Happy Thanksgiving, Joyeux Jour de l'Action de Grâce

Happy Thanksgiving to all Canadians in the Diocese in Europe, and to Canadian friends and relatives everywhere!

As Canadians come together with grateful hearts for all the blessings we have received, let us pray for the needs of our world, especially for all those who are victims of war, abuse, racial injustice, alienation and disease. May the strength of our prayers open up avenues of healing, comfort and radical changes in the systems that keep people oppressed. 

If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough - Meister Eckhart

Photo by Ryan Christodoulou on Unsplash

New deacons told "You do not know where you'll end or what a blessing you could become!"

On 26 September, 3 new deacons were ordained in All Saints Rome:Professor Dr Gottlieb Leopold Martin George, to serve as assistant curate (NSM) in St George’s Anglican Church, Berlin;  Robert Rushforth Morley, to serve as assistant curate (NSM) in All Saints Anglican Church, Milan; and Dr Valdis Teraudkalns, to serve as assistant curate (NSM) in St Saviour’s Anglican Church, Riga.

 

The congregation had to be limited by Italian regulations to 60, and many of the close family and friends of the ordinands were unable to attend due to distance and travel limitations in the pandemic situation, but finally, after a three month delay, and finding a place where both I as ordaining bishop and the candidates could all be together (ordinations cannot be virtual!), we were able to proceed with this joyful occasion in the life of the Diocese and the Church. 

 

 

Archbishop Ian Ernest, the Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, and former Archbishop and Primate of the Indian Ocean, was able to participate with me in the rite, presenting one of the candidates, and delivering to them the copy of the New Testament, following the laying on of hands. 

 

Besides our own diocesan officials, the Archdeacon of Germany and Northern Europe, and the Diocesan Registrar, there were significant ecumenical presence, which helped to signify that although this was a Church of England service, it was in fact an event within the life of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Among the ecumenical guests were the Revd Matthew Laferty, the Director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome (I have known Pastor Laferty from Moscow and Vienna) and the Revd Fr Robert McCulloch, the Procurator General of the Missionary Society of St Columba, and a Consultor to the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments.  

 

The Revd Robert Warren, the Chaplain of All Saints Rome, was the preacher for the occasion. Fr Robert and his team (which included Chaja Verkerk, Ministry Experience Scheme Intern) were generous hosts for the event, having been given only very short notice that they were to hold this diocesan service.

 

In his sermon, Fr Robert encouraged the new deacons to be strong in faith for the uncertain days and years ahead: 

 

"We have come to know with certainty this last six months, that there is no certainty, that events intervene, that underrated skills become crucially and suddenly important. The health emergencies of the recent past may continue. Political emergencies of the quite immediate future may dwarf what we have seen in the past six months. There is economic uncertainty surrounding the daily work of our parishioners – how they earn their crust.  These along with the economic uncertainty facing the church will undoubtedly change the question “what will these three men do?” and “what will be their legacy in the economy of God?”

...Be good curates where you’re sent.  But be good soldiers in battles as yet unseen. You are being ordained with the greatest certainty that you are people of good repute. That you are wise people.  That you have amassed about you a degree of circumspection, of knowledge of how people tick, that you are capable of knowing your place within structures, that you can work on a team where there will be people in your charge and where you are in the charge of others.  But you are being picked out as people who have an acquaintance with the ways of the Spirit. You are being ordained not only in the certainty of what we believe we know, but in the hope that you will be up to the challenges of the Spirit of God in an age the exigencies of which we cannot possibly imagine.You’ve been told where you are going to start.  The future is outside our reach and outside yours. You do not know where you’ll end and what a blessing you could become".  

We pray for Valdis, Martin and Robert, on entering the sacred order of deacon as a vital step on their journey, if God wills, to be priests. May they indeed be a blessing to God's Church. 

 

Photos courtesy of Chaja Verkerk

 

The service was recorded on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allsaintschurchrome/videos/1182436905474467/

 

 

 

 

A Creationtide workshop, sponsored by Christ Church Vienna

In this season of Creationtide, Christ Church Vienna is hosting a relevant workshop on the morning of Saturday 19 September. The workshop will be led by Dr Clare Amos, the Diocesan Director of Lay Discipleship, a biblical scholar and world class lay theologian. Dr Amos will draw on both the Old and New Testaments to explore our relationship to the created order. Environmental issues and a commitment to safeguard the integrity of creation is one of the key themes of the diocesan strategy. 

