The Iona Community News

Lessons in Love and Anger: Rima and Two Weeks in May, by Alison Swinfen

2010-02-21T10:40:16Z

Lessons in Love and Anger: Rima and Two Weeks in May, a reflection by Alison Swinfen (from Coracle):

www.iona.org.uk/media/rima.pdf

Exploring Sustainable Living - 22nd - 28th May 2010 At Camas

2010-02-17T15:37:45Z

The week will use workshops based on the Cambridge footprint model http://cambridgecarbonfootprint.org/ and the practical resources of Camas. We will also link with the Ross of Mull Transition Group which is developing its own approach to a low carbon community.

There will be some preparation expected of participants. Before you arrive, you will be sent a climate change science leaflet with facts and amounts of C02 per capita, the carbon calculator which you are asked to return in advance to allow calculations to be made and you will need to take home energy meter readings. There will be a reference book made available (for an additional £15), and a record book to record your progress.

The leaders of the week are:
- Ross Loveridge, an associate lecturer in International Environmental Policy with the Open University
- Raymond Young, a member of the Iona Community with a background in architecture, community organisations and sustainability

Alongside the Cambridge Programme discussion and activities could include:
• peat cutting with local peat cutters – is peat burning sustainable?
• tour of renewable and sustainable systems at Camas (solar heat, wind turbine, compost toilets)
• tour and work in the organic garden – there’re always jobs for the green-fingered!
• visit to local ‘Ecocroft’ with wind turbine, heat pump and organic croft.
• visit to local organic weaving mill – adapting traditional skills to a modern way of life.
• sea fishing excursion (an additional cost may apply) – try your hand at catching your own evening meal!

Book now - we only have a limited number of spaces!

The Camas Chickens are coming!

2010-02-03T20:51:21Z

The Camas Chickens are coming! Macclesfeild, one of our regular groups have an enterprise project with their young people who are training for work, have offered to come to Camas this Easter to build and launch the Chicken Project. They are researching the best way to house Chickens, what sort of coop we will need to keep the mink away, and will design and manage the build.... Exciting stuff, be sure to keep an eye on our blog for photo updates!

Along with this, they are also designing a bike shed for the end of the track, and supplying us with bikes from there Bike restoring workshop. The bikes will enable volunteers to get to the village and a bit of exploring on days off, and maybe the friday morning run to the ferry - keep our carbon footprint down! We'll Blog this too, so keep an eye out...

Cre8 are long standing Camas attenders, check out the brilliant work they get up to here - www.worthunlimited.co.uk/macclesfield.html

Banking On Justice: Churches Investing For A Fairer Future: A conference at St Georges West Church, Edinburgh, March 18, 2010

2010-01-27T11:18:50Z

BANKING ON JUSTICE: CHURCHES INVESTING FOR A FAIR FUTURE:
A CONFERENCE AT ST GEORGES WEST CHURCH, EDINBURGH,
18 MARCH 2010

This conference is being organised jointly by ECCR (the Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility) and the Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland (Convener Ian Galloway; General Secretary Ewan Aitken). The Iona Community and a number of other Scottish church-based organisations (SCIAF, Christian Aid Scotland, ACTS, the Centre for Theology and Public Issues) are supporting the event in a variety of ways.

The first part of the conference will consider global finance and justice issues in the light of recent world events, particularly in the banking sector, while the afternoon session will introduce delegates to the variety of ethical and responsible investment options available to individuals and churches.

Nearly all of us are, one way or another, investors in companies and therefore part owners. This may be directly through owning shares, or indirectly through our pension funds, savings, bank accounts, and insurance policies – and through the churches to which we belong. Most church denominations are significant shareholders, e.g. the Church of Scotland has around £110.5 million of invested assets (2008 figure). Shareholders, as company owners, give companies their mandate to operate. What companies do, therefore, they do in our name. Investment entails responsibility, and awareness of this fact is a key ethic for Christian communities. Accepting this responsibility is empowering. It helps us to realise that we can all make choices about what we do with our money and thereby participate in changing and improving the policies and practices of companies.

The aim of the Banking on Justice conference is therefore to help all involved in the Scottish churches, from the investment managers of the major denominations to the ‘person in the pew’, to think further about what it means to invest ethically and to consider alternative investment models (such as mission related social investment), thereby enabling delegates to make a practical response to the current global financial situation and to the question ‘How can I be a good steward of my money?’. It is hoped that this might trigger a wider discussion within the Scottish churches and church-based organisations of corporate responsibility and responsible investment issues.

ECCR is a church-based investor coalition and membership organisation working for economic justice and environmental sustainability. ECCR undertakes research, advocacy and dialogue to encourage companies to meet the highest standards of corporate responsibility and transparency, as well as assisting faith communities, their members and other investors in upholding these same high standards through responsible and positive-impact investment. Recent publications by ECCR have included Investment and Engaging with Companies: A Guide for Faith Communities, and in-depth research reports on company use of water resources and migrant labour. Next month ECCR is publishing a report on Shell in the Niger Delta. ECCR is also working on a guide to, and digest of, corporate responsibility issues in the banking sector, arising from the spectrum of recent research, which is to be published later in 2010. Issues arising from this overview of the banking sector will be discussed at the conference.

ECCR is a Body in Association with Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI), with a very diverse membership ranging from the major church denominations (including the Church of Scotland), large NGOs and companies providing ethical investment services, to individual members.

