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Iona Community Speech Report of the Board of the Iona Community—General Assembly 2021 Tom Gordon Moderator, this has been a tough year for the Iona Community. A process of restructuring which had already been embarked on was profoundly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as was the redevelopment and reopening of the living-quarters in Iona Abbey. But the Iona Community has regrouped and refocussed. And your Board seeks to emphasise this in the report that’s before you. Moderator, as it is the custom of the General Assembly to invite the leader of the Iona Community to present the bulk of the Board’s report, I would welcome your invitation to Ruth Harvey, the new leader of the Community, to do just that. Ruth Harvey Reframing the familiar As we emerge out of lockdown familiar patterns and routines are being refreshed and renovated around. So too within the Iona Community in 2020 our patterns of membership, of belonging, of keeping our Rule have been renewed and refreshed. With 20 online sessions for our global membership during November, first weekly and then monthly online worship with participants from at least four continents, our global appeal and commitment remains clear and strong. ‘Gathered and Scattered, God is with us.’ Notwithstanding the horrors of the pandemic, the search for solidarity and support, for community across divides, rather than being diminished through COVID has for many of us been strengthened in these last 12 months. Our newest Members of the Iona Community, making a commitment to our four-fold Rule include an Irish Catholic who’s a schoolteacher in Switzerland; a Presbyterian Minister from the USA now living and working in Glasgow; and a Scottish Presbyterian working for the Church of England. With them and all people of goodwill, we continue to strive for patterns of unity in diversity, patterns of prayer and worship, of action and reflection that bind us to one another and that renew and refresh the global church. So what is it that compels people today to be a part of a religious community? Here are Annie Sharples and Jack Woodruff, two of our Young Adult Group members, and current volunteers at Iona Abbey. The Spaces we inhabit 2021 is the year we, with the rest of the world, celebrate 1500 years since the birth of Colmcille, or St. Columba as we now know him – the would-be ‘Politician, penitent and pilgrim’, to quote the title of Ian Bradley’s superbly refreshed biography. In just under two weeks, however, we will be celebrating another great milestone. After 7 years of planning, 5 years of remarkable fundraising, 2 years of closure for refurbishment, and one further closed year because of the pandemic, Iona Abbey is formally being reopened to guests. In keeping with the vision and purpose of the Iona Community, we will be welcoming as guests that week families who have been locked in and locked down during COVID; church youth workers who are in desperate need of rest and recovery time; folks who have been isolated through economic or social injustice. In sharing in community with our guests, worshipping together, renewing our commitment to the work of the gospel of justice and peace we will be continuing to witness to the belief that the radical, inclusive community we seek must be embodied in the community we practise. Here is Chris Mercer, one of our Members who through her life of faith and action continues to transform the lives of those around her. Reimagining the Future So as we turn our attention to the future, we in the Iona Community re-commit ourselves to: • A life of non-violence, including the eradication of all nuclear weapons • To the peaceful transformation of our socio-political order so that all can live as equals, that differences are honoured and that poverty is eradicated • To the work of climate justice honouring the fullness of life to which we are called as followers of Christ. We call on all people of goodwill to join us in turning into action our gospel-driven calling to live and work for God’s justice and peace. In commending the report of the Iona Community Board, let me close by giving the last word to William, who became an Associate Member of the Iona Community in 2020. .
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