NEWS ABOUT ATTACKS IN GAZA
Peter Cinquini, a former volunteer with the Iona Community who now works in Lebanon, e-mailed this news. Peter writes:
These photos have just been released of the attack of the UN school used by sheltering families during the recent Gaza war.
The attack was with white phosporous bombs and these chemical weapons were used often by the Israeli air force in heavily populated civilian areas in Gaza in the recent war. Although there were many films taken of these bombs from the air the effects on the ground were not available until now. White phosporous produces extensive, deep (second and third degree) burns. Phosphorus burns carry a greater risk of mortality than other forms of burns due to the absorption of phosphorus into the body through the burned area, resulting in liver, heart and kidney damage, and in some cases multiple organ failure. These weapons are particularly dangerous to exposed people because white phosphorus continues to burn unless deprived of oxygen or until it is completely consumed. The UN (UNRWA and UNHCR) has called for independent investigations into possible war crimes after Israel's shelling at this and other UN installations in Gaza.
Peter warns that the photos on this website are horrific:
http://www.un.org/unrwa/news/statements/gaza_crisis/photo_gallery/index.html
www.un.org/unrwa/
WOMEN'S WORLD DAY OF PRAYER, March 7th
Led by the Christian women of Papua New Guinea
Women's World Day of Prayer is a global, ecumenical movement of informed prayer and prayerful action, organised and led by Christian women who call the faithful together on the first Friday in March each year to observe a common day of prayer.
The theme chosen for Women’s World Day of Prayer 2009, 'In Christ There Are Many Members Yet One Body', is very appropriate for Papua New Guinea (PNG), as the country has many languages, cultures, traditions and beliefs. Although the people are different in many ways, they continue to experience the spirit of unity in diversity. (From the Women's World Day of Prayer website)
For prayers and resources:
www.wwdp-natcomm.org/index.asp
NEWS ABOUT EAST TIMOR
FROM IONA COMMUNITY ASSOCIATE TIM ALDRED
Tim Aldred works on Aid Policy and Advocacy issues for Progressio. Progressio is an international development charity working for justice and the eradication of poverty. He writes:
In addition to the helpful suggestions made in the latest edition of Coracle for action on East Timor, Coracle/e-bulletin readers may also be interested to hear of Progressio's current 'East Timor – Who Cares?' campaign.
Progressio has worked in East Timor for many years. We are currently calling on the British government to help the East Timorese authorities promote justice through establishing a centre that will enable individuals and communities to obtain reparations. We are looking for the help of the public in writing to MPs to show that they care for justice in East Timor.
Readers can visit www.progressio.org.uk for background information, and to add their voice to the campaign.
Kind regards,
Tim Aldred (Associate member)
Before working with Progressio, Tim worked for ten years on Humanitarian Relief programmes for CAFOD.
THE US INAUGURATION
Community Member Yvonne Morland composed the following 'Inauguration Haiku' on the day of the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as 44th President of the United States of America. In a letter to fellow Member Rev. Dr Sam Varner in America, Yvonne wrote: 'Let’s hope Barack Obama has the clear-sightedness, toughness of spirit and breadth of global vision to be a new kind of truth-teller …' Let's hope so, Yvonne! …
Inauguration Haiku
1
Strange fruit no longer
Pungent blossom on the trees.
They do clap their hands!
2
A new day dawns bright
Though we are still in winter
Summer is promised
3
The tree has borne fruit
Sunshine shimmers through branches
Spring comes in winter
Yvonne Morland
THE NEW LEADER OF THE IONA COMMUNITY
On Saturday, February 14th it was announced that Rev. Peter MacDonald, currently minister of St George's West Church in Edinburgh, would be the new Leader of the Iona Community, taking over from Rev. Kathy Galloway when she finishes her 7-year term at the end July. Congratulations, Peter.
THE REV DR JOHN MORROW: A TRIBUTE
John Morrow, who died suddenly but peacefully at his home in Belfast on New Year’s Day, was Leader of the Corrymeela Community in succession to its Founder, Ray Davey, from 1979 to 1992. He was himself one of the founder members of the Community, back in 1965 – and so was intimately involved with its remarkable story of Christian witness to the reconciling power of love throughout the whole of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. (Just the week before Christmas, he prayed very movingly at Kathleen Davey’s funeral.)
One of five children born into a farming family outside Belfast in 1931, John’s early years helped to form him as the open and rooted Christian man he grew to become. From both sides of his family, he inherited a unique Ulster tradition of broad and tolerant Presbyterianism, which stood him in good stead – and was often put to the test – during the turbulent years of the second half of the last century.
