Culture Honey Touring

12/21/2024

❄️ Happy Solstice from all of us at CultureHoneyTouring.com!!

11/13/2024

Visiting the tiny isle of Iona in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland is an experience that most will never forget. Considered a 'holy island" since at least the 500's when St Columba (St Columcille) arrived from Ireland, Iona has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries.

In a new article out this week on Culture Honey writer Kim Hardart shares, "It is a spiritual feeling unrivaled by anything I have experienced at home before or since. No words can better sum up how I feel about my pilgrimage to Iona better than this verse we sang together from the hymn “All Are Welcome” on our last night – “all are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place!”

https://www.culturehoney.com/spiritual-journey-celtic.../








📷 Kim Hardardt

10/10/2024

This is the view from the front door of the Iona Abbey,
including a high cross and 'òrr an Aba',
the little hill where St Columba is said to have had his writing hut. 😊💙





Delightful it is to stand on the peak of a rock, in
the bosom of the isle,
gazing on the face of the sea.

I hear the heaving waves chanting a tune to God
in heaven;
I see their glittering surf.

I see the golden beaches, the sands sparkling;
I hear the joyous shrieks of the swooping gulls.

I hear the waves breaking, crashing on rocks, like
thunder in heaven.
I see the mighty whales.

I watch the ebb and flow of the ocean tide; it
holds my secret,
my mournful flight from Eire.

Contrition fills my heart as I hear the sea; it chants
my sins,
sins too numerous to confess.

Let me bless almighty God, whose power extends
over sea and land,
whose angels watch over all.

Let me study sacred books to calm my soul;
I pray for peace, kneeling at heaven's gates.

Let me do my daily work, gathering seaweed,
catching fish,
giving food to the poor.

Let me say my daily prayers, sometimes chanting,
sometimes quiet, always thanking God.

Delightful it is to live on a peaceful isle, in a quiet
cell,
serving the King of kings.

~ St Columba, as found in "A Celtic Liturgy", pages 17 & 18

📷 Georgia Sanders

09/25/2024

Join us for an external journey to beautiful Iona, Scotland on a Celtic Way Pilgrimage. Celtic Way Pilgrimages have been planned and prepared by Culture Honey Touring, an organic outgrowth of the travel and culture focus of CultureHoney.com and are presented from the Celtic Christian perspective. Our small group pilgrimages are appropriate for gentle-hearted spiritual seekers of all backgrounds.

In addition to the natural beauty of the historic and sacred sites we will visit, this pilgrimage prioritizes a spacious internal journey as well. Using A Celtic Liturgy by Pat Robson, other Celtic-themed literature and quiet times led by founder and guides Georgia & Mike Sanders. Additionally, our group will be led by a local expert on the ground in Iona and participate in prayer times with The Iona Community at the Iona Abbey.

Celtic Way Pilgrimages treasure the writings of Celtic history, poetry, and spirituality by Esther de Waal and J. Philip Newell, who was the warden of the Abbey of Iona for 14 years. We believe that the Celtic stream of faith and perspective has much wisdom to offer in our modern times. Come journey with us and discover beauty, healing, and connection along the Celtic way.

For more information: "[email protected]"

Iona, Scotland Pilgrimage: May 6 - May 13th, 2025 - 7 nights, 8 days

07/21/2024

Flying into Dublin…💚






📷 Georgia Sanders

05/04/2024

In honor of World Labyrinth Day today, we post this photo of our founder and tour guide Georgia Sanders at one of her favorite labyrinths in Glendalough, Ireland 💚🙏🏻

Culture Honey Touring hopes to beginning offering our Sacred Ireland and Iona, Scotland pilgrimages again beginning in Spring of 2025. Stay tuned to this page and perhaps you will be able to be a part of one of these wonderful journeys with us next year! 💚🌱

02/01/2024

Culture Honey and Culture Honey Touring wishes a Happy St Brigid’s Day to all who celebrate! 🌿

“In Kildare and throughout Ireland, Saint Brigid is celebrated on her feast day, Feb. 1, and this year, on the 1500th anniversary of her death, is the first year it will be marked as a national holiday in Ireland!”

“On the Eve of Saint Brigid’s Day, it is customary to weave a cross out of reeds as Brigid is reputed to have done so long ago.”

“The story behind the cross is that while Brigid was visiting a dying chieftain, she picked up some rushes from the floor and wove them into the shape of the cross in order to explain the story of Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection. Upon hearing the story, it is said the dying man committed his soul to the One True God.” ☘️

“Once a new cross is woven, it is then placed over the front door inside the house. The Celtic saints started a tradition of hallowing places by marking them with a cross. The reed cross is also thought to protect the house from fire and famine.” 🍃

The words below are the type of prayer that would be uttered with the hanging of the cross:

Hearth Keeping Prayer

Brigid of the Mantle, encompass us,

Lady of the Lambs, protect us,

Keeper of the Hearth, kindle us.

Beneath your mantle, gather us,

And restore us to memory.

Mothers of our mother, Foremothers strong.

Guide our hands in yours,

Remind us how to kindle the hearth.

To keep it bright, to preserve the flame.

Your hands upon ours, Our hands within yours,

To kindle the light, Both day and night.

The Mantle of Brigid about us,

The Memory of Brigid within us,

The Protection of Brigid keeping us

From harm, from ignorance, from heartlessness.

This day and night,

From dawn till dark, From dark till dawn.”

https://www.culturehoney.com/saints-of-ireland-in-search-of-saint-brigid/






📷 Georgia Sanders

01/14/2024