The Revd Hazel Door: New Chaplain of Good Shepherd Poitou-Charentes

Archdeacon Letts and the Revd Hazel Door

On Saturday 28^thJanuary 2012 in the Church of St Nicholas, Civray the Revd Hazel Door was licenced as the new Chaplain of the Church of Christ the Good Shepherd, Poitou-Charentes by the Anglican Archdeacon of France, the Venerable Kenneth Letts. Hazel had previously been an assistant curate in the parish, following on ordination. She then served as priest-in-charge of Christ Church Brittany from 2007 to 2010 before returning to Poitou-Charentes to take up the post of Assistant Chaplain in 2010. When the then chaplain, the Revd Michael Hepper left in 2011 to take up a new parish back in England, Hazel applied for the senior post and was appointed.

We pray for her new ministry, which, although back on her "home turf", now carries enhanced responsibilities, including the coordination of a ministry team of priests and readers who offer services and pastoral care in this vast area. The parish covers 4 departments in western France!

Their website is here.

Bishop of Quebec at All Saints in Rome

One of the bishops who attended the recent Sant'Egidio meeting was the Rt Revd Dennis Drainville (2nd from right), the Bishop of Quebec in  the Anglican Church of Canada. Bishop Dennis and I were classmates at Trinity College in Toronto, but we have had little contact for over 30 years. It was good to re-establish our friendship and to reflect on our episcopal ministries together.

I took Bishop Dennis to All Saints, Rome, on Sunday morning, the 5 February where he concelebrated with me and Archdeacon Jonathan Boardman (left).

Ecumenical Bishops' Meeting in Rome

Bishops Jürgen Johannesdotter (retired Schaumburg-Lippe, EKD) and Ole Christian Kvarme (Oslo, Church of Norway)

About 100 bishops of the Sant'Egidio movement, mostly from Africa, but with a small number from Europe, Asia and Latin America met in Rome from 1 to 5 February. Most were Roman Catholic, but there were a handful of Anglicans, Lutherans and Orthodox among them. It was a time to reflect together on the effect of Vatican II on the life of the Churches, and to explore the words of Pope John Paul XXIII who opened the Council 50 years ago, calling for "a Church for all, particularly the poor".

It was a challenging theme: we were reminded as bishops that a poor Church is a Church that is a friend of the poor, that knows their world, that puts them at the centre of her life. "Only if we are friends of the poor can we be a Church of all".

Cardinal Levada

The meeting began with a pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle St Peter, then a Papal audience. There were a number of times of common prayer and celebration including a eucharist in the Basilica of St John Lateran, presided by Cardinal Levada, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and prayers in the St Bartholomew's Church on Tiber Island, where 20th centrury martyrs of all Christian Churches are commemorated, including three Anglican members of the Melanesian Brotherhood, Patteson Gatu, Alfred Hill and Robin Lindsay, who gave their lives for the Gospel in Guadalcanal. Some items belonging to the Brothers are displayed in one of the chapels.

 
During our time in Rome snows covered the city, a sight not seen since 1985! The African bishops especially enjoyed this experience, but the centre of the city was unusually quiet and deserted as schools were cancelled and people stayed home rather than venture out in the icy conditions.

Estonian Clergy Conference

At the invitation of the Archbishop of Estonia, the Most Revd Andres Põder, I attended the annual clergy conference of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, which was held from 24-25 January in Roosta, in the NW of the country. The theme of the gathering, which brought together over 100 priests from the Estonian Church, was preaching. The Bishop of Rochester and I (the diocese of Rochester and the diocese of Estonia are twinned) ran a workshop on preaching in the Anglican tradition. 


A highlight of the annual clergy conference is a banquet where several people are honoured, including the "priest of the year", who is chosen by secret ballot of clergy colleagues. The priest of the year must have had particular success during the past year in a particular project or parish programme. (I am not sure this would work in the Diocese in Europe; for one thing, we could not agree on what constitutes "success"!) 


The Church of England is in communion with the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, through the Porvoo Agreement. The Revd Gustav Piir (above) is licensed to serve our Church of England congregation of SS Timothy and Titus in Tallinn.

