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From Scotland to Winnipeg: Iona Community leader on faith, justice, and peacebuilding
Face2Face event to provide inspiration for cultivating peace in a fractured world
Ruth Harvey, leader of the Iona Community in Scotland, is travelling across Canada this fall on a four-week pilgrimage and making a stop in Winnipeg on October 6–8.
Harvey will speak at CMU's upcoming Face2Face conversation, "Walking the Labyrinth: Peace, Presence, and the Iona Way," on Tuesday, October 6 at 7:00 PM. The event will take place on campus in Marpeck Commons (2299 Grant Ave.) and online via livestream. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend.
Iona is a small, remote island off the west coast of Scotland that is home to a twelfth-century abbey and a community of residents, volunteers, and visitors who live communally, sharing meals, worship, and labour. But these values also spread and grew into a much larger, international, ecumenical Christian movement working for justice and peace, the rebuilding of community, and the revitalization of worship.
Drawing on Iona's rich traditions, Harvey will explore the practices of peacebuilding, justice, and spiritual renewal. She brings a grounded and thoughtful perspective to navigating complexity and change in today's world, informed by her training and work experience in mediation, conflict transformation, and faith-based leadership. This intimate conversation will reflect on how communities can cultivate peace in a fractured world, creating space for dialogue, insight, and shared hope.
"CMU has been in relationship with the Iona Community for many years. Songs and other resources from Iona have nourished our worship, key leaders from Iona have taught and spoken here, and CMU students and faculty have visited Iona and participated in its community," says Dr. Andrew Dyck, Assistant Professor of Christian Spirituality and Pastoral Ministry. "Iona and CMU also share a commitment to helping Christians from diverse traditions speak and work for peace and reconciliation in the world, so it is wonderful that we can share in this upcoming Face2Face event."
Dyck will host the evening, which will also include some participatory singing of Iona music, led by Assistant Professor of Music Dr. Anneli Loepp Thiessen. CMU is presenting this Face2Face in collaboration with Winnipeg Quakers and the Iona Community.
"I'm excited to meet Ruth, as the leader of the community, and I'm excited for us to explore how we build more of a community in Winnipeg and in Canada," says Elaine Bishop, Iona Community member and Winnipeg Quaker who helped coordinate the event. "For me, the interweaving of faith and work for social justice and peace is what is absolutely key, and which attracted me to the community in the beginning."
Harvey is travelling with the Fingerprint Labyrinth, an experiential installation of poetry, music, and participatory art created by Iona Community members after police raided a Quaker Meeting House in England where a group of young activists were meeting and proceeded to arrest and fingerprint some members. The labyrinth represents the right to non-violent protest which is increasingly under threat globally. In Winnipeg it will be open to the public at Crescent Fort Rouge United Church on October 7, 7:00–9:00 PM, and at Knox United Church on October 8, 4:30–8:30 PM.
Face2Face events are a series of conversations with CMU faculty and special guests designed to engage the community on various current issues at the intersection of faith and life. More information on the upcoming event and the livestream feed, as well as previous Face2Face discussions, can be found at cmu.ca/face2face.
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