After school in Belfast and further education (first class Honours and a Masters in Agriculture) at Queens University, he found himself caught up in the Iona Community, through the Iona Youth Camps, and after further study for the ministry, joined the Iona Community as a ‘new man’ in the summer of 1958. As a young Vollie at the Abbey that summer, my memory of him then is very clear – his tall figure, his shock of dark hair, his huge laugh.
In 1960 John, with his new wife, Shirley, from Edinburgh, moved back to Northern Ireland to a parish in a housing estate. An opportunity to work with his former ‘boss’, David Millar, as Overseas Chaplain in Glasgow University, was then followed by Chaplaincy work in Trinity College Dublin and three years as Chaplain in Queen’s in Belfast, before he was elected to the Leadership of Corrymeela in 1979. After retiral from that post in 1992, he spent five years on the staff of the Irish Schools of Ecumenics, before formal retiral in 1997.
John was simply a towering figure in the midst of the maelstrom of Irish political, cultural and religious life for well nigh forty years. In his little book of memoirs, he cites George MacLeod’s dictum about God being concerned about ‘whole salvation rather than soul salvation’ – and he often quotes the Irish aphorism: ‘It’s better to light ten candles even if nine blow out.’ He sought to live out these principles in all he attempted – not just in the founding and leading of the Corrymeela Community, but also in his many costly, delicate and tough efforts at reconciliation during the Troubles, his work with the Glencree Centre for Reconciliation, his contacts with Iona, with Taizé, and with the huge variety of nationalities and religions that he engaged with in his various roles.
John’s four children, and seven grandchildren, all took part in his funeral, attended by over 700 people. His oldest son, Duncan, said of his father: ‘Ultimately his life was defined by his passionate commitment to meeting in relationship, always based on honest and ongoing dialogue and on the certain knowledge that God loves us far beyond anything so petty as our opinions.’ He described him essentially as a humble man, a man who delighted in debate and argument, and a man who believed in his innermost being that he was loved by God in Christ, just the same as every other person on God’s earth. This is certainly how we found John, especially as we grew closer after our two families were united through marriage in 1989, and then after Shirley’s untimely death in 2003. On Christmas Day, just a week before he died, we shared in a happy, and often hilarious, Christmas Dinner with all his four children and most of his grandchildren in his home in Belfast. The memory of John joining in crazy games, fully involved even although he was by now quite frail, will always remain with us. This was, in all senses of the word that you can possibly think of, a ‘good’ man.
John Harvey
John and Molly Harvey's elder daughter, Susan, and John and Shirley's eldest son, Duncan, married in 1989.
REMEMBERING MAUREEN WEATHERSTONE
Maureen Weatherstone, who died at home in Dundee last September, was a very active Associate of the Iona Community for many decades. Early encounters with George MacLeod and the Community played an important part in shaping her values and activities throughout her life; she was a radical Christian woman, a keen and critical Church Elder, and committed to many causes, among them CND, Shelter, credit unions, Fair Trade and Traidcraft. Politically aware all her adult life, she moved from being a card-carrying member of the Conservative Party, through membership of the Labour Party, to eventually being a member of the Greens.
Almost every summer without fail, Maureen, with her lifelong friend Jean Winchester, could be found on Iona at Community Week, her camera at the ready, always interested in what was going on, attending every service, and buttonholing the many Members that she knew personally.
Jean was keen that the many Members and Associates who knew Maureen should be made aware of her death – and is grateful for this chance to let people know of it through the communciations of the Community.
We give thanks for a long life, faithfully led.
by John Harvey
Iona Community Member Tom Graham died in November. A tribute to Tom will appear in the next Coracle.
Member Richard Baxter died in February. A tribute to Richard will appear in a future Coracle.
Prayer
We remember those who have died:
those who were part of our living
those who live on in our lives.
God of the elements, You inhabit us:
family and friends and strangers are at home in us,
stars and planets dance in our bones and blood.
We are ourselves,
and yet we are more than ourselves;
we remember, we learn, we dream,
we touch death and life.
God of eternity,
comfort your people,
living and dying.
Quicken us with wonder,
salt us with justice and integrity,
welcome us with love.
Ruth Burgess (from Acorns and Archangels, Wild Goose Publications)
SPACE AVAILABLE AT CAMAS
Camas is a unique residential centre based in a remote and beautiful bay on the isle of Mull.
