COMMUNITY - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING :2016 Saturday 4 th June 2016 St. Silas Scottish Episcopal Church, 69 Park Rd, , G4 9JE

Present Ewan Aitken, Marlene Anderson, Stephan Arras, Morag Balfour, Simon Barrow, Jean Belgrove, John L Bell, Pat Bennett, Rolf Bielefeld, James Black, Stewart Blackledge, Brian Brown, Ruth Burgess, Arthur Chapman, Peter Coats, Martyn Coe, Rosie Coles, Brian Crosby, Liz Crosby, Biddy Crossfield, Joyce Davidson, Viv Davies, Sarah Dinwoodie, Sheila Doig, Colin Douglas, Mary Duncanson, Walter Dunlop, Simon Evans, Duncan Finlayson, Marlene Finlayson, Ian Fraser, Ian M Fraser, Neil Galbraith, Chris Gidden, Michael Gisbourne, Alison Given, Carrie Gooch, Yousouf Gooljary, Allan Gordon, Tom Gordon, Kes Grant, Christine Green, Colin Groom, Rosie Hague, Catherine Harkin, Margaret Hart, John Harvey, Molly Harvey, Ruth Harvey, Fiona Haworth, Mike Holroyd, David Hughes, Margaret Jacobsen, Trevor Jones, Joanna Love, Jan Maasen, Janet MacDonald, Peter MacDonald, Aileen Macdonald-Haak, Jim MacEwan, Runa Mackay, Christian MacLean, Stuart MacQuarrie, Michael Marten, Angus Mathieson, Alison May, Malcolm May, Rachel McCann, Francess McIntyre, Colin McKenzie, Chris Mercer, Joan Miller, Mike Mineter, Carol Morton, Graeme Muckart, Katy Owen, Neil Paynter, Tony Phelan, Kathryn Potts, Rosemary Power, Elaine Pyrke, Ron Reid, Sheila Riddell, Cara Riley, Jim Robertson, Carla Roth, Rosemary Rymer, Stephen Rymer, Isabel Sarle, Frank Schulte, Norman Shanks, Richard Sharples, Douglas Shaw, Ruth Sillar, Caro Smyth, Muriel Snell, Alison Solesbury, William Spangler, Neil Squires, Margaret Stewart, Irene Stok, Jill Stoner, Jan Sutch Pickard, Rosalyn Sutcliffe, Robert Swinfen, Bob Thomas, Dick Toy, Marion Toy, Marna Watson, Alan Watt, Iain Whyte, Isabel Whyte, Brian Woodcock, Raymond Young In attendance Lynn Baldwin, Hannah Blyth, Kirsty Campbell, Rachel Hockey, Alan Kimmitt, Rosie Magee, Graham Maule, Alastair McIntosh, Sim Sharp

A group of young people gathered at Carlton Court and followed a programme led by Chris Long. Their names are not available. Apologies Cliff Acklam, Valerie Allen, Joanna Anderson, Colin Ball, Warren Bardsley, Sally Beaumont, Nicholas Bowry, Anna Briggs, Graeme Brown, Mitchell Bunting, Peter Cope, Gordon Cottle, Sylvia Cottle, Barry Cummings, Pat Cummings, John Dale, Susan Dale, Neil Davies, Ros Davies, John Dillon, Liz Dowler, Stuart Elliott, Elizabeth Foulkes, Liz Gibson, Elaine Gisbourne, Elaine Gisbourne, Sydney Graham, Dirk Grützmacher, Cassandra Howes, Christine Jones, Malcolm King, Teun Kruijswijk Jansen, Jenie Lismore, Peter Lloyd, Elisabeth C Miescher, Peter Millar, Betty Milne, William Milne, Yvonne Morland, Joyce Muir, Madron Osborne, Elizabeth Paterson, Christine Polhill, John Polhill, Brian Quail, Katherine Rennie, Peter Rowe, Anikó Schuetz Bradwell, Bruce Sinclair, Danus Skene, John Smith, Margaret Smith, Stewart Smith, John Spence, Dot Stewart, Don Stubbings, Alison Swinfen, Amanda Taylor Aiken, Gerald Taylor Aiken, Gerald Taylor Aiken, Louise Taylor-Kenyon, Heinz Toller, Margaret Tuffin, Karen Turner, Pat Welburn, Alan Wilkie, Irene Wilkie, Jim Wilkie, Maire-Colette Wilkie, Ian Wilson, Sheila Woodcock, Andrew Wright, Stephen Wright, Jean Young

