Eurobishop

Last Friday, 28 May, Archbishop Rowan Williams released his Pentecost Letter to the Anglican Communion. In it the Archbishop encourages Anglicans to pray for renewal in the Spirit and to focus on the priority of mission. He also acknowledges that the Communion is going through a time of transition and that we are dealing with questions of drawing boundaries in controversial matters - not only sexuality but issues of bioethics or the complexities of morality in the financial world. In response to the current situation, Archbishop Rowan makes clear that when a province "declines to accept requests or advice from the consultative organs of the Communion, it is very hard to see how members of that province can be placed in position where they are required to represent the Communion as a whole. This affects both our ecumenical dialogues...and our faith-and-order related groups". The Archbishop then makes some proposals for members of provinces that are in breach of the three m...

Congratulations to the Revd John Porter who will celebrate 50 years of ordained ministry on 30 May. A special celebration is planned for Fr John in the Pas de Calais chaplaincy, beginning with a celebration of the Eucharist in St Omer , followed by a parish lunch. (Readers of this blog might remember that John has recentl y had published a useful resource for those engaged in bereavement entitled  Being There . The link with more information is here .) We wish Fr John every blessing on this great occasion of the anniversary of his ordination, along with our thanks and appreciation for so many years of faithful ministry in the Church of God, and in particular within our diocese in the Pas de Calais.

On Sunday 9 May, at the Cathedral of St Stephen in Metz (below) there was a day of celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Schuman declaration. (Robert Schuman urged the formation of a values-based political life to help secure Europe's long-term security and prosperity). The day began with the service of Morning Prayer according to the rite of the Church of England led by our Archdeacon of France, the Venerable Ken Letts . The music for the liturgy was provided by a choir from our parish in Luxembourg. Fr Ken provided note on the liturgy sheet for our ecumenical partners about the central place of the Daily Office in the Anglican tradition. After Mattins the Archdeacon then gave a lecture on "The Unity of Christians: a testimony given to Europe" and was present at the Solemn Mass at which His Eminence Cardinal Andre Vingt - Trois (Archbishop of Paris, and President of the Conference of Bishops of France) presided. Other contributions during the day were gi...

The Diocesan Synod has accepted the results of an audit of the Communications work of the diocese and has adopted some recommendations which came out of the review. Rachel Harden, (Senior Communications Officer for the Archbishops' Council of the Church of England) conducted the audit and was impressed that a diocese with such unique communications challenges, spread over 45 countries, had such a good system in place. For instance, v ery strong appreciation was expressed for the work of the Revd Paul Needle, our Communications Officer, and for the work of Simon Sarmiento , the Website editor. An expansion of their roles was recommended as was the creation of a regular email bulletin, the use of online meeting systems, creating archdeaconry representatives for our publications, and attention to new media such as podcasts and video clips (perhaps for specific areas of training). The format of the printed Yearbook will be examined with a view to streamlining. The aud...

Here is May's book selection. Once again thanks to Dr Martin Davie, the Theological Secretary to the bishops of the Church of England, for these helpful in-depth reviews. (Martin - where do you get time to do all this reading?) If you wish to keep up with current theology the selection here is a good place to start. This month selection includes volumes on some important theologians such as Barth and Niebuhr, a commentary on Revelation, and some interesting work on ministry, ethics and social teaching. 8 reviews are below. Just click on the read more link. ¡Buena lectura!

The Church of England has prepared prayers for the upcoming World Cup tournament in South Africa! They were written by the Bishop of Croydon in association with the Revd Peter Moger , the National Worship Development Officer, and are for personal use or for use during church services. I am pleased to see that they are sufficiently neutral in wording to be able to be used in this diocese in Europe, since, alongside England, the following European countries will be competing: Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland. There are three prayers, including one "for those who are not particularly interested in the World Cup", which is no-one in our diocese, of course! Lord of all the nations, who played the cosmos into being, guide, guard and protect all who work or play in the World Cup. May all find in this competition a source of celebration, an experience of common humanity and a growing attitud...

The Ship of Fools Mystery Worshipper dropped in on St Laurence's congregation in Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote last Easter Day. He (or she?) rated our parish very highly: 8 out of 10! "Dignified, warm, convivial and joyous" are some of the words used to describe the worship. Read the full report on the ship of fools website  here .  The parish has four centres of worship in Lanzarote and one on the neighbouring island of Fuerteventura , all served by Fr Idris Vaughan (who is retiring in June) and reader David Dowdell .  The Anglican Parish of St Laurence in Lanzarote has an attractive website here .

