"A Pilgrim's Guide to Iona Abbey" gives you the opportunity to walk around the Abbey church and cloisters with suggestions for reflection and prayer. If you have not visited the Abbey it is an excellent tool with which to help visualise the sites of Iona. Included are some stories about the Abbey and life in the community from the perspective of Iona Community members. At each point of your pilgrimage around the Abbey and the Abbey grounds you will find: some background information; a reflection; and a simple prayer. 'Iona is a place where people come looking for answers - to get in touch with their spiritual needs and find a new vision of themselves and their lives, and of our lives together.' From "A Pilgrim's Guide to Iona Abbey": Candles in the Abbey Some candles flickered in a downdraft; some stood still, lighting, in orange flame, the precious dark. Their silence created silence; their dimness in so vast a space soothed the restless soul. Their light was a quiet presence that spoke of the light, the real presence, come to meet us at the appointed place. He was there, though human eyes are not given to see him. Hearts, open to receive him, rested awhile in a circle of peace. David Levison is a member of the Iona Community.

Every day we learn more about the environment and our interaction with it. The science and details are complex and wonderful - but what is clear is that our relationship with the environment is out of balance and that human behaviour must change. We need to learn to live gently and more in harmony with God's creation. But how do we change? Religious traditions and mystics have used prayer and meditation to bring about change for centuries. Prayer is the powerhouse that inspires us and keeps us from burning out. Prayer helps us to transform our mindsets and to act from a more rooted place. A Heart for Creation offers prayers, worship resources and reflections to help individuals and groups effect change. From our love for God and love for creation we can grow in our care for the earth as exhorted in the Bible.

The spiritual encounter with the 'otherness' that Christians call God is often seen as the province of the very holy, or is simply dismissed in our rational, scientific culture - but it is part of the experience of being human, recognised down the ages. In this book you will find a wide variety of spiritual experiences openly explored - from the mystical to the practical, from very personal reflections, to stories with passion for social justice. For some people, the significant encounter comes during one of life's more traumatic times, such as illness or death; for others as part of everyday living. Insights from Christian spiritual tradition are linked to each experience, including that of God's 'absence'. Some contributors are clergy, others are not, and there is a broad range of age and life experience among the writers. They are all ordinary, extraordinary people.