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IONA COMMUNITY - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING :2016 Saturday 4 th June 2016 St. Silas Scottish Episcopal Church, 69 Park Rd, Glasgow, G4 9JE

Welcome - Morag Balfour and Peter Macdonald welcomed members, guests and staff to the meeting

Office - Stephan Arras, one of the new members, led the office

Council Business, including: 1. Adoption of Minutes of 2015 AGM Proposed – John Harvey Seconded –. Chris Gidden

The meeting approved and Morag, as Convener of Council signed the Minute.

2. Accounting for the use of our Money In presenting the financial report for 2015-2016, Robert Swinfen thanked all the staff who had been involved: it had been a tough couple of months with the office move and other pressures. He highlighted, the following, with the assistance of a slide presentation: (i) While, the overall figures, showing a substantial surplus, look encouraging they are misleading as they include two large legacies. So the financial position is weaker than it appears. Robert pointed out that we cannot rely on legacies: most years legacies have totalled around £30,000 but last year it was around £300,000, of which Council had decided that £245,000 would be used to kick start the capital appeal fund. (ii) The Abbey and MacLeod Centre income fluctuates. The Mac tends to have a pattern of a good year followed by a bad year, and this past year was a bad year. There was a decline in the Abbey of about £10,000 but costs were stable or only slightly increased. The shop income on Iona appeared to be on a declining trend: over the last 6 years shop sales have fallen and overheads continue; so profit has been declining. It is an activity which used to generate a massive surplus and is an important part of our work but, despite best efforts, it does not seem capable of generating income at present .Last year much less maintenance expenditure was incurred partly for staffing reasons and partly because of the planned refurbishment. (iii) Although general sales had been declining 2015 had been a good year for Wild Goose Publications. Costs of sales are coming down as more and more sales are electronic. WGP are doing better than smaller publishing houses in general at the moment. (iv) ‘Investment areas’ - . Youth work, Camas, programme development. More than ever before was invested in these areas and this had seemed a sensible decision when it was made in 2013. Whereas there had been some grants towards the youth team, as well as an investment from the Community this had been significantly less than previously (v) In 2007 the Community had £900,000 in the bank and Stock Market investments. The current figure stands at nearly £1.4 million but almost all of that money is in restricted funds. Some donations, for example the Crerar Fund, came in the form of investments/stocks and shares, and are allocated to specific purposes and cannot be used in general running costs. While there were a good few years from 2007 to 2013, the figure for unrestricted funds is now static and not sufficient for working requirements.

At the end of the slide presentation Robert indicated that he was continually working on how best to present financial matters. He added that while the Community has money in the bank and reserves we cannot continue running this way for many more years. Council is therefore considering a process of putting strategies in place. He expressed thanks to the four people who have agreed to be members of a Finance Sub Group that has been set up, which had helped considerably.

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IONA COMMUNITY - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING :2016 Saturday 4 th June 2016 St. Silas Scottish Episcopal Church, 69 Park Rd, Glasgow, G4 9JE

In response to questions Robert a) confirmed that investments remained in the stocks and shares given to the Community unless these were on our ‘black list’ and that our investments are managed by a stockbroker; b) indicated that, while not all the legacies went into the Capital Appeal, Council had decided to allocate legacy funds to that because a certain amount had to be there initially before grants could be applied for, and in doing so had taken account of the wishes of the person bequeathing the legacy, and that the Access Fund was unaffected; c) said that the fact that accounts and reports had not been produced before the meeting was a ‘one off’ occurrence brought about largely because of the office move; d) said that, following the agreement at the AGM last year members’ giving to Travel Pool had been reduced from one-sixth to one-tenth; e) confirmed that the slides would be put on the members’ section of the website with the other AGM material; f) advised that the move to the new offices had to be carried out quickly because the lease on the Sauchiehall Street premises was running out and it was necessary to avoid being tied in for another year g) confirmed that members’ giving is good: it was the donations from other areas that were not as strong; h) indicated that we were not investing in Hewlett Packard and that we had a ‘black list’: it is open to any member to make /suggestions to Council about additions of any company to go on that list. i) said that, in the light of the reduction in the amount for the Travel Pool, it would be technically possible, if so decided, to allocate. a percentage of members’ giving to help Camas, youth work and the programme development work

3. Appointment of Auditor Robert proposed that we reappoint Atkinson Donnelly LLP as our Auditors.

Proposed: Isabel Sarle Seconded: Rosie Coles This proposal was accepted unanimously.

