The internationally renowned hymn writer, author and occasional broadcaster on national radio and television, John Bell, will be paying a visit to Bangor Abbey on Sunday 10 and Monday 11 May 2009.

The two events held in Bangor Abbey church are hosted by ‘The Friends of Bangor Abbey beginning on Sunday 10 May with a Workshop on ‘Music From the Iona Community’ at 3.00pm (those attending are asked to be in Bangor Abbey Church by 2.45pm).  The Workshop will include a 20 minute tea/coffee break and will be followed by a light supper after which guests are invited to a service of worship in Bangor Abbey Church at 6.30pm where there will be an opportunity to use the material and skills developed during the Workshop.  The Workshop is open to everyone whether worship leaders, members of choirs or simply individuals who wish to explore fresh ways of worship.  The Workshop is free, however, guests may wish to make a voluntary donation towards the cost of lunch.

On Monday 11 May John will deliver the Annual Saint Comgall Lecture on the theme of ‘Ancient Gifts for Modern Times’ at 8.00pm in Bangor Abbey Church.  Admission is £5.00.

The subject of Celtic Spirituality has become something of a buzzword in recent years, and has tended to turn the attention of devotees wistfully towards the past rather than the future. But this remarkable and distinctive Christian tradition was never meant to be the stuff of liturgical or devotional antique collectors. It enabled, among other things, the re-evangelization of Europe.

In his lecture, John Bell will identify some central tenets of the Celtic expression of Christian faith which are as relevant now as in former centuries, for the deepening of personal faith and the corporate life of the Church.

JOHN BELL is a resource worker with the Iona Community, an association of men and women, lay and ordained, fully ecumenical in membership, committed to the renewal of the Church and Society.

A native of Kilmarnock, John lives in Glasgow where he studied Arts and Theology.  After spells of voluntary work in London and Amsterdam, and engagements in student politics, he was ordained by the Church of Scotland.  For ten years he worked in youth ministry with his colleague, Graham Maule, before transferring to concentrate on music and worship.  He lectures, preaches and conducts seminars across the denominations in Europe, North America, Australasia, and more recently, in Southern Africa, but his primary passion is for congregational song.  He and the work he shares with his colleagues has been honoured by the Royal School of Church Music, the Hymn Society in the US & Canada, and the University of Glasgow, the first and second of which bestowed on him the status of Fellowship, the third a Doctorate.

THE ISLAND OF IONA is a small island (3 x 1.5 miles) off the West Coast of Scotland.  It was there that St. Columba landed in 563 to begin a mission which evangelized much of Scotland and initiated a much larger process of evangelisation which had an effect throughout the British Isles and onto the continent of Europe.  The Celtic witness in Iona diminished towards the end of the first millennium.  The primitive Columban settlement was replaced by a Benedictine Abbey including a small Cathedral Church.  The buildings were destroyed in the 16^th Century by presbyterian reformers and lay in ruins until in the late 19^th century, the landlord, the Duke of Argyll, substantially rebuilt the cathedral, designating it as a place of worship for all Christians.  The Abbey remained derelict and its rebuilding marked the inception of the Iona Community. Further information may be found on their website: www.iona.org.uk .

The association between Iona and Bangor is of course an ancient one going back to the relationship between Columba of Iona and Comgall, founder of the monastic settlement at Bangor, which is the site of the present parish church.  It is believed that the two men were students together at Glasnevin and Columba was ordained at Moville at nearby Newtownards.  Visits took place between Bangor and Iona and there is an account of an occasion when Comgall himself undertook the customary washing of feet of Columba and his companions when they landed at Bangor.  About 565, Comgall, along with St Canice of Kilkenny, accompanied Columba on a mission to the Picts at Inverness, to act as interpreters.  It is fitting therefore that Bangor Abbey, renowned for its ancient tradition of ‘laus perennis’ (or perpetual praise) will be the venue for two events which seek to continue that tradition in fresh inspiration of music and word.