Weeks for individuals and small groups
There are still spaces available in May:
9th to 15th May: Off Grid, Off Oil, with Raymond Young. A week experiencing and discussing life on the other side of the oil revolution, and exploring how we can live a satisfying and enjoyable low-carbon life.
16th to 22nd May: Reading the Big Book, with Kathy Galloway. A reflective and recreational programme which offers the chance to join with others in reading from the ‘Big Book’ of creation.
Further details are available on the Iona Community's website, or contact Carol Dougall (01681 700404, camas.bookings@iona.org.uk) to book.
Group booking availability
There are still a few spaces available for group bookings, in particular:
30th May to 5th June: The end of May can be one of the nicest times of year at Camas.
11th to 17th July: This week is within the Scottish school holidays, and has only become available due to a last-minute cancellation. Availability in school holiday times is usually hard to get – so this could be your chance!
There are also two weeks available in September: 5th to 11th, and 19th to 25th.
Please contact Carol Dougall (camas.bookings@iona.org.uk, 01681 700404) for further details.
Staff Vacancies at Camas
Camas is currently recruiting for two positions on the Camas Resident Staff Team: an Organic Gardener, closing date, 13th March; and a new Camas Coordinator, closing date, 3rd April
For full details:
www.iona.org.uk/iona_staff.php#volunteer
SPACE AVAILABLE AT IONA ABBEY
March 21-27: Exploring Lent
Traditionally Lent has been observed in Christian churches as the period from Ash Wednesday through to Palm Sunday, in part remembering the forty days Jesus spent in the desert after his baptism by John in the River Jordan. It was a time of solitude, fasting and prayer, in preparation for the beginning of his ministry in Galilee and beyond. It was also a time of temptation, when the allure of worldly power and spiritual glamour assailed a man weakened by hunger, danger and the interior as well as exterior exposure of the desert.
Lent has always been considered a time when followers of Jesus practise a measure of interior withdrawal and reflection, in which to look with some honesty at the wilderness places in our hearts and lives, to remember and name our own frailties and to hear again the call to conversion, to turning as the lost son did and heading for home.
An opportunity to explore these Lenten themes in community and individually, within the framework of prayer, discussion, song and creative expression.
September and October:
Both the Abbey and the Mac have vacancies on all weeks throughout September and October. Most of the weeks could take a small group, and the 3-night break in both centres, 13-16 October, could take groups in either centre. Individuals, couples and families also welcome.
For more information:
Abbey.Bookings@iona.org.uk
Tel: 01681-700-404
SPACE AVAILABLE AT THE MACLEOD CENTRE
March 21-27: Exploring Lent
28 March-3 April: Students' week
25-6 April: A two-night break
18-24 April: Gathering place week
2-8 May: Gathering place
September and October:
Both the Abbey and the Mac have vacancies on all weeks throughout September and October. Most of the weeks could take a small group, and the 3-night break in both centres, 13-16 October, could take groups in either centre. Individuals, couples and families also welcome.
For more information:
mac.bookings@iona.org.uk
Tel: 01681-700-404
For full details:
www.iona.org.uk/media/comm_bklt_sml2.pdf
www.iona.org.uk/media/programme.pdf
GROWING HOPE … STOP PRESS.
SECOND PHASE NEARLY COMPLETE!
The building work on the Iona Community Welcome Centre (aka Shop, aka old Coffee House) should be finished by mid-March and the centre should be ready for the new season. Thanks to all who have contributed to the Appeal and all strength to the Iona staff whose hard work in fitting out starts when the building is handed over.
The big white house opposite the Columba Hotel figures as the third and probably final phase of the Growing Hope Appeal.
Dunsmeorach was built as a family home for owners of the Columba Hotel in the ’30s. Sold to the Iona Community, it became home to the MacLeod family when they were in summer residence on Iona. The house then became first a home for Abbey wardens and their families, and subsequently Resident Group staff accommodation. In the ’80s a small outbuilding at the rear was modified to provide extra space but according to its occupants has always been poky, cold and damp.
It is now necessary to renovate the accommodation in the house, demolishing the outbuilding and adding a rear extension, returning it all to acceptable condition. There are not yet final plans or costings but now that the work to convert the shop building is nearly complete and the cost covered we are ready to embark on this phase.
Bright, imaginative, innovative ideas for raising money are invited. All suggestions to the Growing Hope Appeal fundraising group through Margaret Stewart, Graham Boyle or Malcolm May. Watch this space.
