Children’s Assembly in Scotland
October 10th to 13th 2009 saw a gathering of children from around the world to celebrate ‘Coming Home’ at the Church of Scotland’s National Children Assembly. The idea about ‘coming home’, was simply the notion that St Columba brought the Gospel to Scotland via the little Hebridean Island of Iona. Many Scottish Missionaries travelled the globe to share the good news of the Gospel therefore the Church of Scotland in October invited children to ‘come home’ to where it started.
A group of children from Dunedin, supported by the Global Mission Office and the Council for World Mission, were able to take part in this wonderful event. Since returning some of the children have written about their experience.
Tom Kelk
Recently I travelled to the Island of Iona located to the west of Scotland. It took a lot of hard work and time to get there but it was definitely worth it. I was attending the Children’s Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
There were 140 children from countries including Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Hungary, New Zealand, England and Scotland.
Every morning and night we would have worship in Iona’s beautiful stone abbey. The worship consisted of Fischy music, readings and prayers. I really enjoyed the worship because it was directed at children and the songs were amazing.
Before we departed fro Iona, Micah and I wrote a song with the requirements of it being about ‘one’ and easy for children to sing and learn. We performed the song to everyone and taught it to them. To hear 180 people sing a song you wrote was just amazing and definitely my highlight.
Overall Iona was an amazing and spiritual place. The assembly was something that I will never forget and will treasure my whole life.
Micah Davis-Rae
Recently I travelled to an amazing Island in Scotland called Iona, with two other companions from New Zealand. The four days I spent on the island are definitely amongst the best in my life and I will never forget the time I had and the friends I made. Whether it was listening to Fischy music or just enjoying the superb meals, every activity was a highlight in itself.
To see children from every corner of the globe, in the same room worshiping the same God, really was something special. However, if I have to pinpoint one highlight, it would have to be teaching the children the song that Tom and I wrote, and seeing them clapping and singing along. It was great that they accepted and enjoyed something that we prepared.
I can’t commend the Iona community enough for accepting so many rowdy kids into what is their home, and even attending the services that the children led. It was clear to see how much talent and courage children had, whether it was reading in the service or getting up and performing at the talent show. We saw different cultures singing songs from their own country, which was incredible.
When it finally came time to say goodbye, despite my sadness, I knew I was happier that I was when I first stepped food on Iona. I not only made new friends, but I got to know God better than I knew before and I give thanks to Lina and her team for all they have done to help this.
Luke Davis-Rae
Two weeks ago I went to a beautiful island in Scotland called Iona. I was there for four days and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. If I had the chance to go back I definitely would. I am very thankful for the generosity of people who made this trip happened. One of my favourite time of the day was the worship services. They were aimed at children and the music was really catchy. The services were held in a really old abbey. What I was pleased with was the meals. They were really delicious. Another great event on Iona, was the pilgrimage which was a walk around Iona, with prayers and interesting stories about the history of the island. The activities were also good fun; they included puppets, music, art, storytelling and writing. My favourite was the music, because Fischy music made actions for songs, so it was just like acting in a movie, but it was to music. I think Iona was the perfect place for a children’s assembly, because it has so much history. I loved the idea of a children’s assembly because it is a Christian camp that brings people together from all around the world. The assembly showed me that no matter where you are from you all come to together as one.