Making the Pilgrimage

(above, a picture of Iona Abbey, since I haven't yet provided one. . .can you believe I WORK there?!)

Well, if yesterday was a jewel of a day, today's been a slimy, moss-covered, fetid stone buried at the bottom of a bog.

Matty and I went on the "on-road" pilgrimage to various sites on the island and the weather was hideous. As we were led in a group of a few dozen about the island's sacred sites of interest, rain stung our faces like nettles, the wind tossed us forwards and slammed into us like an obstinate concrete wall, and the near-freezing chill sent a constant ache into our skin. We saw a few of the famous Celtic crosses, Martyrs Bay (evidently a massacre of monks took place there!), the Augustinian Nunnery ruins, a beach near where St. Columba landed with twelve others in a coracle in 563, and another place having to do with Columba called Angels' Hill. At each site, we heard the history along with a Scripture reading, then sang a song together; we ate lunch on the Machair Beach and stopped a little while later for steaming hot tea in tumblers and flapjack (a sweet oat-ish bar probably also made with golden syrup, which is like thick pancake syrup) served by other Iona staff out of the back of a van driven to the spot for the occasion. It was, in fact, such bad weather that the ferry only had one run off the island today; the other trips were cancelled because the sea was so rough. The other vollies say that the only they've seen worse than this is when it snowed about six inches in March.

The ceilidh was great fun last night, although greatly exhausting. I was twirled- and jigged-out and my face probably tom-ah-to red from exertion. Wonderful--danced with Matty and John the sacristan.

I had good fun exchanging jokes with Annie and Eve, two to Richard and Biddy's three daughters. Actually, Richard later asked me if I'd read at worship tomorrow morning, and I'm realy looking forward to it.

Otherwise, it was relaxing and good to hangout with Matty, Amanda (from Sweden), Melissa (from Atlanta), and Darren (a Glaswegian) at Cul Shuna this afternoon. This evening's staff program session on ecology and prophecy was pretty great as well.