Martyn Coe, as one of the Finance Sub Group, expressed, on behalf of the Community, appreciation and very grateful thanks to Robert and his colleagues in the office for all their work and the burden of stress with which they had had to cope.

4. Elections to Committee The following were elected: Convener of Council – One vacancy - Marlene Finlayson (Two year term only) Vice Convener of Council – One vacancy - Angus Mathieson Communications and Fundraising Committee – One vacancy - Karen Reeves Iona Committee – Two vacancies - Catherine Harkin John Fowler Camas Committee – Two vacancies - Margaret Hart - Carrie Gooch

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IONA COMMUNITY - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING :2016 Saturday 4 th June 2016 St. Silas Scottish Episcopal Church, 69 Park Rd, Glasgow, G4 9JE

Programme Committee – One vacancy - Caro Smyth Iona Community Board – Two vacancies - Jim McEwan Nominations Panel – One vacancy - Colin Douglas

A.O.C.B - Motion from Iain Whyte Remit to the Council to explore ways in which financial support from the general funds of the Community could be given to one or more peace and justice projects in Britain and one or more in the South World, as expressions of tangible corporate response beyond our own work and expenditure, and to bring these suggestions to the next AGM.

Proposed by Iain Whyte Seconded by Alison May

Following discussion the following vote was reached: For: 28 Against: 50 Abstentions: 10

Accounting for Organisational Activity

Programme Committee Tony Phelan, as convener, explained the role of the Programme Committee, including receiving reports regarding youth work, the Wild Goose Resource Group and Pat Bennett since her appointment as Programme Development Worker. One of the things to be celebrated is the office move to Carlton Court and the positive discussions that have taken place to bring this to fruition.

One of the Youth Team (Sarah Evans) has left and Chris Long is now continuing on his own. Council has agreed that, for the time being, he can obtain sessional professional assistance when he needs this rather than make another full-time appointment.

The initial emphasis of Pat Bennett’s work as Programme Development Worker, has been around Glasgow, in supporting youth work and working with the Wild Goose Resource Group. When the Iona Centres are closed in 2017/18 there might be possibilities farther afield, for example regional events, building on the success of regional plenaries, and ‘off-Iona’ residential events. The Wild Goose Resource Group will be present at Solas and Greenbelt.

The Programme Committee is keen to generate material that can be used in churches, based on the model being developed in Glasgow, eg Wee Wonder Box etc. If the Community is going to invest in the future, not just on Iona, then it is up to the members themselves to take responsibility: the work of the Iona Community is the work of its members, not just the staff.

A series of questions and comments followed. The following were the main points made in response: (a) Although there had been earlier talk of the new offices including a café, there were not resources for this in Carlton Court. (b) While the Programme Committee had no specific remit concerning poverty, it was accepted that this remained a central concern for the entire Community and should therefore figure

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IONA COMMUNITY - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING :2016 Saturday 4 th June 2016 St. Silas Scottish Episcopal Church, 69 Park Rd, Glasgow, G4 9JE

prominently in future programme and strategic development. Both the Iona Committee and the Camas Committee, together with the Glasgow office put considerable effort into making the islands’ centres available to people with low incomes, through the Crerar Fund, the Access Fund and help with the costs for young people.

Later in the afternoon, in the course of a series of staff presentations, Pat Bennett explained how, since she took up her post as Programme Development Worker, the nature and priorities of her job had changed. Her original remit had covered support of the programme on Iona; development of programme work on the mainland; and support of the work of the youth team.

