THE AND PRACTICE OF THE COMMUNITY

The is an ecumenical movement of men and women from many places and backgrounds in Britain and beyond, and from many different traditions in the Christian church. The denominations from which our membership is drawn includes: Church of (Presbyterian), Church of England (Anglican), Scottish Episcopal, United Reformed, Methodist, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Society of Friends (Quaker) and Brethren. Iona Community members maintain their membership in their own churches, and represent the discipline and teaching of these churches (which are of course themselves not uniform, and maintain liberty of conscience as part of their dogma).

As we are not a church, either mainstream or independent, we do not take doctrinal stances. It would be inappropriate to do so, and we have no wish to undermine the pre-existing loyalty of any Iona Community member to their own church’s teaching, and their observance in conscience of any particular teaching. Furthermore, since we come from such a wide range of traditions, and therefore, inevitably, hold differing views on a wide range of theological issues, we believe that there is nothing in particular to be gained from attempting to reach, or impose, uniformity of belief. Scotland, the country of the Community’s origin, has a sad history of sectarianism, which has too often expressed itself violently. We have no desire to add to this history. We believe that the greatest challenge facing Christians, and indeed all people of goodwill in the 21 st century, the same challenge constantly posed by Jesus Christ, is not whether we can arrive at uniformity of belief or orthodoxy, but whether we can love each other though we are different.

What unites us as members of the Iona Community from our different traditions is our adherence to a common Rule of life.

Our five-fold Rule calls us to: 1. Daily prayer and Bible-reading 2. Sharing and accounting for the use of our money 3. Planning and accounting for the use of our time 4. Action for justice and peace in society 5. Meeting with and accounting to each other.

A commitment to following Jesus, and to trying to live out this five-fold Rule in daily life is all that we require of our members as a condition of membership. The implications of the Rule (for example, the formats we use for all our accounting) and the consequences of its practice, are explored in depth in a two-year joining programme for all new members of the Community.

The one part of our Rule which is spelled-out in detail is our Justice and Peace Commitment, which was arrived at by consensus in 1967, and is only added to by the consent of the whole membership. This states what we believe about the gospel call to justice and peace:

We believe: 1. that the Gospel commands us to seek peace founded on justice and that costly reconciliation is at the heart of the Gospel; 2. that work for justice, peace and an equitable society is a matter of extreme urgency; 3. that God has given us partnership as stewards of creation and that we have a responsibility to live in a right relationship with the whole of God’s creation; 4. that, handled with integrity, creation can provide for the needs of all, but not for the greed which leads to injustice and inequality, and endangers life on earth; 5. that everyone should have the quality and dignity of a full life that requires adequate physical, social and political opportunity, without the oppression of poverty, injustice and fear; 6. that social and political action leading to justice for all people and encouraged by prayer and discussion, is a vital work of the Church at all levels; 7. that the use or threatened use of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction is theologically and morally indefensible and that opposition to their existence is an imperative of the Christian faith.

Therefore, as Members and Family Groups we will: 8. engage in forms of political witness and action, prayerfully and thoughtfully, to promote just and peaceful social, political and economic structures; 9. work for a British policy of renunciation of all weapons of mass destruction and for the encouragement of other nations, individually or collectively, to do the same; 10. celebrate human diversity and actively work to combat discrimination on grounds of age, colour, disability, mental wellbeing, differing ability, gender, colour, race, ethnic and cultural background, sexual orientation or religion; 11. work for the establishment of the United Nations Organisation as the principal organ of international reconciliation and security, in place of military alliances; 12. support and promote research and education into non-violent ways of achieving justice, peace and a sustainable global society; 13. work for reconciliation within and among nations by international sharing and exchange of experience and people, with particular concern for politically and economically oppressed nations.

We prefer to let what we practice demonstrate what we believe. As a Community, our history, experience and priorities, and, we think, our faith in Jesus, have called us to a particular commitment to working for justice, peace and the integrity of creation, to the ministry of healing and reconciliation, and to building community, and we draw our members from those from many traditions and theologies who share this commitment. This is reflected strongly in our prayer, in our on Iona and elsewhere and in our publications and resources. This might better be described as orthopraxis. We share a practice, and a spirituality which sustains this practice.

Therefore we do not answer doctrinal questions or take doctrinal stances. We have no single answer to many such questions, and feel under no obligation to ‘prove’ our doctrinal orthodoxy or ‘soundness’. Instead, we invite you to consider our practice and spirituality as you meet them in our Rule, our work, our worship and our resources and publications with an open mind and heart, and draw your own conclusions.

The Council of the Iona Community September 2004

Leader, The Iona Community