The Wisdom of Iona

Our week at Iona Abbey turned out to be a true family pilgrimage, my only regret was that in arriving on a Saturday evening and departing on the next Friday morning the week seemed oh so short. We were in community at the Abbey with other weeklong residents as well as the volunteer and full time staff, who all hailed from many corners of the planet. We arrived and left in a drizzle, yet for the most part we had great weather. The worship experiences in the Abbey church were awe-inspiring. The words of the liturgies were simple, yet profound and challenging. The acoustics of the Abbey were phenomenal. My soul found many occasions to soar in the midst of our songs, which were so beautiful and simple to sing as well.

The breathtaking views, which changed with the ever-changing light, were phenomenal. Susan and I both agreed that the pictures that we had seen beforehand pale in comparison to the experience of being on this lovely little isle. Here in this place God reveals herself in splendor.

Along with the pictures, I include a poetic reflection on something that I learned about community this week.

The Wisdom of Iona
From near and far she called us to live together in community, walking in the footsteps of ancient monks.
Our ideal vision for the week of community resounded with words like honesty, non-judgmental, joyful, diversity, respectful, a place to be your true self, and fun.
Then, one small voice added another word into the mix of these glad tidings…”sad.”

At first it seemed so out of place,
flowing against the tide that brought us all to this sweet place.
But the more I turned it over in my mind, the more awed I was of her profound wisdom.

True community must willingly embrace its sadness…
The sadness from the wounds we all carry inside
The sadness of walls erected between peoples
The sadness of broken creation
The sadness of inevitable goodbyes

Our wise one led us in the practice of communal sadness
with the look in her eyes as she hugged her friend Jenny goodbye,
and in the simple words of her announcement at our final evening meal, “I will miss you.”

Without sadness, true community cannot exist. Such profound insights often remain hidden to souls many decades old.

Ah Iona, what a wonder to be so wise

at the tender age of five.

Ben & Iona

Very Dear

Speeding along on this train through Scotland I feel so enriched by the experiences of the last two weeks. Yesterday was a wonderful conclusion to our time in Northern Ireland as the sun finally came out giving us a cool clear day to explore Giant’s Causeway and the north coast. We even saw some seals out sunning themselves. Last Sunday we went to church at Maghera Presbyterian church with John, Valerie, Caroline and William Sloss. We all sat in one pew, thus filling it up with Slosses, which hadn’t happened there in some while according to John. I felt a sense of rootedness here as I looked around the church and recognized some of my father’s cousins who still attend there. After the service we headed out to the church cemetery and saw the grave of my great grandparents Robert and Nancy Sloss. John and Valerie had us over at their place for another traditional Sunday dinner with food galore. Susan obtained a scone recipe from my great aunt Josephine that Sunday, and on Tuesday we baked up quite an acceptable batch, yum. I think that they were even better than the ones that we bought at the bakery for 50P a piece. We also tried our hand at soda farl (bread) successfully too. These new found baking skills are part of the culture that we’ll be taking home with us. We’ve been having fun learning the local lingo. For example if someone says that they had some good crack (spelled craick), it means that they had a fun spirited time. The word dear is used to refer to something expensive. It is very dear means it costs a lot. In this light our last two weeks have been very dear and full of riches both for my family and myself. John and Valerie treated us to a great day Monday, walking the walls of Londonderry and visiting the Famine Village in Donegal. They also hosted another grand get together of extended family Thursday evening…great craick. We were also treated to a great outing at the Ulster American Folk Park near Omagh on Wednesday by my father’s cousins Stanley Lytle, Nancy Anderson, and Etta Lytle. We traveled through the beautiful even when wet Sperrin Mountains, then walked through the outdoor living history museum without getting wet. The museum was very well done. They had even imported some authentic period cabins and houses from the US. Meeting a loose cow in the road didn’t detour our return and Etta’s scrumptious home cooked meal to top off the day. All in all we won’t soon forget these past few weeks and the new connections that we’ve made with our extended family in the land of my ancestors.

Ulster Welcome

We have been treated to some wonderful Ulster hospitality this first week in Northern Ireland. My father’s cousin, Robert Lytle, and his wife Olive met us at the airport and put us up at their home our first night. We had a barbecue that night at their daughter Karen’s home with husband Alan, and their three boys, Garith, 16, Stephen 14, and Alisdair, 11. Olive and Robert gave us a taste of a traditional Ulster fry on Saturday morning, and just yesterday morning we successfully repeated it on our own with fried bacon, fried soda farl (bread), fried potato farl, and fried eggs.

Last Sunday we attended Strean Presbyterian in Newtonards with Robert and Olive, followed by a delightful sunny afternoon picnic at Mount Stewart gardens complete with jazz concert. Monday was another sunshiny day that we spent hiking and touring in the Mountains of Mourne.

Tuesday we climbed Scrabo tower and even took some time to pick some wild raspberries for lunch. Tuesday night was a social evening with all 11 of my dad’s cousins who live in Northern Ireland ascending on the Lytle’s home for a delightful evening of chatting, eating (food galore), and some singing too as Karen’s boys brought along a couple of guitars. It was going on midnight when the party broke up with many of those having a drive of an hour or more to make get home.

It has been great to connect with our extended family here and to experience the land and its people firsthand. I’ve been struck by the hospitality and cordiality around mealtimes. We could all learn a lesson or to from these folks about the importance role of the table in living a rich life.