Support of the youth work in sustaining projects and providing youth leadership training through some difficult times, had been important and there had been collaboration with the Wild Goose Resource Group, for instance in the Wee Wonder Box initiative, With the move to Carlton Court quite a lot of energy has been put into looking at events as part of that – including weekly Wednesday evening and work with visiting groups, some of whom cannot get to Iona but wish to engage with the Community. The Regional Plenaries were very successful but she had not been able to attend all of these because several were on the same day; and she continued to work on the possibility of developing a link with regional events and to look at the additional work which will have to be done on the mainland when the island centres are shut, including the possibility of a residential event.

Graham Maule explained that the Wee Wonder Box is a joint venture between the WGRG and the Programme team – ‘not just an empty space, but a box for filling with different things’. So it involves an invitation to the Community to help other people and groups to reach their full potential and fill the space by focusing on specific topics and communicating our interests and concerns.

In discussion there was acknowledgement of Pat’s role in helping with the New Members programme and of the need to ask and encourage members more widely to get involved in programme development. Peter, as Pat’s line manager, said that she had been given things to do at short notice because of her particular skills and interests, she had been working very hard and very successfully in the areas she had outlined, and that he and she would be looking together at priorities for the coming year.

Communications and Fundraising Committee Kate Potts, as vice-convener, standing in for David Coleman, named and thanked all the people involved in the Communications and Fundraising Committee. The fundraising aspect of the group was at present largely being carried out by the capital appeal group, including a specialist consultant who is an associate member who lives in Maine, USA.

The remit of the group involves informing and enabling people to respond, to plan and make decisions effectively. The aims, purpose and principles of the Iona Community are now clearly set out in the charter and the committee are now looking at how to take this farther, including the new opportunities in social media, David Coleman produced a video from October Community Week which will help considerably with raising the Community’s profile for fundraising etc. She identified five priorities for further consideration: enabling the living network of the Iona Community relationships to flourish; raising public awareness of the Iona Community in all respects; developing a strategy that links wider issues; making the most of communications technology; engaging with all the senses, recognising people’s differences. As soon as plans were formulated by the Committee they would be circulated to members.

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IONA COMMUNITY - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING :2016 Saturday 4 th June 2016 St. Silas Scottish Episcopal Church, 69 Park Rd, Glasgow, G4 9JE

In response to questions Kate emphasised that the Committee’s intention was to focus on the Community and its rule as a way of communicating what we are about and how we are different. In the light of the charter, approved by Council and now on the website, the committee were working on how to be effective in a low cost way, and it was not possible, at this early stage to indicate what particular groups we are trying to reach at the moment. She acknowledged, in relation to any revision of Wild Goose Publications policy that, with a view to attracting new writers and clarifying what is likely to fall within the area that Wild Goose will publish, that it was important to say what we are doing and communicate it to others in advance.

Camas Committee Mary Duncanson, as convener, said that at last year’s AGM she had reported that Camas was doing well. Since then, 3 of the 4 resident staff had left and new appointments had been made. Irena Arambasic had been appointed as Coordinator, with a background in environmental education; unfortunately, however, personal circumstances meant she had recently had to leave to go back to Croatia: the Committee were grateful to her, having also learnt some useful lessons in recruitment, and were especially indebted to Rachel McCann who had stepped in. Abbi Mason had now taken over as Acting Camas Coordinator from 1 June, Rhyddian Knight is Deputy Coordinator and Hannah Blyth is Programme Worker and Laura Gamwell is Gardener. The Camas Committee met at the end of May, were encouraged by the staff's honesty, insights and commitment to Camas, and were putting in place better support strategies, which still needed further development. Hannah Blyth, from the resident staff team at Camas, confirmed that, despite the difficulties there had been a promising start to the season: there was a strong staff and there had already been some good groups staying at Camas, with gaged from 6 months to 65. There had been no wind one week; so that affected the power, the garden is going well and they now have a fridge and fire alarm, among other things. Plans for the future include producing a CD. Hannah expressed her thanks to the Committee, to Rachel for standing in so quickly and to the wider Iona Community for their support.

Mary also expressed thanks to Hannah for her presentation, to the rest of the Committee, especially for their support to Irena and the staff, and huge thanks to the Camas staff. Rachel McCann is putting together a book about Camas. If anyone has stories, poems, pictures/photos or anything else they might like to contribute please contact Rachel.

