Happy St. Columba Day!!!

Today we celebrate the life and legacy of St. Columba. He was a man who was mightily used by God. But it didn’t start out that way. After accidentally inciting a minor civil war in his native Ireland in which 3,000 people lost their lives, Columba and 12 companions, in a state of penance, exiled themselves to the remote island of Iona off the coast of what is now Scotland. The purpose of this “exile” was to form a distinctive community of prayer, discipline, and deep faithfulness to the Word of God. The monastery / abbey that these men formed went on to become one of the most significant centers of Christian mission the world has ever seen. Much of modern-day Scotland and Northern England were converted from the missionary efforts launched from Iona and the monasteries that were established from this center of contemplation and Christian formation.

Looking back 1500 years, nobody would have ever expected that this remote, beautiful but desolate island on the edge of civilization would go on to have such impact. But this is how God works: He so often takes what seems insignificant to the world and uses it to His own glory. (Nazareth? Nazareth? Can anything good come out of Nazareth?)

When Elizabeth and I set out to encapsulate the vision God gave us with a name that captured its vital essence, we were led to St. Columba and the abbey of Iona. It’s an incredibly inspiring story. In so many ways we believe the world needs a new Iona.

Our personal story is that after ministering in a place of major cultural significance (San Francisco) for over a decade, we felt God leading us to a place that some people might think of as the edge of civilization. Placerville? (Can anything good come out of Placerville? - I can hear someone saying). Oftentimes God uses the margins and the overlooked places as locations for vitally important formation for His people: Mt. Sinai, the wilderness, the Jordan River valley (John the Baptist), the region of Galilee, etc., etc.

This is our prayer - that God would use the margin / separation / rugged beauty offered by Iona House in Placerville to cultivate a unique and particularly potent place of Christian formation for those who come. May God grant us the spirit of humility, contemplation, faithfulness, and zeal for Christ’s Name that shaped the life and ministry of St. Columba and his companions on the Isle of Iona.