and end the day, touring the abbey with audio guide, joining a pilgrimage to significant religious places around the island, bird watching, beachcombing, scrambling into a marble quarry, trying to avoid bogs and silence when you wanted it” – Alan

“Huge skies with beautiful clouds scudding across.
Strong winds blowing shrubs almost horizontal.
Wild grey-lag geese flying in formation past the house, then grazing
in the field at the front.
A couple of intrepid rabbits grazing on the lawn.
An incredibly tame wheatear letting us take a close-up.
Single track roads through stunning scenery – mountains towering over rippling sea lochs.
Shimmering reflections of mountain, cloud, heather, bracken.
Friendly, open people.
Shared meals with friends, old and new.
Laughter, stillness.
Thoughtful, meditative services.
Peace for the soul.
We shall return often in our minds’ eyes to seek that calm.”
– Joan and John

For information about the Bishop’s House see www.island-retreats.org/iona.html. For the history of the abbey, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iona_Abbey and the Iona Community, iona.org.uk. There are some pics from our visit in the gallery.