Iona Committee Cara explained how she and Alison share responsibility as co-conveners. Their report was presented in liturgical form. They thanked all the members of the committee, the people who work on Iona as resident staff and volunteers as well as MIRs and the members of the Property Development group. They aim to achieve open communication among all concerned. There is continuing concern for the well-being of staff on Iona and in Glasgow both on a daily basis and on account of the extra workload involved in the Abbey refurbishment proposals. Alison said that in view of the concern for the staff and the long days they work on Iona, several proposals had been made on how best to develop the common life with staff and guests. The most significant change proposed is that evening worship, apart from the service on Saturday (which remains at 9:00pm), will now be at 7:30pm. This would shorten the day, particularly for those staff who have been working from early morning, eg in the kitchens. It was felt it was the right time to do this on a trial basis in the shorter season before the Abbey refurbishment started. However, it was recognised that this would affect people staying outside the centres, in particular, guests dining in the hotels.

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IONA COMMUNITY - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING :2016 Saturday 4 th June 2016 St. Silas Scottish Episcopal Church, 69 Park Rd, Glasgow, G4 9JE

Rosie Magee (Island Centres Director) explained that the pilgrimage too was changing and that, for health and safety reasons, the off-road pilgrimage will only be available to those staying in the centres. People not staying in the centres will be able to take part in the on-road pilgrimage.

In response to questions, Rosie said – a) whether families coming to the MacLeod Centre could have a family room or be split up in separate dormitories depended entirely on bookings and the configuration of guests: an effort is made to be as flexible as possible and to try to keep families together. b) the programme of possible spiritual accompaniment introduced a few years ago was still in place and much appreciated.

Staff Reports Wild Goose Publications – Neil Paynter Neil spoke of his role both as Coracle editor and within the Wild Goose Publications team. This year had been a good year for sales and profits with increased emphasis on digital publications. To illustrate the scope of what WPG offers he listed all the many books and projects he had worked on over the last year and those he was already working on for the coming year. Coracle had also been re-designed. One of his present projects, to both highlight and support the capital appeal, is the production of a book of Iona stories - ; showing what the Iona Community does on Iona, about people and the flowing power of the spirit, about culture, challenges and change . He asked anyone who had something they would like considered for the book (up to 500 words) to email him.

Peter thanked Neil. He was impressed not just with the scope and volume of the work that Neil and his WGP colleagues do but was also grateful for the opportunities and encouragement Neil gives to people who are coaxed into writing.

Wild Goose Resource Group John Bell said that much of his time involved speaking at workshops and conferences, with themes relating to music, worship, the use of scripture and social justice,. With many events taking place in other parts of the world, he is away from for approximately 8 months of the year. These events, many organised by associate members, raise money for salaries and payment of rent, etc. Much of the work in Scotland is provided free or at reduced rates, in areas where people have little money. It is hoped that the Abbey Worship Book, on which he had been working for 3 years will be published later in the year. He encouraged members to respond to the request in a recent mailing for suggestions to be included in a collection of new songs reflecting the concerns of the Community.

Jo Love said that she and Graham Maule continued to work in the UK on worship events and resources. She indicated that after 15 years Holy City is having a gap year with several events ‘on the road’ in Glasgow. She referred to several events planned for 2016 throughout Scotland and beyond and said that WGRG were looking for volunteers to help with the WGRG stall at Greenbelt.

Graham Maule said that part of his work involved publishing; and another, copyright administration. The first role - as author/ creator along with John - is in fact formally independent of their WGRG worker employment, though obviously the materials created are used extensively in this. The latter is a task which Graham performs as a WGRG employee of the Community. It is sub-contracted by Wild Goose Publications to WGRG. He mentioned a new GIA/WGRG publication of new songs to old hymn tunes titled 'Known Unknowns' and added that WGRG material was also currently being sub-published in various other countries in translation, eg. Denmark, France and Germany.

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IONA COMMUNITY - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING :2016 Saturday 4 th June 2016 St. Silas Scottish Episcopal Church, 69 Park Rd, Glasgow, G4 9JE

Address by the Leader – Peter started by expressing thanks and appreciation to Morag Balfour for her term as Convener of Council He went on to explain the background to the move to Carlton Court. One of his regrets, on entering his last year as Leader, was spending so much time on the Lion Chambers project: eventually it became clear that this was going to be an impossible task with so many other people, places and business interests involved; it was owned by about 16 parties all over the world, some of whom had no interest in saving an historic building.