Previous workshops by Clare have been heavily subscribed, so if you are interested please contact Christ Church Vienna (office@christchurchvienna.org) by Thursday 17 September to reserve your place! Please note that the times are Central European Time, (British Summer Time +1 hour).

Camino Chaplaincy priest asks for prayers for justice and peace in Kenosha

Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash

On 23 August in Kenosha, Wisconsin, police shot an African American, Jacob Blake, in the back, at close range, several times, in front of his 3 sons. Mr Blake has survived, but may be paralysed from the waist down. Public officials are calling for a thorough investigation of the shooting, and a reckoning with the broader issues of racial injustice.  

Meanwhile protests have been seen in Kenosha in the aftermath of this event; sadly some of these protests have turned violent and destructive. One of our locum clergy who is connected to the Camino Chaplaincy (in Santiago de Compostela), the Revd Fr Matthew Buterbaugh is the Rector of St Matthew's Episcopal Church, a parish in downtown Kenosha, close to the centre of the unrest. Fr Matthew has been in communication with Fr Bob Bates, our Lead Chaplain for the Camino Chaplaincy, who has been circulating requests for prayer for Kenosha. Fr Matthew says "I greatly appreciate that, and I am heartened to be a part of the diocesan community in Europe, who are reaching out and praying. I, and a number of interfaith clergy, marched in a peaceful protest earlier yesterday [Monday] evening, before things became more heated overnight. Please do pray for justice and peace in our time". 

Fr Matthew reports that they have had to board up some windows in the Church office on account of the vandalism. However, he stresses, "I continuously remind people in this time that buildings and windows can be replaced, but human lives cannot." 

It has been barely three months since the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our Diocese marked that event with a prayer service for racial justice on 13 June. 

Pray for healing for Jacob Blake, for justice to be served in his case, and for peace in Kenosha.

Dean Emeritus Ken Robinson RIP

Today I will be representing the Diocese at the funeral of Dean Emeritus Robinson. Please remember Fr Ken in your prayers, and his widow Merry and their family.

O Lord, may Ken your servant and priest, who devoted a faithful ministry to your name, rejoice in the company of your saints. 

 

 

The notice from the Church Times:

ROBINSON. — On 5 August, the Very Revd John Kenneth Robinson: Chaplain of HM Prison Lancaster (1965-66); St John’s School, Singapore (1966-68); Vicar of Holy Trinity, Colne (1968-71); Chaplain of St George’s, Grenada (1971-74); Director of Education, Windward Islands (1971-74); Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of the Windward Islands (1971-74); Vicar of Skerton (1974-81); USPG Area Secretary for East Anglia (1981-91); Hon. Minor Canon of St Edmundsbury Cathedral (1982-91); Chaplain of St George’s, Lisbon, with St Paul’s, Estoril (1991-2000); Archdeacon of Gilbraltar (1994-2002); Canon of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Gibraltar (1994-2000); Dean (2000-03); aged 83.

The Very Revd Ken Robinson, RIP

 

It is with sadness that I share the news across the diocese that the Very Revd Ken Robinson died last Wednesday evening, 5 August, after a long illness. Fr Ken had served this diocese with distinction, first as Chaplain of St George's Lisbon with St Paul's Estoril, then as Archdeacon of Gibraltar, and finally as Dean of Gibraltar. He retired from that position in 2003, and was named Dean Emeritus.

Ken was widely loved in the diocese, and contributed greatly to building a sense of family among us, making the Cathedral a particularly warm and welcoming place. He has many friends across the diocese, in the wider Church of England, and even in the Windward Islands where he once served as Director of Education. It was Dean Robinson who officially installed me in the stall of St Andrew in the Cathedral, shortly after my consecration, inaugurating my own close connection to the Cathedral.

Fr Ken's wife Merry told me that despite being ill for several months, he died at peace, having received the last rites. 

Father we pray for the soul of Ken, your servant and priest, that he, who devoted a faithful ministry to your name, may rejoice in the perpetual company of your saints. 

Generous Love and the Embassy and Hospitality of God

In 2008, an Anglican Communion report on interfaith relations entitled Generous Love, called upon Anglicans to practise "the embassy and hospitality of God". As an embassy, as ambassadors, we have been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation. The challenges of hospitality include building relationships of trust and respect. Generous Love has an important and insightful sentence: "none of the places, situations or societies where we meet and greet are the exclusive territory of any one group; they are entrusted by God to be shared by everyone, since all humans are made in God's image".  

