Reflections on my first full day at Iona
Tonight Richard the Warden of Iona, and Malcolm, one of the community members spoke to us about the Iona Community. I found the session really interesting, partly because like the Third Order, Society of Saint Francis, they are a dispersed religious community, and partly because they commented briefly about Corrymeela, which I have been to about 3 weeks ago.
Iona is a community of people that live by a common rule of life that has four basic headings: I will have to blog those later. One of the works of Iona is the Abbey, on Iona Island, which is run by staff and volunteers for the Iona Community. Currently only one community member is present at the Abbey.
Some comments that resonated;
The work of Iona Community is whatever our members are doing. Some are doctors, some ministers, some song writers and liturgy writers, some youth workers etc… While none would say they do these things because they are members of Iona, their work becomes the work of Iona. So too for us Franciscans. I think sometimes we, or at least I, wonder what it is that we do as an order. We do a lot. Each members work is the work of the Order, and when added together, that amounts to a lot. And I think being a member of the Order colours (or at least I would hope it colours) how we approach our everyday work. I am increasingly aware of how much it influences my approach to my ministry, as indeed it influences my approach to life. Maybe not as much as I would want, but the sand paper is at work.
The Iona Community is organised into family groups, i.e. small groups where Community members meet on a regular basis. Part of these meetings is to be accountable to each other for how they live the rule, including how they spend their money, and how they spend their time. We as Third Order are also accountable through our reporting form. But it has become a very individual thing. I have seen it as individual. But I am challenged by this aspect of being accountable to the wider community. I am beginning to see that this is actually an important part of being community. But I wonder how we could do that as Franciscans.
I also like how ministries like the Abbey are seen as part of the work of the Community, like the Corrymeela Centre at Ballycastle is seen as part of the work of the Corrymeela Community. But it is only part of the work. And they employ others to do the work. I wonder what kind of model that offers us as an Order? In part that is what Franciscan International in Geneva and New York offers us. But how can we build on this.
Finally, the comments about leadership were interesting. The Community is very non hierarchical. As it should be with TSSF. What ever role I play I need to remember that, and not get too hierarchical, but facilitative. I look forward to learning and experiencing more of what this thin space offers us.
Iona is a community of people that live by a common rule of life that has four basic headings: I will have to blog those later. One of the works of Iona is the Abbey, on Iona Island, which is run by staff and volunteers for the Iona Community. Currently only one community member is present at the Abbey.
Some comments that resonated;
The work of Iona Community is whatever our members are doing. Some are doctors, some ministers, some song writers and liturgy writers, some youth workers etc… While none would say they do these things because they are members of Iona, their work becomes the work of Iona. So too for us Franciscans. I think sometimes we, or at least I, wonder what it is that we do as an order. We do a lot. Each members work is the work of the Order, and when added together, that amounts to a lot. And I think being a member of the Order colours (or at least I would hope it colours) how we approach our everyday work. I am increasingly aware of how much it influences my approach to my ministry, as indeed it influences my approach to life. Maybe not as much as I would want, but the sand paper is at work.
The Iona Community is organised into family groups, i.e. small groups where Community members meet on a regular basis. Part of these meetings is to be accountable to each other for how they live the rule, including how they spend their money, and how they spend their time. We as Third Order are also accountable through our reporting form. But it has become a very individual thing. I have seen it as individual. But I am challenged by this aspect of being accountable to the wider community. I am beginning to see that this is actually an important part of being community. But I wonder how we could do that as Franciscans.
I also like how ministries like the Abbey are seen as part of the work of the Community, like the Corrymeela Centre at Ballycastle is seen as part of the work of the Corrymeela Community. But it is only part of the work. And they employ others to do the work. I wonder what kind of model that offers us as an Order? In part that is what Franciscan International in Geneva and New York offers us. But how can we build on this.
Finally, the comments about leadership were interesting. The Community is very non hierarchical. As it should be with TSSF. What ever role I play I need to remember that, and not get too hierarchical, but facilitative. I look forward to learning and experiencing more of what this thin space offers us.
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