The discussion and debate at the 2015 AGM had not been wasted because the guidance from the Community and that event and from groups within the Community had helped clarify what was wanted in a new Glasgow base and what was possible, legitimate and achievable. Last November, with that clear understanding and basis, Carlton Court was identified as a possible place for the new office. There was a positive response from staff. Issues relating to accessibility, lighting, cabling etc. were identified and the landlords of Savoy House were therefore asked for a 3 month extension beyond the expiry of the current lease in February to allow time for the necessary adaptations to be made at Carlton Court. They were uncooperative and legal advice indicated that a quick move would have to be made to Carlton Court.

The staff were magnificent in enabling this to happen within three weeks of the decision being taken. Peter paid tribute to all the Glasgow-based staff, and in particular to Karen Turner and Robert Swinfen, through whose detailed planning the move had gone smoothly. On being nominated Leader 8 years or so previously to he had said he wanted the Community to get a new Glasgow base in order to develop wider outreach work throughout the city and beyond, that was not possible from the Savoy House base. He was delighted that, since the move in February, his expectations for the use of the building by the staff, including the young people who under Chris Long’s leadership were there at present, and outside groups had been exceeded.

Carlton Court is an old stable, built for the Clyde Port Authority in the 19 th century . The ground floor area, now meeting-space, was a courtyard where the carriages and tackle were kept and there was an access ramp that took horses to the stables on the first floor, where most of the staff offices are. Then there is an attic/studio space, occupied now by the Wild Goose Resource Group, which was once the hay loft. It is a high quality conversion, and the landlords, who were helpful at the time of the move, and are themselves located at Carlton Court have an interest in how the building is presented in the local environment and neighbourhood.

In response to a comment, Peter reaffirmed the commitment to making the building accessible, and apologies were expressed for any disappointment or inconvenience at the inaccessibility of the upper floors at the previous evening’s event. He concluded by emphasising that, while the AGM’s focus was inevitably on the work of the Committees and staff, the work of the Community is the work of all its members, and ended by thanking again all those who had reported today and all the staff.

Update by Development Team – Raymond Young/Walter Dunlop Raymond Young, supported by Walter Dunlop, reported on progress with the development planned on Iona. In relation to the MacLeod Centre, the intention is to improve accommodation for the use both of the Community ourselves and others who might be interested. Various bodies have shown interest, particularly UHI (University of the Highlands & Islands), HES (Historic Environment Scotland), not just in what we are doing but also in future maintenance, etc. If the HES maintenance base could be moved from Fionnphort this would be beneficial for both them and us and would enable us to look at a long term maintenance plan, involving not just those organisations but also people on the island. UHI may be able to access European Funding for this purpose. The National

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IONA COMMUNITY - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING :2016 Saturday 4 th June 2016 St. Silas Scottish Episcopal Church, 69 Park Rd, Glasgow, G4 9JE

Trust are also involved in the discussions. The development of proposals is firmly on the agenda but will take some time: major work will have to be done to the building and we are hoping to enter into discussions with the land owner regarding the possibility of an extension.

The Abbey brief involves improving the bedrooms and bathrooms, accessibility, entrances, insulation, renewable energy, etc. There is an energy project for the whole of the island and we have shown an interest but it is on a longer time-scale. We cannot stop the Abbey project to wait for the outcome of that, but, if necessary, should be able to join into any new scheme.

Because HES is the principal Abbey leaseholder they cannot help the Community with a grant for the work but they are assisting in kind (in the provision of advice and some practical work) we do need a Structural Engineer and we have had to get some archaeological advice. To maintain the bed-capacity of the Abbey, we are having to move HES, and consequently ourselves, from areas in the Abbey. Ventilation and electric cookers have already been installed in the kitchen, and a new prototype bedroom has been set up, designed by a yacht designer from Tiree to make the best use of the space as either twin bedroom or single with study area. Everyone using or living in the prototype bedroom is being asked for their comments and feedback. A new storage hut for Shuggie’s equipment has been obtained that was used by the contractors when the new houses were being built. The necessary planning procedures and examination of fire regulations are under way. Peter Why is in charge of the logistics of managing the necessary movement of offices and people. There has been a lot of discussion around such aspects as the Abbey remaining open during the work, the designs, the fire protection and the library, concerning which the Iona Cathedral Trustees have a conservation project for some of the old books. Terms of contract will have had to be agreed by this time next year, and will be looked at very carefully in view of the large sums of money involved.

