The Campus Rhythm
Our life together at Iona House is inspired by the life of a traditional Christian monastery and shaped along the lines of a communal pilgrimage.
There is both a daily rhythm and a weekly rhythm.
Daily Rhythm: The Monastic-Inspired Core
Every day Monday-Saturday
Daily Office (communal prayer)
9am, noon, and 4:30pm
Three times a day we pause whatever we are doing when the bell rings to come together in prayer. We encourage all guests to anchor their stay at Iona House with a participation in these prayers. This is part of what makes Iona House “monastic-inspired” is our commitment to communal prayer. We utilize simple prayerbooks that take Scripture and put them in the form of a prayer.
For more information about the Daily Office…
Physical Work
9:30-noon
Guests are invited to join our Staff and Residents for our morning shift of work. Projects can be as simple as watering and weeding in the garden to raking wood chips to splitting and stacking wood to any number of activities that all help build up the common life of Iona House. Though guests are by no means required to participate in the physical work, echoing the spirit of a traditional monastery, we view physical work as having spiritual benefit. Our guests continually tell us how much they appreciate this aspect of our life together.
For more information about physical work as a spiritual practice at Iona House…
Silence & Solitude
3:00-4:30pm
Every day at 3:00pm we pause our activities in order to engage in the ancient Christian practice of silence & solitude. This is a time to practice listening and to learn the discipline of attentiveness. Some use this time to walk the Prayer Labyrinth, others to sit and observe the natural setting, others to journal, and still others find themselves in a hammock.
For more information about silence & solitude at Iona House…
Additional (unscheduled) components of our daily life at Iona House include:
Fellowship
There are spontaneous shared meals, surprising connections, and deep conversations that happen each week on our Iona House campus. If you’re looking for silence at Iona House, you can easily find it; if you’re open to connecting, there are abundant un-pressured opportunities.
Study
We have a growing research library of over 3,000 books that include a notable focus on the Early Church Fathers, monasticism, mysticism, Celtic Christianity, Eastern Orthodoxy, as well as various Protestant and Catholic resources. Guests are welcome to check out books back to their room and read them in the evening, which is intentionally unscheduled to allow a spaciousness.
Animals
Our horse, mini-mule, goats, llama, duck, and chickens are not only entertaining and heart-warming creatures, they can bring significant healing through their interactions. Guests can assist our Residents with daily feedings upon request.
Weekly Elements of our Shared Rhythm of Life
Key gatherings of our weekly pilgrimage toward Communion
Friday Evensong
4:30pm Every Friday, at the Village Barn
The Iona House community gathers for a special edition of evening prayer featuring our Iona House choir leading us in a Taizè choruses. The service changes throughout the year reflecting the traditional liturgical seasons of the Church year. The service (about 30-35 min) includes a short homily and sets up a weekend together oriented toward Christ. It is immediately followed by Friday Night Feast. Children also have a simple activity pack provided to them allowing them to enter into the story of the Saint of the week.
If you would like to join us, please RSVP and we’ll send you details.
Friday Night Feast
5:15pm Every Friday
One of the high points of the week is our communal potluck in honor of the saint of the week (a historic Christian who offers us a picture of faithfulness). We tell the saints story, introduce ourselves to each other, and share thanksgiving. In cooler seasons, we have a bonfire that follows the feast (often with S’mores).
For more information and to RSVP, please check out this page.
Saturday Communal Spiritual Direction
2:00pm Every Saturday
We invite all of our guests to join the Residents and Staff for a time of Communal Spiritual Direction. This is a group-based experience focused on a key feature of Christian formation (a topic such as forgiveness, money, anger, or a discipline such as fasting, silence, or solitude). The leader offers some key, salient content sourced from the Great Tradition and facilitates some discussion and sharing. This is then preparation to be sent out for a time of silence & solitude at 3pm in which a person is invited to bring his or herself before the Lord.
Sunday: Worship & Communion with
All Saints Church
Iona House is not a church. As a Great Tradition monastic-inspired center for Christian Formation, we believe the institutional Church is vital to our Christian Formation. It is, after all, formation into the Church that is essence of our formation into Christ (the Church is His Body). We have chosen to partner with a local parish as our liturgical and sacramental partner. On Sundays, Iona House offers no official programs or events in order to encourage our staff, residents, and guests to worship at All Saints Church (9:30am - Catechesis / formation classes; 10:30am - Worship & Holy Communion)
Other Communal Elements
Contemplative Arts
9:30am Fridays or as scheduled
Contemplative Arts is an opportunity to engage in a monastic-inspired approach to producing items for our life together such as candles, prayer beads, and many others.
For more information about Contemplative Arts, see this page.
Lectio
9:30am Thursdays or as scheduled
Lectio (Latin for read) is an opportunity to read something communally and then delve into reflection and discussion about its significance.
For more information about Lectio, see this page.
Iona House Choir
Various times
The Iona House choir consists of local community, residents, staff, and others who are learning songs (often Taize chants) in four-part harmony. For those interested in participating in the choir, please contact Elizabeth Jones (elizabeth@ionahouse.org) to arrange an orienting conversation and a time to do an audition.