The Iona Community, founded in 1938 by George MacLeod, is an ecumenical Christian

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

of people from different walks of life and different traditions within

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. It and its publishing house, Wild Goose Publications, are headquartered in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and its activities take place on the islands of Iona and Mull, in Argyll and Bute and in

History

The community began as a project led by George MacLeod, a minister of the Church of Scotland in Govan, Glasgow, to close the gap which he perceived between the church and working people. He took a group of ministers and working men to Iona to rebuild the ruined medieval Iona Abbey together. The community which grew out of this was initially under the supervision of an Iona Community Board reporting to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, but later the formal links with the Church of Scotland were loosened to allow the community more scope for ecumenical involvement. The community appealed for funds to renovate the abbey leading to its re-opening, attended by Princess Anne, patron of the appeal, after a three-year closure in June 2021. The project was blessed by the "Miracle in May", when fundraising in May obtained the £300,000 needed to keep contractors working. The re-opening was featured in '' Songs of Praise''. 24 June 2021

Community life and activities

The Iona Community is a dispersed community. It has members who work and live throughout the world. There are 270 Members, around 1,800 Associate Members and 1,600 Friends of the Community. Among them are Christians of the Presbyterian,

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, Continental Reformed,

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, Quaker,

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and nondenominational traditions, among others. The community has a strong commitment to ecumenism and to peace and

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

issues. The Iona Community runs three residential centres: Iona Abbey and the MacLeod Centre on the island of Iona, and Camas Tuath on Mull. Weeks at the centres often follow a programme related to the concerns of the Iona Community, and people are invited to come and share the life. A regular feature for guests staying in our centre on Iona is a pilgrimage around the island which includes meditations on discipleship; when the

pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

s reach the disused

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

quarry or the machair, the common ground where the crofters once grazed sheep, for example, they stop for reflection on work and faithfulness. The community has its own ecumenical liturgy which is used daily in the abbey and elsewhere. Speaking about the visitor experience, Ruth Harvey, leader of the community, said: "This is not a hotel or a conference centre. People come for reflection and inspiration, and to explore issues of importance – the environment, poverty, migration, equality – in the context of a Christian community and in a beautiful, rugged landscape."

Worship

Amongst the most widely known song and liturgical material from the Iona Community is the experimental worship developed by the Wild Goose Resource Group, based in Glasgow. The Group exists to encourage, enable and equip the shaping and creation of new forms of worship that are relevant, contextual and participatory. The current team consists of Jo Love, Jane Bentley and Iain McLarty. The Wild Goose Resource Group was founded in 1987 by John L. Bell and Graham Maule. With their collaborators the Wild Goose Worship Group and more recently the Wild Goose Collective, the WGRG have produced around 50 published books and CDs. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Wild Goose Worship Group was influential in introducing songs from other cultures (particularly those from South Africa) to the repertoire of churches in the UK and elsewhere. The approaches and practices of the Wild Goose Resource Group have been widely imitated and written about. Collections of Wild Goose Resource Group songs and texts have been published internationally, including translations into Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Japanese, Dutch, West Frisian, Danish and German.

Leaders and notable members

The leader of the community is elected by the members. The leaders to date are: # George MacLeod 1938–1967 # Ian Reid 1967–1974 # Graeme Brown 1974–1981 # Ron Ferguson 1982–1988 # John Harvey 1988–1995 # Norman Shanks 1995–2002 # Kathy Galloway 2002–2009 # Peter MacDonald 2009–2017 # Michael Marten 2017 # Kathy Galloway and Caro Smyth 2017–2018 # Kathy Galloway and Christian MacLean 2018–2020 # Ruth Harvey, since 2020

Notable Members

Bruce Kenrick, the founder of housing organisation Shelter, was a member. Maxwell Craig, first general secretary of Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS), was a member. Douglas Haldane (1926–2012), child psychiatrist was a member of the community. Helen Steven, was Justice and Peace Worker for the Iona Community from 1979 to 1985. John Bell, hymn-writer and Church of Scotland minister, is a member of the Iona Community. Graham Maule (1958–2019), youth leader and founder member of the Wild Goose Resource Group, was a member. Non-binary minister Alex Clare-Young is a member and the moderator of the Community's LGBTQ+ Common Concern Network. Alison Phipps, first

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts and at Glasgow University is a member.

Miles Christi

Miles Christi was a name given to the members of the Iona Community by its founder George MacLeod. The origin of this image of being a Soldier for Christ may have its roots in

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third French Republic, Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hung ...

who as a former Roman soldier applied similar discipline to Christian life and was a great inspiration to the early Church in Scotland. St Martin's Cross, a high Celtic Cross carved in stone, stands to this day outside the entrance to the Church of Iona Abbey. The image also reflects a tradition of someone remaining on watch. The early Christian Community on Iona founded by St Columba sent members out to evangelise mainland Scotland and beyond, with some members remaining behind. George MacLeod had been a decorated soldier in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He founded the Iona Community just before the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Publishing activities

The community's publishing group, Wild Goose Publications, produces books on social justice, political and peace issues, holistic

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

, healing, and innovative approaches to worship, including music (books, tapes, CDs), short drama scripts and material for personal reflection and group discussion. Many of these are the work of John L. Bell and the Wild Goose Resource Group.

References

External links

Iona Community

Wild Goose Resource Group

Wild Goose Publications

Die Gemeinschaft von Iona in Deutschland

The Iona Community in the USA
{{Authority control Christian organizations established in 1938 Church of Scotland Organisations based in Glasgow

Community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

Nondenominational Christian societies and communities Christian organisations based in Scotland Govan 1938 establishments in Scotland Intentional communities in the United Kingdom