Are you with us?


Like many major cities, the downtown of Glasgow features the old and the new side by side. This old manufacturing and shipping city is reinventing itself. I admired the new and old facades alike as I walked through the city in the morning light.

Later, I toured the Glasgow Art School, a wonderful, quirky building designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, clearly a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright, though I'm told they never had any connection with each other. How could the same spirit be so evident in both of them? (Ah, maybe that's more of a spiritual question.)

My mid-day the Celtic Pilgrimmage folks were beginning to gather. A number of us visited the administrative offices of the Iona community in the early afternoon. We were introduced to their rule for life which includes a commitment to regular Bible study and prayer, stewardship of time and money, a commitment to work for peace and justice and the willingness to meet with each other regularly and be accountable to each other.

More than 250 members make this commitment to each other each year in a process called "Are you with us?"

Though I'm not a member, this is a pledge I could easily say yes to.

Tomorrow we head for the island of Iona via mutiple buses and boats. I'm looking forward to experiencing this "thin place" for myself.

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