Margaret Stewart
Margaret Stewart is a retired physician and a Member of the Iona Community.
NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM SOME 'FRIENDS OF OUR PURPOSE'
From the Get Fair Campaign
Make your voice heard!
Constituency Lobby
June 2009
The Get Fair campaign is coordinating a Constituency-based lobby of MPs on 26-27 June, to ensure ending poverty in the UK is on the agenda of all major political parties.
Government statistics have revealed that 12.8 million people are living in poverty in the UK today – that's 1 in 5 of us. We want you to tell your MP that this is wrong, and it's time to GET FAIR.
For the lobby to be successful, we need to find people in as many parliamentary constituencies as possible who are willing to act as a local organiser. Could you help? It would involve bringing together people from a range of local organisations to plan the lobby jointly. Don't panic! We are holding briefing events which will provide you with everything you need to know – from detail on the campaign and the purpose of the lobby, to how to organise a delegation and put across an effective case to your MP.
If you're interested, please come to one of our regional briefing events! Register by calling 0161 236 9321 or emailing info@getfair.org.uk. You can also find out more and sign up for monthly updates at www.getfair.org.uk
Diary dates
• Taunton, Tuesday 24 March, 7-9pm
• Sheffield, Wednesday 1 April 6-9.30pm
• Birmingham, Monday 6 April, 7-9pm
• Manchester, Saturday 18 April, 11.30-1.30pm
• Luton, Monday 20 April, 6-8pm
• Perth, Wednesday 22 April, 6.30-8.30pm
• Cardiff, Friday 24 April, 7-9pm
• London, Wednesday 29 April, 2-6pm
www.getfair.org.uk
From The Fellowship of Reconciliation
The Fellowship of Reconciliation Scotland will be holding its Residential Conference, entitled 'What Can I Do for Peace?', from 29-31st May, 2009 at Tarfside, Angus.
It is open to non-FOR members. The cost is £65 per person for the weekend (£45 if camping). Students half price; accompanied children (0-16) free.
For more information, email David Mumford:
dmumford3@btinternet.com
The Poverty Truth Commission
21 March 2009, 2–5 PM
Ms. Tricia McConalgue, Chair
The Right Rev. David Lunan, Host
Glasgow City Chambers
George Square, Glasgow G1 1RX
In Scotland people die young because of poverty. In one of the richest countries in the world, this is wrong.
The Poverty Truth Commission will bring together two groups of people: those who know and understand the struggle against poverty in their lives and those who have the power and influence to change Scotland for the better.
At the Poverty Truth Commission people who have grown up in poverty will testify to the realities they have faced and still face. In their testimonies they will move beyond the hurdles they have faced to describe their hopes for the future and their resolve to work to overcome poverty not only in Scotland but throughout the world.
At the Poverty Truth Commission, community leaders from politics, the media, academia and the church will listen and respond to what they have heard and commit themselves to action.
The Poverty Truth Commission is your chance to be involved in that vitally important conversation. It will be an afternoon of music, drama, song, tears and laughter, bringing together many astonishing and amazing people.
By excluding certain segments of the population, the nation overlooks the very resources that are essential to building a just society. The resilient people in the valiant struggle against poverty contribute insight, passion and hope to all of us. The goal of the Poverty Truth Commission is to tap into this rich resource as well as to contribute strength to an emerging network of people – both those in poverty and other people of goodwill – joining together to build a more equitable society.
The PTC is inspired by the Poverty Truth Commission of Union Theological Seminary in New York City and is sponsored by Faith in Community Scotland and the Church of Scotland Priority Areas in cooperation with grassroots organisations throughout the country.
Rt Rev David Lunan is the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Ms. Tricia McConalogue is the Coordinator of Bridging the Gap in the Gorbals.
To register in advance or for more information:
Telephone: 0141 248 2905
Email: ptc@faithincommunityscotland.org
Poverty Truth Commission,
759a Argyle Street,
Glasgow G3 8DS
We encourage you to join us on 21 March.
A creche is available and must be booked in advance.
From ACTS: Action of Churches Together in Scotland
The ACTS Easter resource material for 2009 is now available to download free from the ACTS website: www.acts-scotland.org
This year’s resource has been prepared by Rev Rachel Dobie, one of our Church of Scotland representatives on ACTS Church Life Network, using the title ‘One of the Crowd’. Rachel has used Mark’s Gospel to prepare this text and looks at what it could have been like to be one of the crowd at that time, what could have been witnessed and the emotions which would have been experienced.