Photo by Lawrence OP On Pentecost we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the disciples after the Resurrection of our Lord.  St Seraphim of Sarov , the Russian spiritual teacher (1759-1833) describes the life of a disciple as nothing more than the receiving of the Holy Spirit: "For the true aim of the Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God. As for fasts, vigils, prayer and almsgiving , and other good works done in the name of Christ, they are only the means of acquiring the Holy Spirit of God." Here is a prayer said every morning in the Orthodox tradition. The pattern of a daily prayer for the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, makes every day a Pentecost. Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, present in all places and filling all things, Treasury of Goodness and Giver of life: come and abide in us. Cleanse us from every stain of sin and save our souls, O Gracious Lord. (St Seraphim is commemorated in the Church of England on 2 January).

The Diocesan Synod meets from 24 to 28 May at Kardinal Schulte Haus in Cologne,  Germany (see photo below). Close to 70 clergy and lay representatives of our 7 archdeaconries will be joined by the bishops and the diocesan staff for this annual meeting. About 1/3 are new members elected at the start of this new triennium . The agenda includes the discussion of a report of a communications audit undertaken at the request of the Communications and Publications Committee, which has examined the present vehicles for diocesan communication and the unique challenges we face in serving 45 countries. Several key recommendations will be considered as a communications strategy for the future is framed. A major report will be received from the Strategic Review Group  which was set up in 2008 to investigate the resources required to implement the model for a leadership structure in the diocese which was approved by the Synod that year, a structure centred on a diocesan bishop, two ...

The 8 Presidents of the World Council of Churches, the fellowship of 349 Orthodox, Anglican, Old Catholic and Protestant churches, has issued a Pentecost message to the world's Christians. Dr Mary Tanner, a Church of England lay theologian, is one of the Presidents.  “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38) In 2010, this year just as at the time of the first Pentecost, Christians throughout the world, in their respective churches, will celebrate Pentecost in hundreds of different languages and will sing hymns in their own languages giving praise to the Lord. Jesus’ disciples received the gift of the Holy Spirit that first Pentecost because they were waiting for it in trust. They were gathered together waiting, confident in God’s promise. On the morning of Pentecost, Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims who had come to celebrate the fe...

The Churches of St Boniface, Bonn and All Saints, Cologne are grouped together in one chaplaincy under the parish priest, the Revd Simon Hobbs. The chaplaincy is showing many signs of spiritual growth and development including the fact that on Sunday 16 May a group of 11 young people and adults were confirmed, the largest class in recent years. The preparation classes were led by the Reader, Mr Richard Gardiner, assisted by parishioner Elizabeth Horman , on my left and right respectively, in the above photograph. As is fitting in Eastertide, the weekend included much feasting: a chinese banquet with the candidates and their families on Saturday night, and a parish pot-luck on Sunday! The Archdeacon of Germany and Northern Europe, the Venerable Jonathan LLoyd was present during the weekend visit, having just attended the ecumenical Kirchentag in Munich. Anglican services have been held in the two cities on the Rhine for over 150 years. The chaplaincy website is here .

The House of Bishops of the Church of England has been meeting in York for the past two days. Bishop Geoffrey has been in attendance. One of the main topics the House addressed was, not surprisingly, the report of the Revision Committee on the provisions to permit women to be consecrated bishops. The House of Bishops has issued a statement in indicating that the majority of bishops "strongly support" the move to admit women to the episcopate. At the same time the bishops are strongly committed to preserving an "honoured place" within the Church for those who cannot accept this development. Although there are some who feel that present proposals will not be able to deliver a satisfactory result for those on both sides of this issue, the majority of the bishops are committed to "keeping faith" with the present process. The July Synod will be a demanding time. Pray for our members, Archdeacon Jonathan Boardman , the Revd Canon Debbie Flach , (L ay ) Cano...

With great joy I announce the following persons are to be ordained this Petertide: Sacred Order of Deacon Mr Chris Nicholls (to serve as assistant curate of Holy Trinity, Utrecht) by Bishop Geoffrey on Sunday 27 June at 1500 (3 pm) in Holy Trinity Church, Utrecht. The street address for the Church is Holy Trinity Church, Van Limburg – Stirumplein, (Vicinity Wilhemina Park), Utrecht, The Netherlands. For further details please contact the Venerable John de Wit on +31 30 251 34 24, or email: chaplain@holytrinityutrecht.nl . Liturgical colour: white Sacred Order of Priest The Revd Rik Florentinus (assistant curate of Christ Church, Amsterdam) By Bishop Geoffrey on Saturday 26 June at 1500 (3 pm) in Christ Church, Amsterdam. The street address for the Church is Christ Church, Groenburgwal 42, 1011 HW Amsterdam, The Netherlands. For further details please contact the Revd Alistair MacDonald on +31 20 624 8877, or email: alastair@christchurch.nl . Liturgical colour: white The Re...

