Document Text Contents
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420257_TItle page.indd 1 01/04/2016 11:03
Page 220
1.2 The Project
Page 221
applications will be made in the coming months with the
target of raising a minimum of £1.5m by June 2016.
On the conclusion of the initial stage of the Appeal, the
public phase will be launched in May 2016. The Iona
Community is grateful for the support of the Iona
Cathedral Trust and Historic Environment Scotland in this
ambitious venture and will seek as wide support as
possible from people with an interest in our work and in
the island of Iona.
Meanwhile, the Community’s work continues in the
everyday witness of members and associate members, and
through the dedication of our staff in Glasgow and on Mull
and Iona.
2. Rosie Magee, Centres Director, Iona
Abbey and MacLeod Centre reports
2015 was a busy one at the Iona Centres. As well as the
weekly welcoming of guests to the Centres we took time
to take stock of our core mission. During spring 2015
resident staff created an affirmation which speaks to why
they choose to work at the Centres and what they see
happening there. In part it reads, “We seek to live out the
wonder and risk, comfort and challenge of the Gospel in
ways that are grace-filled and hospitable to all. We strive
to nurture a holistic community with all who participate in
the rhythm of our Common Life through sharing worship,
work and recreation.” Guests find it refreshing, and
sometimes challenging, that, in contrast to prevailing
norms, the Common Good is given such high value.
Everyone connected with the Centres, staff and guests,
is engaged in a common endeavour and the energy is
intentionally outward-facing leading one guest to
comment, “This is not a place of escape it is a place of
engagement”.
There is certainly no escaping the ongoing practical and
logistical implications of running two centres of this size
in the Inner Hebrides. In the height of the season guests,
volunteer, and resident staff number 140 each week. The
economic climate continues to be challenging and we
strive to practice good stewardship of our resources
without compromising our vision. However, these very
challenges also provide a springboard to creative and
collaborative thinking. Both at the Centres and with the
wider island community it is humbling to see how the
synergy created by cooperation ensures that ‘the whole is
always greater than the sum of the parts.’
Each week, through guest conversations and evaluation
we are reminded of the distinctive nature and value of
the pattern of our Common Life together. Fresh eyes are
invaluable. People from different walks of life, nationalities,
faiths and circumstances encounter one another though
being engaged in common tasks – preparing meals,
washing-up, creating music for a service in the Abbey or
breaking bread together. Relationships are forged,
sometimes unlikely ones, which cross cultural barriers and
recognise our common search for significance and
meaning in a hurting world.
These new relationship and insights do not come to an
end with the wave-off at the jetty. Staying at the Iona
Centres is transitional, and often transformational, in
nature for guests and staff alike whether staying for a week
or a year. An evolving community means there are a lot of
goodbyes. The end of the 2015 season saw the departure
of numerous staff members who had come to the end
of their contracts, of up to three years in duration. We
remain thankful for their presence and the sharing of their
time and talents as we also prepare to welcome new staff
who will arrive in February for staff training. We had about
100 volunteer staff members this season from all over the
word for periods ranging from 8 weeks - 6 months. During
their time here they bring ‘new insights and energy’ to our
community and it is a privilege to see many grow into new
experiences, like leading the morning service of worship.
They are now a dispersed community with links sustained
and strengthened through social media and plans to
return.
Throughout 2015 a considerable investment of time and
thought went into envisioning the future shape of, and
IONA COMMUNITY BOARD 11/3
11
420257_TItle page.indd 1 01/04/2016 11:03
Page 220
1.2 The Project
Page 221
applications will be made in the coming months with the
target of raising a minimum of £1.5m by June 2016.
On the conclusion of the initial stage of the Appeal, the
public phase will be launched in May 2016. The Iona
Community is grateful for the support of the Iona
Cathedral Trust and Historic Environment Scotland in this
ambitious venture and will seek as wide support as
possible from people with an interest in our work and in
the island of Iona.
Meanwhile, the Community’s work continues in the
everyday witness of members and associate members, and
through the dedication of our staff in Glasgow and on Mull
and Iona.
2. Rosie Magee, Centres Director, Iona
Abbey and MacLeod Centre reports
2015 was a busy one at the Iona Centres. As well as the
weekly welcoming of guests to the Centres we took time
to take stock of our core mission. During spring 2015
resident staff created an affirmation which speaks to why
they choose to work at the Centres and what they see
happening there. In part it reads, “We seek to live out the
wonder and risk, comfort and challenge of the Gospel in
ways that are grace-filled and hospitable to all. We strive
to nurture a holistic community with all who participate in
the rhythm of our Common Life through sharing worship,
work and recreation.” Guests find it refreshing, and
sometimes challenging, that, in contrast to prevailing
norms, the Common Good is given such high value.
Everyone connected with the Centres, staff and guests,
is engaged in a common endeavour and the energy is
intentionally outward-facing leading one guest to
comment, “This is not a place of escape it is a place of
engagement”.
There is certainly no escaping the ongoing practical and
logistical implications of running two centres of this size
in the Inner Hebrides. In the height of the season guests,
volunteer, and resident staff number 140 each week. The
economic climate continues to be challenging and we
strive to practice good stewardship of our resources
without compromising our vision. However, these very
challenges also provide a springboard to creative and
collaborative thinking. Both at the Centres and with the
wider island community it is humbling to see how the
synergy created by cooperation ensures that ‘the whole is
always greater than the sum of the parts.’
Each week, through guest conversations and evaluation
we are reminded of the distinctive nature and value of
the pattern of our Common Life together. Fresh eyes are
invaluable. People from different walks of life, nationalities,
faiths and circumstances encounter one another though
being engaged in common tasks – preparing meals,
washing-up, creating music for a service in the Abbey or
breaking bread together. Relationships are forged,
sometimes unlikely ones, which cross cultural barriers and
recognise our common search for significance and
meaning in a hurting world.
These new relationship and insights do not come to an
end with the wave-off at the jetty. Staying at the Iona
Centres is transitional, and often transformational, in
nature for guests and staff alike whether staying for a week
or a year. An evolving community means there are a lot of
goodbyes. The end of the 2015 season saw the departure
of numerous staff members who had come to the end
of their contracts, of up to three years in duration. We
remain thankful for their presence and the sharing of their
time and talents as we also prepare to welcome new staff
who will arrive in February for staff training. We had about
100 volunteer staff members this season from all over the
word for periods ranging from 8 weeks - 6 months. During
their time here they bring ‘new insights and energy’ to our
community and it is a privilege to see many grow into new
experiences, like leading the morning service of worship.
They are now a dispersed community with links sustained
and strengthened through social media and plans to
return.
Throughout 2015 a considerable investment of time and
thought went into envisioning the future shape of, and
IONA COMMUNITY BOARD 11/3
11
