Iona 2008

Impressions of Iona

For such a remote island, there's a lot going on in Iona! I suppose there are many things I could say about it but I can't quite put it into words. It leaves an impression; as if one's day to day life and routine has become less important, less meaningful perhaps, than the
experience of being in a large cathedral-like church with beautiful music, or
being close to the sea with all its moods and the green earth with all its varying colours around, or being in contact every day with like minded people. The simple nature of
the worship led me to feel closer to God; being with others felt warmer and closer than usual as much of the problems of modern life drifted further away. Even the food was better than anything I usually put in the oven! It took over a day to get there and 15 hours to get home. It seemed far removed from everyday life and so everything seemed new and special after such an intense experience that was pretty all-encompassing.
Alison MacInnes
Having stayed with the Iona community many times on my own, it was a joy to again share somewhere very special to me with others. The 'all encompassing' way of life makes total sense to me. The day beginning with worship, then going straight to do work and on to a day packed full of international fellowship, creativity, delicious food , exercise in beautiful surroundings and much more.
Bliss !
Jean Belgrove
My first glimpse of Iona was the imposing building of the Abbey where we were to stay for our music week.
This was my first holiday for fifteen years and my first visit to Iona.
The whole island was so peaceful with wonderful white sands and azure seas. Wild life was plentiful. The friendliness from islanders, visitors and volunteers was awesome, with the Abbey being the heart of the community. I was not a member of any church, but met people from all over the world, closely working within the church, which was quite
daunting. The music teachers Gillian and Alison taught us in a choir situation during the day. Many of the songs were global songs very simple and easy to learn. These appealed to me greatly, as when I was a child, I never understood all the prayers and answers. We were taught how to include the congregation in the services, and gradually through the week the morning and evening services started to make sense and I began to understand and want more. Teamwork running the Abbey was uppermost, and all of us had our jobs. We had teams - Otters, Seals and Puffins - which helped to make work great fun. The young volunteers who worked in and around the Abbey and in all the centres on Iona, were shown how to take the services. This greatly impressed me as they were so professional. We were all given great confidence. The highlight of the week should have
been playing the piano before morning service; what a wonderful memory to bring home. But I knew I was going to miss the services and the amazing aura the Abbey gave.
Everyone had given me an insight of how the church is the hub of the community, so I was going home looking forward to the church services in my parish and finding out what was happening in the community.
What a holiday.
Jean Hawkes