News
The Iona Community was founded 1938 in Glasgow and Iona, a small Hebridean island off the west coast of Scotland where the Irish Monk Columba established a monastery in 563 AD. The site of the medieval Benedictine abbey is now the home of the Iona Community and a centre for pilgrimage. The Iona Community is known throughout the world for its witness combining social action, work for peace and spiritual life. The WCC has a longstanding relationship with the community, which has sent representatives to previous WCC assemblies.
WCC staff introduced the Iona group to the daily rhythm of prayer, programmatic work, and thematic flow of the assembly, unfolding the assembly theme “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.” The delegation also learned more about the growing Thursdays in Black Campaign for a world free from rape and violence. They also got a taste of the spiritual life of the assembly, hearing stories, seeing images and listening to songs.
“I was not sure what to expect. I leave inspired and highly motivated!” said one member of the Iona community, a hospital chaplain from the Netherlands.
