Iona · Scotland✦ Classical Sacred & Pilgrimage Cities

Spiritual gatherings in Iona

Nothing here yet, or within 100 km — but you can sit in a circle online.

dates this seasoninner ring ≈ 33 km · outer 100 kmMap tiles © Esri · © OpenStreetMap contributors
Within reach

Nothing within 100 km yet either. The online gatherings beside this are held at Iona times.

Online, at Iona times
All online gatherings →

The small island of Iona, off the Isle of Mull, is where St Columba founded his abbey, and it became a cradle of Celtic Christian spirituality. Pilgrims still cross the sound to walk its shores and share worship at the restored abbey.

Known for
Celtic ChristianityRetreatIsland pilgrimageIona Community
The first date here

How the next gathering reaches you

Someone will hold the first circle in Iona. When they do, it reaches the people who asked — and only them.

  1. Ask for the placeOne note the day the first gathering is posted here.
  2. Follow a teacher who comes hereTold when they open a date here, or anywhere you choose.
  3. Bring someone who'd like itA friend who asks too makes it easier for a facilitator to say yes.
  4. Nobody sees who asked or who follows. Facilitators see a count, never names.
The place itself

The sacred life of Iona

History

Columba arrived from Ireland in 563 and founded a monastery that sent missionaries across Scotland and northern England. The abbey was restored in the twentieth century, and the ecumenical Iona Community, founded in 1938, still lives and leads worship here.

Why it’s sacred

A ‘thin place’ in the Celtic imagination, where many visitors feel the boundary between the everyday and the sacred grow faint — a centre of contemplative retreat for people of many backgrounds.

SampleWhat a season in Iona could look likeNone of this is real — no dates, no teachers, no prices.
A Saturday
An evening of Celtic Christianity
First-timers welcome
A Sunday morning
A morning of Retreat
Two hours
A weekend
A weekend of Island pilgrimage
Two nights · rooms shared

If money is the obstacle

Many facilitators offer a sliding scale — pay what you can, no questions asked, and no one sees what you chose.

Do you teach in Iona?

Iona has room for you. Post as many gatherings as you like — 9% of paid places, nothing on free ones, no monthly fee.

Seekers already searching Iona see your listing the day you post it
Book a room from a space host here, or list your own
A free evening is a good way to meet the place before charging for anything

Questions about practising in Iona

Do I need to book, or can I turn up?
Book. Rooms have limited capacity and the free evenings often fill faster than the paid ones, because nothing is risked by registering.
I've never been to anything like this — is that okay?
Look for the first-timer mark. Every listing that carries it has answered the questions a newcomer is afraid to ask. Plenty in Iona are made for a first visit.
What if the price is the obstacle?
Many gatherings here are free, and some facilitators offer a sliding scale — pay what you can, no questions asked, and no one sees what you chose.
How do I hear about new dates?
Follow a facilitator and you're told when they open something in Iona. No other notification is sent unless you ask for it.
Is everything in person?
No — some gatherings are held online, and each listing names its format and, for online ones, the time zone.