In response to questions about the plan for staffing, the continuation of worship and the safeguarding of the Community’s interests during the closure, contingency planning should the HLF grant not come through, and the future use of the MacLeod Centre after the workmen leave in the spring/summer 2018, Peter said that a preliminary report on what will happen during the closure has already been made to the Iona Committee who will be doing further work on this. It is intended that the Welcome Centre and shop would remain open during the refurbishment and the staff there will be supplemented by volunteers or MIRs who will come for extended periods to help maintain the common life and worship in the Abbey.

He indicated that it had been decided that the Mac will not re-open in 2018 after housing the workmen during the Abbey refurbishment which will save the cost (over £300,000) if they lived off the island. This will allow time to repair the Mac roof; and it was also felt that there would be advantage in having a fallow period for the Mac.

Raymond confirmed that, if HLF funding does not come through later in June then Council will have to make a decision very quickly as to what should happen. In reply to a further particular question about the Mac, asking whether the interest of HES, the National Trust and other bodies concerning the future of the Mac was because of the potential to use it for their own maintenance work on Iona, and whether, therefore, while this might. be good for the island, it was really compatible with the Community’s own vision for the Mac as a place for building community, welcoming young people, and groups and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Peter recognised the value of the comments made. After much careful discussion Council had decided that the work on the Abbey was the priority. This did not mean that we regard the Mac as of secondary importance. The Community’s aim remains to get the Mac the way we want it and do the

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IONA COMMUNITY - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING :2016 Saturday 4 th June 2016 St. Silas Scottish Episcopal Church, 69 Park Rd, Glasgow, G4 9JE things we want to do. It is a big undertaking for the Community to raise £2.5 million for the Abbey refurbishment and then to do the work on the Mac which may well cost just as much again. That is why we need partners who want not just the facility but also the residential aspect.

Peter explained also that around £300,000 including the legacies, had already been raised for the capital appeal. The Heritage Lottery Fund panel meet on 14 June. If the HLF grant is agreed, sufficient funding should be in place by August or September (50% to 60% of the amount needed) to know what timescale is possible. If HLF need more information, some delays will be inevitable and there will have to be further consultation with the development team about the implications and options.

In May the General Assembly of the received the report of the Iona Community Board which contained a detailed account of the plans for the Abbey and indicated, as the architect had said, that unless work was done within the next 5 years or so then it will not be fit for purpose. The media picked up on this and some of the resultant headlines were misleading and over- alarmist. There had been further contact with HLF who had asked for more information and photographs which might in fact strengthen our application when it is presented and discussed. Everything possible is being done to achieve a positive result and the position will be clearer by the end of June; but if the application is unsuccessful, the situation will have to be reassessed and further decisions made.

Asked what material would be provided for members, Family Groups and others, Peter said all members, associates and friends would shortly receive a letter, together with a background leaflet and pledge form, inviting them to make a commitment to support the appeal – whether by a lump sum donation now or a monthly payment over the next 2 or 3 years, or otherwise. There will be publicity and opportunity to donate through the web-site, and it was hoped also, in the autumn, to extend the appeal more widely by developing a team of ambassadors to promote the appeal, and to encourage and provide resources for those who might be prepared to make a presentation to a local group about the plans.

Conclusion Peter apologised that the day has felt so rushed and suggested that, if anyone had any more questions they wished to raise, they should write to him by email. He expressed thanks to all those members of staff who had done an incredible amount of work behind the scenes, to Stephan for leading the morning Office, and to Christine Green for taking notes.

Because of time constraints and the need to be able to finish in time for Helen Steven’s memorial service it was agreed not to celebrate Communion at the end of the meeting; and special thanks were offered to Sim for the work she had done in preparation for the Communion service.

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