I am pausing my “Reclaiming the Heart of the Wesleyan Way” series to share a brief word on a pilgrimage in leadership development. By the time this is posted, I will be in Iona, Scotland with a group of young adults from the Central Texas Conference. This trip is a part of our leadership development process that is linked to the Missional 
Wisdom Foundation with leadership from Dr. Larry Duggins, Executive Director of the Foundation and Rev. Wendi Bernau. We as a Conference are greatly blessed by their help and support in leadership development.
Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the larger isle of Mull, which is a way of saying that it is a remote place distant from the clamor of the world. It is a place where, as my spiritual guide puts it, we have time and space for solitude, silence and simplicity. Iona is a place where the call to ordained ministry may be nurtured in reflection, adoration and prayer.
In the Central Texas Conference our “Big Three” are: 1) Christ the Center; 2) Focus on the local church; and 3) Lay and clergy leadership development. This spiritual pilgrimage with young prospective Christian leaders offers a special opportunity to thoughtfully and prayerfully weld together number 1 and number 3 – Christ at the center of life and witness combined with leadership development for the future of the Christian movement and the Wesleyan Way in Central Texas. Such pilgrimages both to places like Iona, Scotland and Taize, France along with retreats at our own beloved Glen Lake Camp are vitally important to our developing future leaders of the faith. In May of 2013 we led a similar group to Taize (a spiritual formation gathering from around the world held in France).
Iona is famous as the site that Saint Columba used as a base of operations to introduce Christianity to Scotland. For well over four centuries it was a center for monastic leadership and Christian formation. It is thought that the famous Book of Kells may have been produced at the original Iona Abbey. After World War I, under the leadership of the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian), a clergyman named George MacLeod became instrumental in reviving the Iona Abbey’s role in Christian spirituality. In 1938, as the fires of World War II loomed on the horizon, MacLeod founded the Iona Community as an ecumenical Christian community of men and women from different walks of life and different traditions in the Christian church committed to seeking new ways of living as followers of Jesus in today's world.
For many, including myself, Iona is what might be called a thin place, a place where through contemplation, prayer and worship heaven and earth come especially close. The ecumenical Christian community built around today’s Iona Abbey is a center for the revival of Celtic Christianity. The music of John Bell (in the supplement to the hymnal The Faith We Sing) comes from the contemporary Iona Community.
As a part of our daily routine, we will begin the morning with worship at the Abbey and then return to our retreat house for breakfast and time of reflection and sharing. The day closes with worship at the Abbey again after dinner and a time of sharing our learnings together.
Jolynn and I traveled to Iona for a part of my renewal leave in my first quadrennium as bishop of the Central Texas Conference. I look forward in a special way to taking a hike back to the remote, desolate beach on St. Columba Bay where St. Columba and his small band first landed on their great mission to share Christ with Scotland and England.
I am reminded that the Christian faith is built on such courage, conviction, and community in Christ. We are here, in part, because of their witness and faith sharing. Out of pilgrimages like this come the next generation of leaders and pastors for our churches.
Wisdom Foundation with leadership from Dr. Larry Duggins, Executive Director of the Foundation and Rev. Wendi Bernau. We as a Conference are greatly blessed by their help and support in leadership development.
Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the larger isle of Mull, which is a way of saying that it is a remote place distant from the clamor of the world. It is a place where, as my spiritual guide puts it, we have time and space for solitude, silence and simplicity. Iona is a place where the call to ordained ministry may be nurtured in reflection, adoration and prayer.
In the Central Texas Conference our “Big Three” are: 1) Christ the Center; 2) Focus on the local church; and 3) Lay and clergy leadership development. This spiritual pilgrimage with young prospective Christian leaders offers a special opportunity to thoughtfully and prayerfully weld together number 1 and number 3 – Christ at the center of life and witness combined with leadership development for the future of the Christian movement and the Wesleyan Way in Central Texas. Such pilgrimages both to places like Iona, Scotland and Taize, France along with retreats at our own beloved Glen Lake Camp are vitally important to our developing future leaders of the faith. In May of 2013 we led a similar group to Taize (a spiritual formation gathering from around the world held in France).
Iona is famous as the site that Saint Columba used as a base of operations to introduce Christianity to Scotland. For well over four centuries it was a center for monastic leadership and Christian formation. It is thought that the famous Book of Kells may have been produced at the original Iona Abbey. After World War I, under the leadership of the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian), a clergyman named George MacLeod became instrumental in reviving the Iona Abbey’s role in Christian spirituality. In 1938, as the fires of World War II loomed on the horizon, MacLeod founded the Iona Community as an ecumenical Christian community of men and women from different walks of life and different traditions in the Christian church committed to seeking new ways of living as followers of Jesus in today's world.
For many, including myself, Iona is what might be called a thin place, a place where through contemplation, prayer and worship heaven and earth come especially close. The ecumenical Christian community built around today’s Iona Abbey is a center for the revival of Celtic Christianity. The music of John Bell (in the supplement to the hymnal The Faith We Sing) comes from the contemporary Iona Community.
As a part of our daily routine, we will begin the morning with worship at the Abbey and then return to our retreat house for breakfast and time of reflection and sharing. The day closes with worship at the Abbey again after dinner and a time of sharing our learnings together.
Jolynn and I traveled to Iona for a part of my renewal leave in my first quadrennium as bishop of the Central Texas Conference. I look forward in a special way to taking a hike back to the remote, desolate beach on St. Columba Bay where St. Columba and his small band first landed on their great mission to share Christ with Scotland and England.
I am reminded that the Christian faith is built on such courage, conviction, and community in Christ. We are here, in part, because of their witness and faith sharing. Out of pilgrimages like this come the next generation of leaders and pastors for our churches.