We leave for home tomorrow morning.  Both churches we have served hosted "farewell teas" for us this weekend and gave us some touching mementos of our time here.  They have nicknamed us their "continental cousins."  We have gotten to know some wonderful people. We will miss them greatly and hope those precious relationships will continue across the miles. We will also miss this beautiful view of Iona Sound which has greeted us each morning out our window (except for all the foggy, rainy days, of course, which makes this one all the more special!)

The last couple of days have been quite foggy.  Rose captured this wonderful picture of the Abbey veiled in the fog.  It is a wonderful image of the mystery of the Divine. It is also typical Scotland!

We have delighted in watching the explosion of flowers on the island since we have been here.  There are more than 200 varieties of wildflowers and there are gardens everywhere.  These flowers line the walk outside our door.

Rose's bothy is nestled behind this garden.

One of our favorite places on the island is the ruins of this Augustinian nunnery. It was founded about 1200 and functioned until the Reformation. Unlike the Abbey, it has not been restored. J. Philip Newell, a member of the Iona Community and author about Celtic Christianity, says that it is his favorite place on the island to pray. He writes: The nunnery is a ruin that reflects the brokenness of our lives and the world, as well as the failure of our religious institutions...The nunnery sits open to creation.  One is aware of the elements, the connection between spirit and matter, the ancient bond between the wild and the sacred..The nunnery is a place of relationship, of intentional community, and of devotion to Christ. It has been a place where people have scrubbed potatoes together, shed tears at the news of births and deaths, and sung communal songs of the soul to the One who is beyond names but who is known as Love.  Jerry, Rose, and I know what he means.  This has been a special place to walk and sit and think and pray.

We always marvel at the water in Iona Sound which is amazingly clear and blue.  Flowers were given in church a couple of weeks ago in memory of Cissie Campbell, an islander who died a couple of years ago at age 100 and who swam in the Sound every day of the year! 

We saw this starfish in the water at the pier in Tobermory.  We could see it clearly and took this photo through 5-6 feet of water.

The summer solstice is a big deal in the UK!  At least 20,000 people gathered at Stonehenge last night to watch the sunrise.  On Iona, about 200 people gathered at the north beach for a bonfire.  The summer solstice, the longest day of the year, has been celebrated for hundreds of years in the Celtic tradition, with its emphasis on the spiritual significance of light. Jesus' birth, as the light of the world, is associated with coming into the world at the winter solstice, the longest/darkest night of the year.

This photo and accompanying caption appeared in the Oban Times:

American pastors step in as search goes on for permanent minister.

Church congregations in Iona, Bunessan and Criech have welcomed two American pastors to lead worship while the search for a permanent minister goes on. Rose Taul and Dianne Shields, from Chicago, have stepped in to cover all three churches through June. The pair arrived just after Easter following the previous minister's departure last November.  It is hoped an interim minister can be found soon.