  

Parish life must go on, even in an interregnum

Even in a vacancy, Christian nurture in our congregations continues and candidates for confirmation are prepared and presented for this sacrament. For this we are thankful for the voluntary work of locum clergy and retired priests with Permission to Officiate who step in to provide essential pastoral care during an interregnum.

The parish of Pas de Calais in France is an example of this. The former priest-in-charge left towards the end of 2011 to take up a new appointment in Zurich. In the meantime, the Revd John Porter, a retired priest who lives in the pastoral area of Pas de Calais, has been "keeping an eye" on things. It was a moment of particular joy in the congregation when, on a recent pastoral visit, Fr John presented to me a candidate for confirmation at a packed service held in Hesdin.  

In the photo above, the Revd John Porter is on the right. The local curé who also attended the service (a sign of the excellent ecumenical relations) is third from the right.  

Anglican Communion Lent Course 2012

In case your parish has not yet decided on a Lent programme for this year, you might want to have a look at "And it was good" 

This is the title of a  5-session course available for group or individual use in Anglican Churches around the world. It is based on the  fifth mark of mission as understood by the Anglican Communion:  ‘To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth". It aims to help us discover how key aspects of the life, ministry and death of Jesus Christ also shed light upon this theme.

The course has been put together by Anglicans from around the world, which make it an ideal resource for our own multi-cultural diocese, which has often been described as "the Anglican Communion in miniature".

The five sessions are:

1. The hope of something new (exploring Isaiah 11:1-9 and Mark 1:9-15)
2. The place of humanity in the created order (exploring Genesis 1-2 and Jeremiah 4:11-28)
3. Jesus – the centre and heart of all creation (exploring Colossians 1:9-29 and Mark 4:30-41)
4. Creation blesses the Lord (exploring Psalm 104 and the Benedicite, the Song of the Three Young Men)
5. Creation groans in painful hope (exploring Romans 8:12-27 and 2 Peter 3:1-13)

Each session contains:

• Bible Exploration of one or two biblical passages related to aspects of creation.
• Reflection on how our understanding can be deepened by the experiences of Anglican Christians throughout the world.
• Reading the Bible with Anglicans around the world, reflecting on what our exploration suggests about the ways other Anglicans read the Bible.
• Questions for discussion
• Sharing our insights with other Anglicans
• Closing prayer

The course is available as a free downloadable resource from here. 

General Synod Gives Approval to the First Reading of Diocese in Europe Measure

This morning, the General Synod passed, by overwhelming majority, the first reading of the draft Diocese in Europe Measure. There was clearly strong support for this legislation which will help to bring this diocese into line with the other 43 in the Church of England with regard to being eligible to receive funds from the Church Commissioners. A key part of the proposed measure reads:

That the Church Commissioners may, from time to time, pay, out of their general fund, such sums as they think fit for the purpose of the development of the mission of the Diocese in Europe.  

A revision committee will now prepare the measure for final approval at another session of the Synod.  Members of the diocese will know what good news this is, and we thank all who have supported the measure to this stage.

Cooperation with women bishops is not entirely new to the Diocese in Europe

The Church of England General Synod continues its process with regard to women in the episcopate this week. There is a range of opinion in our diocese about women bishops, as in the other 43 dioceses of the Church of England. But it is interesting to note (and perhaps this is a distinction from the other 43), that we already have routine collaboration and good working relations with women bishops. I am referring, of course, to such bishops already consecrated in some of the Lutheran Churches which have signed the Porvoo Agreement. 


One example is in Helsinki. The Bishop of Helsinki (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland) is the Rt Revd Irja Askola. Like her predecessor, Bishop Eero Huovinen, she is providing vital support and encouragement to the Anglican Church in Finland's chaplaincy of St Nicholas in Helsinki. We are grateful for funding from Finnish parishes in her diocese, as well as support from the Headquarters of the Finnish Church, which provides essential support for our own ministry. I was recently able to visit her to thank her for her Church's ongoing, and tangible, commitment, and for her role as bishop which serves to make this possible. 

Bishop Irja is an experienced ecumenist having given significant leadership in the Conference of European Churches and in her own country. She maintains particularly warm relations with the Orthodox Church in Finland, which, although a much smaller body, is also an official national church.

