Easter on Iona

We spent Easter on the Island of Iona at the 13th century Abbey, in the Iona Community taking part in their Holy Week Pilgrimage program. It wasn’t what we were expecting, but we are really glad we came just to meet the amazing other people who had travelled from all around the world to be in the Iona Community for the week.

To get to Iona we took three trains, two ferries and a bus. Here we are waiting in the freezing cold wind for the bus. It was so windy it made Skye’s ears flap wildly in the wind. We were very glad to get on the warm heated bus. The bus driver was so lovely, at the end of the bus trip we had a 90min wait, and he went and got his own dog so that Skye had someone to play with! 

The cloisters at the Iona Abbey.

The cloisters

Banners from previous programs in the refectory where we had all our meals. 

On Good Friday we had a Stations of the Cross walk with the local community. This amazing lady is walking the length of Gaza to call for a ceasefire & she’s doing it with the aid of her off road walker. I was lucky enough to spend some time talking with her, and she was very excited to hear we were from Canberra, because she had a lovely Easter there a number of years before.

Stations of the Cross

Easter Sunday Sunrise over Iona Abbey

I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to preside over communion in the Abbey for Easter Sunday. I don’t think I’ll be presiding in a 13th century Abbey again in my life. 

It was standing room only, with over 400 people coming for the Easter Sunday Communion Service, including a group of pilgrims who walked 100miles carrying a cross and a large number of people from a cruise ship who moored so that their passengers could come to Iona for the communion service.

 

I’m very grateful that the Iona Community Leaders gave me the opportunity to preside over communion on Easter Sunday (with two co-presiders from the Church of Scotland and the Methodist Church) to help me celebrate the 25th anniversary of my ordination. Being able to do that in a 13th century abbey, with standing room only, in such a beautiful location, is something I’ll cherish forever. (It was FREEZING cold in the Abbey, so I kept on my hat!!!)

The food in the Iona community is amazing - one night we had profiteroles for “pudding”. But even though the food was delicious, our bodies really struggled with the high amounts of lentils, chickpeas and other pulses (it was all vegetarian) which caused some digestive issues for the time that we were there. 

Sunset behind St Martin’s Cross

There were many wonderful people on the program including John from Boston - here we are in the Nunnery ruins.

St Martin’s Cross

Skye loved being on the island. She got to run around in the morning and the evening, getting the zoomies and sniffing everything in sight. 

The Nunnery ruins. They date to the 13th century, but sadly haven’t been rebuilt in the same way that the Abbey has. 

Peace Sculpture

It was fun going on transport like this car ferry - something we don’t normally get to do.

The train from Oban to Glasgow had a trolley that came around with drinks and snacks :) 

The very first people that we met on our way from Glasgow to Iona were Ian and Sharon, and we were really lucky to travel with them back to Glasgow, so they were also the last people we saw from the community as well! The highlight of our time on Iona was definitely the people that we met. 

After a week of chickpeas, beans, lentil and a lot of bread, it was wonderful to have a steak in Glasgow.