ECCR is looking to grow its membership base in Scotland. The conference organisers also hope to develop ongoing interaction and partnership working between ECCR, the Church of Scotland, and other Scottish churches and church-based organisations.

The Banking on Justice conference builds on the Church and Society Council’s Justice and Markets report to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in May 2009 and its three subsequent conferences in October and December 2009 and January 2010. It will hopefully inform and feed into the proposed Church of Scotland commission on economics and society, especially with regard to ethical investment and wider corporate responsibility issues.

The conference will hear from a range of expert and interesting speakers:

• Doug Gay, co-author Justice and Markets and an Iona Community Associate
• Kathy Galloway, who is now Head of Christian Aid Scotland and was the previous Leader of the Iona Community
• Miles Litvinoff, Co-ordinator of ECCR
• Victoria Woodbridge, EIRIS
• Ryan Brightwell, Co-operative Financial Services
• Alex Connor, Triodos Bank
• Jamie Hartzell, The Ethical Property Company

There will also be plenty of opportunity for questions, discussion and networking. A variety of NGOs and ethical investment professionals will have stalls at the event. All are very welcome to the conference.

For more information and to book:

www.eccr.org.uk/module-htmlpages-display-pid-76.html

Christian Aid's Haiti Earthquake Appeal

2010-01-14T13:37:01Z

Haiti earthquake appeal

Christian Aid has launched an emergency appeal for Haiti after a major earthquake struck the country. Thousands of people are dead, many are buried alive and countless have been left homeless.

They are releasing £100,000 for immediate emergency relief to help those affected, and we hope to send more.

For more information and to donate:

www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/current/haiti-earthquake-appeal/index.aspx

Run the Edinburgh marathon and fundraise for Christian Aid

2010-01-12T10:00:12Z

Christian Aid has guaranteed places in the Edinburgh Marathon and would love to have you as part of the Christian Aid running team!

Edinburgh Marathon
Date 23 May 2010
Registration Fee £50
Minimum Sponsorship £500
Run details: A historic route taking in the sights of the city. This is a perfect track for getting a personal best and is rated as one of the UK’s fastest marathons.

With your support you will be helping Christian Aid challenge the causes and structures that keep people in poverty all over the world. Poverty is an outrage against humanity. It robs people of dignity, freedom and hope, of power over their own lives. Christian Aid has a vision – an end to poverty – and believe this vision can become a reality with your help.

Running not your thing? Then you can help out by forwarding this email ont o people who you think may be interested in taking part or check out www.christianaid.org.uk/events for other ways you can help

If you have any questions please call Libby on 020 7523 2127 or email events@christian-aid.org

www.iona.org.uk/media/a5_ed_marathon1.pdf

Podcast of Joint Celebration of Communion and Carols with Iona Parish Church.

2010-01-05T17:55:51Z

December 27th 2009 (59.2Mb) - Joint Celebration of Communion and Carols with Iona Parish Church.

Journey Planner Tool

2009-12-09T12:17:30Z

Planning your trip to Iona by Public Transport? This useful tool from Traveline Scotland might help.

Simply enter your post code if you live in Scotland or your hometown if you live elsewhere in the UK and click "to here" for details of travel to Iona or "from here" for your return trip from Iona.var form = new PageLanderTemplate();form.type = 4;form.locationName = "Iona Abbey, Isle Of Iona, PA766SQ";form.locationEasting = 12868300;form.locationNorthing = 72451600;form.isLocality = false;form.serverPath = "http://www.travelinescotland.com";form.skinPath = "skins/clean";form.renderTemplate();PageLanderSetupDateTimeInputs("journeyPlannerForm:4");The journey planning form requires javascript, which is unsupported by your browser.For your journey planning needs use the main journey planner.

Edition 11/12 of the Iona Community e-bulletin is now online

2009-12-03T13:51:09Z

Edition 11/12 is a best-of edition, with features, news, worship resources – and more …

www.iona.org.uk/eBulletinTemplate11/12/09.php

West of Scotland Palestinian forum

2009-08-18T22:46:40Z

Naim Ateek Speaks at West of Scotland Palestinian Forum Naim Ateek will be the guest speaker at the West of Scotland Palestinian Forum on Wednesday 26 August 2009 at 7.30 pm

Venue: St Mary's Cathedral, Great Western Road, Glasgow G2 3JB

Admission: donations welcome

Memories of Victoria Buch

2009-08-18T13:08:03Z

BOOK OF MEMOIRS...

The Hebrew University is organizing a small book of memoirs for Victoria Buch. The University is collecting contributions from people who knew her and who are willing to write about her. Dassi Elber, Victoria Buch's daughter, would greatly appreciate it if you would be willing to dedicate a short amount of time to write something about her. The memoirs will then appear on a special website dedicated to her memory.

If you are indeed willing to write about her, please send your work to Michael Vilenkin: michaelv@fh.huji.ac.il

Edinburgh Young Women's Suffragettes Project

2009-08-18T11:38:06Z

Edinburgh Young Women's Suffragettes Project

A Young Women's Group are planning an event to celebrate the upcoming 100th anniversary of the October 1909 Suffragettes march in Edinburgh.

They want to mark those areas in which much has changed for all women over the past century, while also highlighting those areas where too little has changed.

The first planning meeting will be held on Monday 24 August to which all are welcome to attend.

Take a look at their facebook page...

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=127567383456