I reflected on this today. The great building and world heritage site which is Hagia Sophia in Istanbul was built as a cathedral in 537 and served as the seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople until the Ottoman capture of the city in 1453. It was then turned into a mosque. So it has been in its history a sacred space for both Christians and Muslims. In 1934 the secularist Turkish government turned the building into a museum - and it has remained so until today, when Muslim prayers will be publically recited, turning it back into a mosque. 

Mosaic in Hagia Sophia

One could argue that as a museum the shared heritage of the building was preserved and historic polarisations associated with it belonging exclusively to one group were avoided. Visitors, whether Muslim, Christian or of any other or no faith, could be reminded of the entangled religious history of this part of the world, and therefore for the need for dialogue, tolerance and understanding among these two great world religions. Garo Paylan, an ethnic Armenian and opposition member of the Turkish parliament expressed this succintly, "Hagia Sophia was a symbol of our rich history. Its dome was big enough for all".

In the conversion of Hagia Sophia from museum to mosque what must be avoided is further polarisation: in some Muslim countries making life more difficult for minority Christian communities, and similarly for minority Muslim communities in other places.  

But today we know that our Orthodox brothers and sisters around the world are especially saddened by this re-inauguration of Hagia Sophia as a mosque. So we extend to all who lament this occurrence, our love and support. 

A mosaic in Hagia Sophia

 

Unité des Chrétiens: an interview

For any who might be interested, Unité des Chrétiens, the French ecumenical journal has run an interview with me which touches upon many themes of our Diocese in Europe: ecumenical life, Anglican identity, Brexit and our multicultural context. The journal itself (despite this interview!) is always an interesting read, covering ecumenical life in France, Europe and beyond, from Oriental, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and Protestant perspectives. The link to the journal's site is here: https://unitedeschretiens.fr/

The article is below:

Petertide Seminars: An Introduction to ARCIC and IARCCUM

Here is something of interest to those in the diocese and beyond, who are keen to learn about our Anglican Communion's official dialogue and relations with the Roman Catholic Church. (And perhaps to know what it is I do as Co-Chairman of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission!)

This is a series of 3 seminars, online, sponsored by the Anglican Centre in Rome.

The official invitation is here:

H.G. Archbishop Ian, Director of The Anglican Centre in Rome, is delighted to invite you to attend ACR Petertide  online interactive course subdivided into three sessions on Ecumenism, examining the work of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM).

Course one, on the history and foundations of Arcic I and the beginnings of Arcic II and the Lambeth Conference of 1988, will be held on Monday 29 June – the feast of Sts Peter and Paul. Speakers will be the Old Testament scholar Dame Mary Tanner, who is also an expert on ARCIC, and Bishop Christopher Hill, who served as co-secretary of ARCIC from 1974-81.

Course two, on ARCIC II and III and the shifts in tensions and ecumenical mood, will be held on Monday 13 July with Professor Nicholas Sagovsky, former canon theologian of Westminster Abbey and Mgr Mark Langham, former official of the Pontifical Council for the Promoting of Christian unity.

The final and third course on Monday 27 July will focus on the establishment of IARCCUM,  will be given by Archbishop Donald Bolen, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Regina, Canada, and another former co-secretary of ARCIC, as well as of IARCCUM and Bishop David Hamid, suffragan bishop in Europe and co-chair of IARCCUM.

All the courses will be held on Zoom at 3pm, Rome time, and will last two hours, with those attending encouraged to participate. Attendance is free, but a donation to the Anglican Centre would be welcome.

To register, please contact administrator@anglicancentre.it and indicate which seminar/s you'd like to attend.

Praying Together Across Europe For Racial Justice

On Friday 12 June at 12 noon Central European Time (11.00 am British Summer Time) there will be a service of prayer, scripture, silence of 8 minutes and 46 seconds, and blessing, in solidarity with BAME communities around the world. 

This will be a brief service (about 15 minutes in total) at the hour when Our Lord hung upon the cross. It will be led by some of the BAME clergy of the diocese. 

We offer this moment to come together to repent of the sin of racism, to pray for an end to injustice, to give thanks for the beautiful diversity of humanity, and to be strengthened for action that will make a difference. 

Please join us. 

Just follow this link to the live stream (available from about 11.30 am CET/10.30 am BST) on the Diocese in Europe YouTube.  

Photo by Nicola Fioravanti on Unsplash

Racism is a sin. Full stop.

Today the Church remembers the Martyrs of Uganda, young Africans, of Anglican and Roman Catholic background who were put to death by the Ugandan King Mwanga, who despised people of religious faith. 