O Lord, save the Queen

On this day in 1952, while in Kenya, Princess Elizabeth received the news of her father King George VI's death and her own accession to the throne. Her Majesty has issued this message to her people today:

'Today, as I mark 60 years as your Queen, I am writing to thank you for the wonderful support and encouragement that you have given to me and Prince Philip over these years and to tell you how deeply moved we have been to receive so many kind messages about the Diamond Jubilee.

In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighbourliness, examples of which I have been fortunate to see throughout my reign and which my family and I look forward to seeing in many forms as we travel throughout the United Kingdom and the wider Commonwealth. 

I hope also that this Jubilee year will be a time to give thanks for the great advances that have been made since 1952 and to look forward to the future with clear head and warm heart as we join together in our celebrations. 

I send my sincere good wishes to you all.

ELIZABETH R'

Diocese supporting the education of future leaders for South Sudan

During a parish visit to the White Nile congregation in Vaasa, Finland, last month, I met with the church council for an update on the Education Project which was sponsored last year by our Bishop's Lent Appeal, and later had a meeting with the students themselves. 

The congregation of several hundred families, led by Fr Amos Manga, a South Sudanese non-stipendiary priest of our Diocese, established the Education Project to provide English language instruction. English is the official language of the newly independent South Sudan. Through this programme in NW Finland, those who once had to flee their homeland are now being equipped for an eventual return, ready to give leadership in the new national language.

About 15 men and women have completed the first module and will be revising for an exam soon. Already I was able to engage in conversation with them, about their jobs, their family life and their hope for the future. All of them had virtually no English capacity at all until starting the programme! Classes are held twice a week for 2 hours at a time. Their principal teacher, Owen Ndoromo, himself a trained language instructor and member of the congregation judges that after 4 modules, these keen students will be competently fluent in English. An amazing and encouraging feat!  

Phase two of the project is ready to commence. Support for the Bishop's Lent Appeal 2012 will enable the participants to buy the new books and resources needed, and thus help them build a new future.

Festive Confirmation in Finnish, Arabic and English

12 young people of the White Nile congregation were confirmed on Sunday 22 January at a festive (3 hour!) service in Holy Trinity church in Vaasa in western Finland. Readings were in English and Finnish, songs and hymns in Arabic, and my serrmon, preached in English, was also translated into Arabic.

The White Nile congregation is part of the Anglican Church of Finland and consists largely of Sudanese refugees. Their priest is the Revd Amos Manga who is assisted by the Revd Deacon David Oliver. Over 130 people attended the service at which two Lutheran priests, the Revd Sami Saharinen and the Revd Gunnar Särs, also took part. Fr Tuomas Mäkipää, the assistant curate at St Nicholas, Helsinki made the 900 km round trip to be with us for the celebration.

The White Nile congregation was organised during the Revd Rupert Moreton's time as chaplain of the Anglican Church in Finland. Fr Rupert encouraged the establishment of this work and sought Lutheran cooperation from the start to demonstrate how such ministry can be a visible sign of the communion between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland and the Church of England, brought about by the Porvoo Agreement. Fr Rupert left Finland at the end of 2011 to take up a post in the Cathedral in Cork, in the Church of Ireland.

Vaasa is in the Finnish Diocese of Lapua, and the Bishop Simo Peura, is a good supporter of the White Nile congregation. He invited Fr Amos to attend his diocesan clergy conference last November. There has also been a joint meeting between the White Nile Church Council and the local Lutheran parish Council which has opened up the idea of monthly joint services. The Lutherans have offered to include Anglican Sunday School teachers in their regular programme of training. (There are presently 26 children in the White Nile Sunday School).  

During my parish visit to the White Nile congregation I met with the Council to hear updates on their programmes, which include youth work (for ages 18 - 25) and an Adult Education Programme.

Unity Week in Antwerp

Another report from this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity comes from Antwerp where the Revd Deacon Ann Babb of St Boniface Anglican Church took part in the ecumenical service at the Roman Catholic Cathedral. Deacon Ann is one of 4 "distinctive" deacons in the Diocese in Europe (so far!).

The Bishop of Antwerp, Johan Bonny, is a committed ecumenist, having once served on the staff of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.