Workshop 8 : 1.30 pm to 2.30 pm

John is an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland and a member of the Iona Community.

During his studies in Theology, he became the first (and last) student Rector of the University of Glasgow. After a period in the Netherlands and two posts in church youth work, he became employed in the areas of music and worship, founding during that time, with Graham Maule, the Wild Goose Worship Group and the Wild Goose Resource Group.

He is a past convenor of the Church of Scotland’s Panel on Worship and the committee that produced the ground-breaking Church Hymnary 4. In 1999, he was honoured by the Presbyterian Church of Canada and the Royal School of Church Music which bestowed on him a Fellowship. He was awarded in 2002 an honorary doctorate by the University of Glasgow, and in 2013 the Community of Christ International Peace Award. John has produced many collections of liturgy, scripts, sermons and reflections, original hymns and songs (some in collaboration with Graham) and three collections of songs of the World Church, and is primarily concerned with the renewal of congregational worship at grass roots level.

N.B. John Bell is neither Leader of the Iona Community nor its Musical Director. He is a Wild Goose Resource Worker.

Based in Glasgow and working as a semi-autonomous project of the Iona Community, the members of the Wild Goose Resource Group are active throughout Britain and abroad in local congregations, churches, schools, colleges, universities, at festivals, denominational conferences, training events and with voluntary organisations concerned with social and international justice. If you wish to learn more about the programme team and work of the Wild Goose Resource Group click on the button below. 

The maximum number of participants in each workshop is limited, so book early to avoid disappointment!