At this time across the United States of America and even here in London, demonstrations continue protesting the murder of another black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis. As we know he was mercilessly pinned down by the knee of a white police officer, begging to be able to breathe, until he died. Other police officers looked on. 

While the world searches for a cure and a vaccine against coronavirus - how we need still to find a cure and a vaccine for the racism that is still so pervasive in our societies. We Christians believe in the equality of all peoples and value the richness that comes with racial and ethnic diversity. Racism is a sin; as such we must oppose it in all its forms. 

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York issued this statement concerning the events in the USA:

“Recent events in the United States of America have once again drawn public attention to the ongoing evil of white supremacy. Systemic racism continues to cause incalculable harm across the world. Our hearts weep for the suffering caused – for those who have lost their lives, those who have experienced persecution, those who live in fear. God’s justice and love for all creation demands that this evil is properly confronted and tackled. Let us be clear: racism is an affront to God. It is born out of ignorance, and must be eradicated. We all bear the responsibility and must play our part to eliminate this scourge on humanity.

“As Dr Martin Luther King Jr said, ‘In a real sense, we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Therefore, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’

“We pray that God’s abounding wisdom, compassion and love will guide leaders across the world to forge a better society

What can we do as Christians? Many, including my sister Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin (above), Bishop of Dover, herself a black woman, say words are now not enough. Some action must be taken.

The faithful of this diocese can redouble our efforts to listen - to listen to minority voices in the Church and beyond the Church; to listen to the voiceless and to those who keep silent after years or generations of oppression. We are a community of reconciliation - and our witness to the world begins with our living that reconciliation within our own Church. 

We can speak and preach about the the sin of racism, and keep before the community our need to repent for ways we may be complicit or have in the past been complicit in this sin. 

And certainly we can take a stand when politicians manipulate and violate our religious principles. The Primate of the Episcopal Church, Bishop Michael Curry (above), an African American man, denounced President Trump's stunt last Monday, when he clutched a Bible outside St John's Episcopal Church, close to the White House, after he had caused armed security forces to use tear gas and violence to disperse those gathered to peacefully protest George Floyd’s murder: 

"This evening, the President of the United States stood in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, lifted up a Bible, and had pictures of himself taken. In so doing, he used a church building and the Holy Bible for partisan political purposes. This was done in a time of deep hurt and pain in our country, and his action did nothing to help us or to heal us.

The Bible teaches us that “God is love.” Jesus of Nazareth taught, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” The prophet Micah taught that the Lord requires us to “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.”

The bible the President held up and the church that he stood in front of represent the values of love, of justice, of compassion, and of a way to heal our hurts.

We need our President, and all who hold office, to be moral leaders who help us to be a people and nation living these values. For the sake of George Floyd, for all who have wrongly suffered, and for the sake of us all, we need leaders to help us to be “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”

God of justice, In your wisdom you create all people in your image, without exception. Open our eyes to see the dignity, beauty, and worth of every human being. Open our minds to understand that all your children are brothers and sisters in the same human family. Open our hearts to repent of racist attitudes, behaviors, and speech which demean others. Open our ears to hear the cries of those wounded by discrimination and their passionate appeals for change. Fill us with courage that we might seek to heal wounds, build bridges, forgive and be forgiven, and establish peace and equality for all in our communities. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Sylvia Brantingham RIP

Many people across the diocese will remember Sylvia Brantingham, the cheerful and helpful receptionist and office assistant at the Diocesan Office in Westminster, who retired several years ago. 

Sylvia died on the morning of Pentecost, last Sunday 31 May, after a battle with cancer. She was a faithful member of St Pancras Old Church in London, and her parish priest was able to bring her Holy Communion and minister the last rites to her that morning and be with her as she passed into the loving arms of God. 

Sylvia's Christian devotion was both humble and inspiring. Bron Panter our Office Manager knew her well and even recalls getting a bit cross with her as she would quietly disappear to say her midday prayers! I also recall how Sylvia never wasted a moment; in the midst of the busy-ness of answering doors, phone calls, preparing refreshments for visitors and meetings, sorting post, and other general office duties, if she had a spare moment, she would be found at her desk quietly reciting the rosary, in all likelihood with special intention for us all. 

Sylvia was always at the centre of our Tufton Street community gatherings. She will be missed. When we are able to gather again, post-lockdown, as a Tufton Street team, we will celebrate a requiem mass for her.

May blessed Mary and all the saints surround her with love and welcome her home.