Iona Pilgrimage - By Angelika Halstead
Photo credit: Jemma Allen
Iona: A pilgrimage, a book, and a new approach to gardening
This article by Angelika Halstead was first published in the December 2025 issue of Refresh - Pilgrimage.
To journey without being changed is to be a nomad.
To change without journeying is to be a chameleon.
To journey and be transformed by the journey is to be a pilgrim.
Mark Nepo[1]
Like many others, my pilgrimage to Iona highlighted a transitional moment in my life. Turning 60 and completing my doctoral studies had brought me to a new juncture. Wondering what I was to do next and how to best use my remaining years, had become this pilgrimage’s quest. The long journey to Iona was a symbolic step, leaving the familiar behind and moving into the unknown future in a mindful, intentional way.
Iona is Scotland’s ‘cradle of Christianity’ where St. Columba established a monastery in 563 AD. Its natural beauty, spiritual significance, historical connection to early Celtic Christianity, and tranquil, contemplative atmosphere, draws many spiritual seekers.
Stepping onto the island from the ferry, I immediately felt this was truly a ‘thin place’. It seemed the veil between the physical world and the spiritual realm was more permeable than anywhere I had been before, heightening my sense of spiritual awareness and connection to the divine.
I joined 14 women, all eager to go beyond known boundaries, experience life more fully, and move more deeply into spiritual territory and the landscape of their hearts. We all hoped to journey into our deeper Self as well as to be met by a power beyond ourselves, and in some way to be changed by our experience.[2] Our guide, Mary DeJong, was a gifted leader, influenced by the lives of Celtic saints, the mythic journey, and trained in the emerging fields of eco-psychology and eco-theology.[3]
We were accommodated in the Green Shed (Iona Hostel), a working croft that tends a wild, woolly flock of black Hebridean sheep and cattle. Our communal breakfasts and evening meals became a place for meaningful conversations.
Twice a day we gathered at the Byre, a rustic stable, for our morning and evening circle times. In the mornings we learnt about different aspects of Celtic spirituality and Iona’s history and in our evening gatherings, we each placed an item on the altar that symbolised our God moments of the day.
In-between, we walked to various holy sites. Taking our souls for a stroll was an excellent way to get out of our heads. Our days were bookended by the 9 am and 9 pm service in the famous Abbey near the hostel.
Whilst each person’s pilgrimage is unique, there are some common stages. In my case, there was an invitation and call to go. This was followed by a phase of separation and preparation where I ‘put my house in order’ by finishing obligations of family, work, and community and by organising the journey. In this stage I also formulated my quest, or the reason and hoped-for outcome of my pilgrimage.
The journey itself and time in Iona was my next step. The invitation here was to slow down and develop an attitude of curiosity and anticipation. Putting aside fixed ideas, I came expecting God would meet me and respond. This prepared me for my divine encounter where I found the treasure I had been seeking. Finally, once home, I entered a season of integration, weaving the insights gained from this pilgrimage into the tapestry of daily life.[4]
My breakthrough moment came through deep conversations with six young women from our group who were interested in the spiritual practices I had adopted over the years. They were eager to know how I had pursued God in ways that resulted in both spiritual and psychological growth and transformation.
Each evening, we sat around the open fire as I shared the next part of my story and the spiritual practices I had engaged in. Each conversation finished with someone saying: ‘Angelika, you must write a book’. This was the boon[5] that I had been waiting for! Back home, my husband and I edited a book entitled ‘It Works: Stories of Transformative Spiritual Practices’ (now published).[6]
Another breakthrough was when I asked the eco-gardener at the Green Shed, ‘How do I best landscape our home space and beautify our land?’ He responded: ‘Well, you need to listen to the land. Spend quality time sitting on it and hearing what it says - what plants to choose and where to put them.’
Rather than bring my own ideas to the task, I learned to listen differently – in a respectful, honouring, open, and curious way. This became not only my new approach to gardening, but also to clients and directees. Transformed by the prayerful pace of this holy place, I recovered my path.
[1] Cited in Valters Painter, Christine, The Love of Thousands: How Angels, Saints, and Ancestors walk with us toward Holiness. (Notre Dame, IN: Sorin Books, 2023), 65.
[2] Hull, Vivienne. Reflections on Pilgrimage. (Waymarkers Wild Iona Journey handout).
[3] See https://www.waymarkers.net/wildionajourney
[4] These are a combination of steps mentioned by authors such as Phil Cousineau in The Art of Pilgrimage, Joseph Campbell in The Hero’s Journey, Heather A. Warfield in Bloechl & Brouillette, Pilgrimage as a Spiritual Practice, and Lacy Clark Ellman who runs pilgrimages online as sacred journeys https://www.asacredjourney.net/about/
[5] Boon is an old English word meaning benefit, favour, gift, blessing especially one that is given in answer to a request or quest.
[6] Halstead, Philip J. & Angelika, It Works: Stories of Transformative Spiritual Practices. (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2025).
Angelika Halstead is a supervisor, counsellor and spiritual director who is particularly interested in therapeutic writing and psycho-spiritual growth and transformation. She lives with her husband in Auckland and has recently co-edited ‘It Works’, a book on spiritual practices..
This article was featured in the Pilgrimage issue of Refresh - December 2025.
Refresh is SGM’s journal of contemplative spirituality in Aotearoa, New Zealand. You can view the current issue of Refresh or browse the archives in the Refresh section of this website.
IT WORKS: STORIES OF TRANSFORMATIVE SPIRITUAL PRACTICES by Philip J Halstead and Angelika Halstead (Eds) (2025)
This book offers innovative spiritual practices to deepen self-understanding, intimacy with God, and psycho-spiritual transformation. Readers will learn to listen with mind and heart to Scripture, awaken to the sacredness and beauty in nature, and receive and return God’s loving gaze.
Available through Fishpond, Amazon, and Wipf and Stock.
