Eurobishop

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has published its report at the end of last month. This report which is the most comprehensive, authoritative report on this subject runs to over 1,000,000 words, was compiled by over 600 scientists and peer-reviewed by over 9,000 researchers. The report has a devastatingly clear and urgent message: Climate change is real, caused by human activity and requires immediate action. The facts are now before the people of this planet: It’s likely that the world will exceed two degrees global temperature rise by the end of this century. Two degrees is the internationally recognised danger limit - even this level will cause much suffering.  Sea levels will probably rise by between 40cm and 63cm by the end of the century. They have already risen by 20cm since 1971. Each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the earth’s surface than any preceding decade since 1850 and in the Northern Hemisphere, 1983–2012 w...

Trondheim, or Nidaros, on the west coast of Norway, is an ancient pilgrimage destination, being the final resting place of St Olav who was killed in battle in the Trondheim fjord in 1030. The Synod of the Nordic and Baltic Deanery met at Michaelmastide in Trondheim, and besides the usual business transacted at a synod, there was a pilgrimage walk around the city, led by a Church of Norway priest whose full time job it is to welcome pilgrims and visitors to this place.  On Sunday 29 September, the deanery representatives joined with their brothers and sisters of the Church of Norway for the Sunday H øymesse (High Mass) for the Feast of St Michael and All Angels in the ancient Cathedral, which is the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world. Some of the same architects worked on Nidaros and Lincoln Cathedrals. The Dean graciously invited me to preach that day, to a congregation that filled the nave. The Presiding Bishop of Norway was the celebrant for the Euch...

Joy Kibogo is a student of linguistics at the University of Trondheim and hails from Uganda. Her confirmation was celebrated on the Eve of the Feast of St Michael and All Angels in the great Cathedral of Trondheim, in the presence of delegates to the Nordic and Baltic Deanery Synod, as well as her sisters and brothers from the Trondheim Anglican congregation. Joy suits her name, as she is a joyful member of this very multimational and youthful congregation, led by the Anglican priest in Trondheim, the Revd Mary Strommen.

Last month's meeting of the Church of England's College of Bishops was extended by a day to go into conference mode. One woman priest of senior standing was appointed by each Diocesan Bishop to attend this conference which was entitled “Women’s Ordained Ministry and the Transformation Agenda” which was held on 19 September. Bishop Geoffrey invited the Revd Canon Ulla Monberg to be the woman representative of this diocese. The conference on 19 September, almost 20 years since the first women’s ordination to the priesthood in the C of E, explored what enables and what hinders the development of women’s ordained ministry.The bishops and women clergy worked in small groups and in plenary and panel sessions addressing and discussing these two questions:                             What enables women ’s ordained ministry to flourish?     ...

I commend to the clergy and people of the Diocese in Europe a new programme which can help us in our work of teaching the Christian faith and equipping disciples in our congregations: Pilgrim.  It is a specifically Anglican course which aims to cater for every tradition in the Church of England. It was commissioned by the bishops of the Church to support the presentation of the basics of the Christian faith. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have endorsed the programme saying "The Pilgrim course is a journey to the heart of God and to a living, personal relationship with Jesus Christ". There are two stages on the Pilgrim course. The first is the "Follow" stage, designed for those who are enquirers or very new to Christianity. It can be used by those seeking baptism or confirmation, for example, and is designed to be led by someone who is further on in their Christian faith and who is a skilled teacher. It is in four sections, based around the great texts...

Clergy born in (left to right): Canada, Iceland, Cyprus, Burundi, South Africa, Finland, Sudan and (yours truly - Scotland) One of the myths about this Diocese in Europe that is very frustrating to put to rest is that we are a basically a religious club for English people living abroad. While many of our over 300 congregations have many, or even in some cases mostly English members, particularly in areas of the Diocese where a number of British people have retired, it is simply not accurate to describe our Diocese as the "Brits Abroad". We are a home for all who wish to worship with us, and that includes not just the English (and certainly not just Church of England folk) but English- speakers from a host of countries around the world. There are also some of our congregations which worship in languages other than English. By way of illustration of our diverse and international make-up, at the recent synod of the Nordic / Baltic deanery, I looked around the room at the...

The Most Revd Helga Byfuglien, Presiding Bishop of the Church of Norway Area Dean Barbara Moss has a creative approach to deanery synod programme design. At the recent Nordic/Baltic synod she invited the clergy and lay representatives to a grill-a-bishop session. It was actually grill two bishops, as the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Norway, the Most Revd Helga Byfuglien, and I were invited jointly to answer questions posed to us. They were questions which enabled us to compare and contrast approaches in the Church of Norway and the Church of England with regard to such matters as evangelism, secularisation in Europe, Confirmation, women in the episcopate, Church-State relations, and the role and ministry of bishops in general. The Church of Norway and the Church of England are in communion, thanks to the Porvoo Agreement. That does not mean that the Churches are alike in all aspects of our life and there is much to learn from each other.