Dr. Brad McKinnon returned to the classroom this fall after a research sabbatical. Here is his recap and review of his semester away from HCU.
“In April, I had the opportunity to travel back to Scotland. The trip was part research, part mission, and part pilgrimage.
Upon arrival in Edinburgh, I focused on wrapping up some research for my current book project that examines the influence of Helen Keller’s theology on her commitment to social change and her understanding of disability. Over a couple of days, I spent most of my time at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Divinity library at the New College.
Next, I took a train to the seaside resort town of Oban on the Firth of Lorn. After arriving in Oban, I boarded a ferry to Craignure on the Isle of Mull and then bussed to the island’s western terminus at Fionnphort. From there, I rode on a second ferry for the short trip to the Isle of Iona. After arriving on the island, I enjoyed a snack and then walked the half mile to the Iona Abbey.
My distant relative John MacKinnon was the last Benedictine monk to serve as Abbot of Iona (from 1467 to 1498). After his death, the Protestant Reformation would eventually bring the church into disuse for much of the next 300 years. The Christian community at the abbey was revived in the 1800s and continues today.
Christianity was first brought to the island by St. Columba, an Irish missionary, when he and twelve followers established a monastery there in 563. Some think that the important manuscript of the four Gospels known as the Book of Kells was produced at Iona in the 9th century. During this time, the monastery faced Viking raids with many of the surviving monks returning to Ireland (taking the Book of Kells with them?) or establishing new religious communities on the European mainland—including monasteries in Belgium, France, and Switzerland. Many Scottish kings were buried at Iona including, it is thought, Macbeth who died in 1057. The location was reestablished as a Benedictine church in 1230, and soon an Augustinian nunnery was built just south of the abbey.
John MacKinnon’s effigy is displayed in the nave and a Celtic cross dedicated to John and his father Lachlan—a prominent leader in the community—is preserved in the abbey museum. The Latin text on the cross reads, “This is the cross of Lachlan MacKinnon and his son John, Abbot of Hy (Iona), made in the Year of Our Lord 1489.
I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to make this rather challenging journey to this remote island in the Inner Hebrides. It’s humbling to think this location has been a distinguished place of Christian devotion for nearly 1,500 years and that my family had a prominent role in its history.
After making my way back to Oban, I traveled by train to Glasgow. There, I worked on some final research at the University of Glasgow, where Helen Keller received an honorary doctorate in June 1932, and at a church in the city’s Woodlands neighborhood.
Finally, I visited with the Cumbernauld congregation. Cumbernauld is a large town northeast of Glasgow. I preached on Sunday morning and had the opportunity to spend some time with the church’s two ministers, Adam Barr and HCU alumnus Graham McDonald. Adam and Graham are doing tremendous work with this vibrant multicultural congregation. The Sunday I visited, five continents were represented—Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, and South America. The unity and camaraderie I enjoyed there was a beautiful reflection of the kingdom of God.
The next morning, I began making my way home. After a delay in London, I had just enough time to catch my connecting flight in Chicago in order to be back in Florence for my son’s soccer game the next evening.
I’m thankful to work at Heritage Christian University where there are opportunities for teaching, research, and service to the church.”
