To Iona, By Way of a Hymn Tune

Iona Abbey, Isle of Iona, Argyll

It is an island off an island.  Getting there, even from Edinburgh, Scotland, is an adventure: more than three hours' drive through the Highlands, on to Oban, then a ferry to Craignure.  After this the fun begins, because for the next more-than-an-hour you're treated to a single lane "thoroughfare" which has little turn off bays every quarter of a mile or so.  Think of it as a long let's-play-chicken road.  This road leads you along the Isle of Mull, and heaven help you if you meet a lorry, farm machinery that's twice the size of your car, or a tour bus (which happens a lot).

For years, I have been following the trajectory of Iona Abbey, its witness to ecumenicism, lay ministry, and the music created by one of her contributors, John Bell.  (Look for the black dot on the map to the left to give you an idea of its location in the Scottish Hebrides).  But up until now, I'd never visited this place.  It is old – St. Columba (Colmcille) founded the community in the latter half of the sixth century.  Quickly becoming an industrious center, it then became a favorite raiding stop for a certain Nordic bunch of men with longships.

All along this present trip, I've been surprised by facts and happenstances over and over again, and here was another one along our route to Iona.  It seems that the road to the second ferry (Fionnphort) takes the pilgrim through a very, very little hamlet, which bears the name Bun Easain – or Bunessan, in English.  

For those who are sacred music geeks (or, actually, music geeks in general), you would know this tune, for it is the beautiful melody to hymns like Morning Has Broken, catapulted to fame by Cat Stevens in the 1970's.  But the hymn tune has also inspired new texts as well, like the one based on the Lorica of St. Patrick, Christ Be Beside Me, and another text by Michael Saward, Baptized in Water.

So here we were, on our way to a center for prayer on the edge of the then-known universe, and our way was marked by one of my favorite Celtic tunes.

The present church structure dates from the 13th century, and on the day we arrived it rose up out of the mists not unlike the mystical village of Brigadoon.  I kept wondering to myself "how did they survive here?"  We had a simple pod for four people, and walking the mile up from the ferry were blasted with gale winds and horizontal rain.  The fact that a thriving monastic community, one that went on to illustrate manuscripts and serve as a template for other communities throughout the Isles, is a miracle in and of itself.  

Upon arrival, we set out to explore.  The Abbey Church itself was a welcome respite for the weather, so we headed there first.  More on that amazing house of prayer tomorrow.....