Enthusiasm for the Vision of Iona House

Encouraging words about what God is up to in the ministry of Iona House

 
 
 
 
 

Rev. Dr. Greg Peters

Author • Scholar of Christian Monasticism • Professor at Biola University & Nashotah House Theological Seminary

“Iona House takes things a step further, providing non-monastics with a well-grounded, well-resourced experience of monastic living and exposure to monastic spirituality that will not only profoundly help form disciples of Jesus Christ but impact the Church through its recovery of the riches of the monastic tradition.”

  • “For many years the Christian monastic tradition has been of interest to those of us who live outside the monastery. What started as curiosity soon became a sense that the spirituality of the monastery holds promise for today's Church. Iona House takes things a step further, providing non-monastics with a well-grounded, well-resourced experience of monastic living and exposure to monastic spirituality that will not only profoundly help form disciples of Jesus Christ but impact the Church through its recovery of the riches of the monastic tradition. This is monastic ressourcement at its best!”

 

Bishop Eric Menees

Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin

“There are few places where the Great Tradition of Christianity meets the 21 st century. Iona House is one of those places…”

  • There are few places where the Great Tradition of Christianity meets the 21st century. Iona House is one of those places where the guest is allowed the freedom and security to explore the Great Tradition in the beauty and quiet of Placerville.

    Iona House is nestled in the same foothills where the great gold rush of California took place. There are many parallels between the passionate greed of the gold rush era and the present day. Iona House provides a place to transform that greed into grace and that passion into peace.

    St. Augustine of Hippo wrote in his Confessions: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” (1,1.5) Iona House provides the physical, emotional, and spiritual space to discover the veracity of St. Augustine’s words.

    The Rt. Rev. Eric Vawter Menees
    Vth Bishop of San Joaquin

 
 
 

Dr. Alex Fogleman

Author • Scholar • Professor at Trinity Anglican Seminary • Director of the Catechesis Institute • Director of the Robert Webber Center

“Amid a harried and hungry culture, Iona House offers more than just a retreat center or private getaway…”

  • “Amid a harried and hungry culture, Iona House offers more than just a retreat center or private getaway that would mimic the consumerist habits of a technocratic society. Drawing from the deep wells of St. Columba’s Irish monastery, its approach to spiritual and theological formation makes ancient monastic wisdom available to ordinary Christians today who sense that growth in Christ entails prayer, labor, and community in a contemplative setting. All who are weary and heavy leaden—come and be fed on Christ here!”

 

Testimonials

  • Krystal L.

    Iona House is a space for formation, contemplation, and community. I have a deep desire to be formed into Christ-likeness, yet that process often feels antithetical to my life in the Bay Area as a full time PhD student and mom. But spending time at Iona House, and with Ryan and Liz, helped me to see how such formation is possible.

    I had limited experience with contemplation, or even daily liturgies, before visiting Iona House. But in the brief time that I spent in contemplation and immersed in daily liturgies while at Iona House, God revealed new things to me. I developed a new vision for parenthood, realizing how my toddler could be a conduit of grace and connection with God rather than a hindrance. I renewed a sense of my spouse as a gift. And I learned that God wanted me to rest in Him, with Him, as my own child is utterly at peace in my arms.

    Finally, I experience thick and wonderful Christian community in San Francisco, through my church (Citizens Church). But I believe Iona House has a unique capacity to link Christians across churches, fostering ligaments and connective tissue in the body of Christ in the Bay Area. By building these ligaments, local churches like mine can be so much stronger, operating not as lone islands, but members of something much bigger. This is especially valuable for small churches, like mine, with limited resources that can benefit immensely from broader connections between our members and the members of sister churches in our midst.

    When we got home from Iona House, I hoped that every member of my church would one day have a chance to visit and be a part of the “colony of heaven” that is being cultivated in Placerville, through Iona House, even if just for a weekend. It is a unique space where people can leave both refreshed and emboldened to see more of God’s kingdom growing in cities like San Francisco. I am so excited to see what is next for Iona House, as they care for and extend the land God has given them and begin to build out the infrastructure of a modern-day monastic space for city-dwellers and culture-makers to participate in.

  • A reflection from Sophia in San Francisco

    Iona House has been such a generous gift that I’ve had the privilege to receive and partake in. God has used Iona House as a space to show me His spirit of immense generosity. It’s a space that has nurtured my spirit and soul, a place where I can rest and be, a place where God reminds me that I am loved not for what I do, but simply because I am his beloved child. Every time I visit Iona House, I leave feeling lighter, refreshed, and nurtured in all the ways my soul didn’t even know it needed.

    The first time I visited Iona House was during a community day in September 2022. The minute I stepped out of the car and breathed in the fresh forest air, I felt a stillness and peace. That day is marked in my memory because God met me and invited me into a deeper place of formation. I had been in San Francisco for about 1.5 years after leaving a chapter of my life marked by burnout, bitterness towards church and ministry, and deconstruction of my faith. It’s fair to say that I encountered Iona House during a season of self-preservation and anger. I was angry towards the institution of the church, the ignorance of legalistic Christians, and myself. I maintained my distance in Christian community, and I upheld strong boundaries to protect myself from being taken for granted and hurt again. This is where my heart was when the Holy Spirit met me.

    During the contemplative silence and solitude time at my first Iona House community day, I felt God nudge at my heart and he asked me, “aren’t you tired of being angry?” Harboring resentment was exhausting! I didn’t realize how much energy it took to be angry and to stay angry. As I pondered this question, I saw an image of myself wielding a sword and holding tight to my defenses. I was ready to fight anyone who got too close for my own comfort or crossed the tight boundaries I had enforced. But God’s gentle spirit beckoned me to put down my sword, to let go of this root of bitterness, and to walk a different way. I think He wanted to invite me into a space of letting go and finding healing.

    That day, my heart softened. I could feel a palpable change emerge from within. Being at Iona House was a conduit for sensing His presence and recognizing how He’s inviting me into a deeper journey of healing, restoration, and wholeness. Whenever I visit Iona House, I continue to witness how His spirit of generosity shines through the landscape and the people who are part of the greater Iona House community. For that, I am grateful.

    Thank you, God, that you invite us to be a part of something more. Help our hearts to be soft and humble as we witness and join in the work that you are doing.