From 6 to 8 May Bishop Geoffrey and I hosted bishops from the Anglican and Old Catholic churches in Europe for 3 days of pilgrimage, prayer and fellowship in Hampshire. We were joined by Bishop Pierre Whalon from the Episcopal Church Convocation in Europe, and our Old Catholic brothers: Archbishop Joris Vercammen of Utrecht, Bishop Dick Schoon of Haarlem , Bishop Harald Rein of Switzerland and Bishop John Okoro of Austria. Bishop Lennart Koskinen from the Church of Sweden Diocese of Visby , our Porvoo Partner, was also able to be with us. Anglicans and Old Catholics have been in communion since 1931. This is the second joint pilgrimage in recent years, to help build up our episcopal collegiality and give time for reflection on our common mission in Europe. In 2006 we were the guests of Bishop Joachim Vobbe of Germany when we walked a route from Bonn to Echternach in Luxembourg, where St Willibrord , the British missionary who brought Christianity to...

There are 142 pages of text in the report of the revision committee which was charged with preparing legislation to enable the consecration of women as bishops. This is essential reading for those who wish to be informed about the important debate which will be held at this July's sessions of General Synod. The documentation can be found here . Section 4 of the report is entitled "Signposts for What Lies Ahead". I have prepared the above word cloud from this section. A word cloud gives greater prominence to words that appear more frequently. Clicking on the image will enlarge it.

Six adults were confirmed in St George's Barcelona on Sunday 2 May. They came from a variety of backgrounds, British, German, Indian, American and Nigerian. All have found St George's to be a welcoming and nurturing spiritual home. The members of St George's were enthusiastic in rehearsing along with the confirmation candidates the vows of discipleship and their commitment to living the Way of Jesus Christ and believing the faith of his Holy Church. The Chaplain of St George's is the Revd Andrew Tweedy. He is assisted by a youth outreach worker, Caroline Cox. There are also two trainee readers in St George's, Billie Tweedy (Andrew's wife) and Circe Bosch. Among the priorities of the leadership team is a renewed focus on leadership development and education for discipleship. Some tailor-made programmes have been designed by the Chaplain, with assistance from Billie Tweedy. A basic course introduction to the Christian faith called "Roots" is now bei...

The stage is being prepared for this July's sessions of General Synod at which legislation to enable women to be bishops will be considered. Documentation is now published which propose special arrangements for those with conscientious difficulties by way of a national Code of Practice . Each diocesan bishop will be required to draw up a scheme in his or her diocese that takes account of the Code of Practice and provides local arrangements for the performance of certain episcopal functions in relation to parishes with conscientious difficulties. A further provision allows parishes to request, when there is a vacancy, that only a male incumbent or priest-in-charge be appointed. Considerable time is likely to be spent on this matter at the July synod. In addition to Bishop Geoffrey, our General Synod members are the Revd Canon Debbie Flach, the Venerable Jonathan Boardman, (Lay) Canon Ann Turner and Mr Roger Fry. The press release from the Church of England and links to these imp...

The Malgache community in France is one of the largest “minority ethnic” groupings within our Diocese in Europe. There is a vibrant congregation in St George’s Paris as well as growing work in St Alban’s Strasbourg and All Saints Marseille. Madagascar, their original homeland, is the fourth-largest island in the world, and itself larger in area than France! Anglicans in Madagascar are organised in 5 dioceses and along with Mauritius, and Seychelles form part of the Province of the Indian Ocean. The Malgache community in St George’s is well organised. As part of the congregation’s planning for the future, 2 years ago, 9 young musicians, including some who had no musical formation at all, were encouraged and supported in a 5 year project of the congregation to produce a trained core of musical leaders for the Malgache services. Thus in 3 years time, there will be 3 organists as well as pianists, flautists, saxophonists, violoinists who are trained in liturgical music and...

This Sunday is Europe Day. Even those of us who are part of the Church of England Diocese in Europe might easily forget what a dark place this continent was in the early part of the last century. Countless millions of men, women and children had died or been displaced by two world wars. Great cities had been reduced to rubble. On 9 May 1950 the French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman , a devoted Roman Catholic, issued a declaration, that there would henceforth be free movement of persons, ideas and goods. This free movement was to be underpinned by a Charter of Human Rights , A Court of Justice to guarantee these rights and a European Assembly in Brussels and Strasbourg “where the live forces of our nations shall be represented.” For Schuman , our democracy owed its very existence to Christianity and its commitment to human dignity, freedom and brotherly love. This Sunday 9 May is, in a very real way, the 60th anniversary of the moment when our modern Europe was ...