Greetings All! The Island of Iona is indeed a place of paradox. Here, the time stands still amidst the old buildings of the Abbey, the cemetary, etc., and yet time passes rapidly as people have cellular phones and walk about listening to their MP3 players. In order to get the island, a person must rely on all the technology of the transportation systems: taking a plane to Glasgow, a train to Oban, a ferry to Craignure, a bus to Fionnephort, and another ferry to Iona, and then no automobiles are allowed on the island--except for the natives...so start walking. :o) But this makes Iona again a sort of paradoxical place...you can get here from there.
More about this later...
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A daily rhythm: Each day begins and ends with worship in the Abbey. This is a lovely opportunity to set a rhythm to daily life and simultaneously remember our brothers and sisters in Christ around with world in prayer. After worship, we all venture off to the various tasks which have been assigned to us with regular breaks for tea and coffee as well as times for lunch and dinner. I have been assigned to housekeeping in the MacLeod Center, and am enjoying starting work at 9:30 am. Talk about a dream job! :o) Anyway, our department is in charge of setting up and taking down for meals, anything to do with cleaning/washing--linens & dishes & carpets etc., and even preparing the tea and coffee for our guests. Above all, however everyone's first priority is to extent hospitality and the love of God to our guests.
This week we have had about 44 guests in the center and they have been learning about environmental issues and creation care. Tomorrow they will all leave, and we will get a new group of people for a new program on Saturday at 14:00. This week, I have enjoyed getting to know a woman from Germany named Annette. She and I have similar dietary constraints and thus have spent more time at meals together. Anyway, people come from all over the world to be here at Iona. Some of them are ministers who are on sabbatical, others are students from various countries who have come to learn more about God, and still others are here because Iona is a spiritual place. Some people even have history here...
Well, the time for evening worship is drawing near and so i sign off for today. Blessings to you.
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