Dear Ones of St. Columba's,

We know a lot about community - how to practice it, how to notice it, how to become community together. And, if there is one thing that we know is true about becoming a faithful community of God, it is that there is always more for us to learn, and new places where God is calling us to go together. 

Our patron saint, Columba of Iona, is known for the community that he founded on the island of Iona in Scotland. His abbey remains a pilgrimage site for Christians and spiritual seekers from all over the globe who go there to learn, to experience God's presence, and to spend some time in Christian community. 

In the British Isles of the 400s and 500s abbeys were more than isolated communities of monks living the life religious. They were also community centers, places where travelers stopped for rest, and a source of safety, hope, and learning for all the people who lived within a few days walking distance of their walls. Many people who never participated in the daily rhythms of monastery life would come to the abbey when they needed advice, help, or simply time to rest and pray. 

This Sunday as we celebrate our identity as community, I can't help but compare the work we are about together with the work of community that Columba and Christians like him did in their faith communities. It is the work of prayer, worship, learning and life together. And it is the work of being for more than just ourselves, and thinking of those who "belong" to us as anyone who comes to us for for help, hope, sanctuary, sustenance, or simply to rest and pray for a time. This Sunday we will celebrate who we are, and who we are becoming, and included in the invitation to celebrate are our neighbors, our community gardeners, our Sudanese brothers and sisters, and whoever God happens to send our way this week. May we, like Columba, continue to build a community that prays, lives, and listens to God together. May we, like Columba, build community in ways that always expand, that look upon all who cross our paths as neighbors, and who open our doors to any in need of help, hope, rest, or care.

I am so proud to be your priest, as we learn and grow together.

with care and gratitude,

Alissa