Eurobishop

On 12 September, Bishop Geoffrey licensed two priests as assistants in the Anglican parish of the Aquitaine in France. The Reverend Gillian Strachan (above right) is well known in Aquitaine as she has been serving as Assistant Curate there. Having completed the formal period of post ordination training she has now been appointed Assistant Chaplain. The Reverend Elizabeth Morris (above left) is a new appointment in this diocese. She was formerly the Curate in Yoxmere (St Edmundsbury & Ipswich diocese). She now joins the team of clergy and readers in the Aquitaine, under the leadership of the chaplain the Revd Paul Vrolijk. We welcome Liz and her husband Richard to this Diocese in Europe Bishop Geoffrey led the eucharist at which the licensing took place in the Limeuil congregation of Aquitaine, which was most fitting as both priests have strong connections to this particular community. Gill's own discernment of her calling to be a priest happened during the time...

29th September is the Feast of St Michael and All Angels. There are three Archangels mentioned in the Bible: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Michael ("who is like God?") is best known from the Revelation to St John where in a heavenly battle he defeats the dragon, Satan. Gabriel ("strength of God") announces the birth of Christ to the Virgin Mary in St Luke's Gospel. Raphael ("healing of God") brings sight to Tobit in the book of the same name. (Those interested in interfaith dialogue will also be aware that Michael and Gabriel are also mentioned in the Qur'an). There is a beautiful doxological prayer in Common Worship: Festivals for this feast: Father in heaven, the angels sing by day and night around your throne: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty.' With Michael, prince of the angels, who contends by our side, with Gabriel, your herald, who brings glad tidings, with Raphael, the protector, who ministers your healing, and ...

Image via Wikipedia 2011 is the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible, also known as the Authorised Version. This historic translation published in 1611 has made an exceptional contribution to the life of the Church and to the language and culture of English speaking nations in general. Arguably it was this English text that set the path for the development of our language and has exercised a cultural influence far beyond the works of Shakespeare. Events are being planned in England in 2011 to help celebrate this anniversary. A General Synod motion passed last February asked that “dioceses, deaneries and parishes undertake local initiatives to celebrate and teach the Bible both within the Church and throughout wider society”. I encourage churches in our diocese to find ways to join in the celebrations. Perhaps at the very least there might be planned a service of Evensong with the readings from the Authorised King James Version. Some may not be aware of an hi...

The Mayor of Alcalà de Xivert and Alcossebre welcomed a new initiative by St Christopher’s Church on the Costa Azahar, Spain, when he formally opened the El Camino welcome centre on Friday 10th September. A former shop unit in Alcossebre has been renovated by church members and will serve as a drop-in centre for English speaking residents and visitors. It also offers an outlet for second hand books and bric-a-brac to help fund the permanent ministry of the church. The Reverend Paul Needle, priest-in-charge of St. Christopher’s, led prayers and blessed the new project with holy water at the opening ceremony at which the Mayor, Francisco Juan Mars, (pictured with Fr Paul above) cut the ribbon which was held by the two churchwardens. The Mayor promised the support and assistance of the ajuntamiento (municipality) to the church and community. Fr Paul Needle says the El Camino welcome centre has been an aspiration for the past four years. It will also provide a ve...

The Reverend Ank Robinson-Muller, Assistant Curate of the Anglican Church of East Netherlands, is moving to be Assistant Curate of the Anglican Church of St Mary, Rotterdam. This position takes effect from 19 September 2010. Her new training incumbent (Ank is a vocational or permanent deacon currently in our diocesan Post Ordination Training programme) is the Revd Steve Axtell, the chaplain of St Mary's. Ank's husband Remco is an Old Catholic priest serving in Vlissingen.

On Friday 18 September, the second day of Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK, the Pontiff and the Archbishop of Canterbury, in their addresses and in their worship together at Westminster Abbey, gave prominence to the ecumenical relations between our two communions. Bishops of the Roman Catholic and Anglican dioceses in England, Wales and Scotland met together with the Pope and Archbishop at Lambeth Palace in the afternoon. Archbishop Rowan recalled John Henry Newman's correspondence with Edward Bouverie Pusey, after the former's conversion to Roman Catholicism, that "it is what is unholy on both sides that keeps us apart". The Archbishop underlined the bishops' role as servants of the unity of Christ's people, and did not sidestep the seriousness of obstacles to full, restored communion. Nevertheless, he said that "no obstacles stand in the way of our seeking, as a matter of joyful obedience to the Lord, more ways in which to build up one an...

Photo: http://www.facebook.com/papalvisit In his first homily on Thursday 16th September during his visit to the UK, Pope Benedict XVI has underlined the importance of ecumenical relations. At the mass in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, the Pope mentioned the trust and friendship between the Roman Catholic Church and the [Presbyterian] Church of Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church, which is, of course, the branch of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. "Let us give thanks to God for the promise which ecumenical understanding and cooperation represents for a united witness to the saving truth of God's word in today's rapidly changing society", said the Pope in his sermon. On Friday 17th, the Pope visits the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace and later will pray with Archbishop Rowan at the shrine of St Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey, in the context of an ecumenical evensong. This will be a strong sign of the common Christian faith shared by R...

The Archdeacon of Germany and Northern Europe, Jonathan LLoyd, visited our Sudanese congregation at Vaasa, Finland, last Sunday 12 September. In the above photo is Archdeacon Jonathan with Fr Amos Manga, our priest responsible for the Sudanese community in Finland and three newly baptised children, Joshua, Gyiniwa and Joanna, with their families. Archdeacon Jonathan said "The Anglican community at Vaasa are worshipping God with joy and celebration. They yearn to return to their country from exile, when Sudan returns to peace. The election in January will be a key moment. It was wonderful to spend time with Fr Amos and the congregation. I was greatly encouraged by their Christian witness and real sense of joyful hope." Please pray for the people of Sudan who go to the polls on 9 January 2011 to vote on the future of Southern Sudan - whether it should become a separate state. Please also pray for Fr Amos who is currently receiving treatment for cancer.   Some of the joy o...

The Revd Canon Ulla Monberg, the Diocesan Director of Training, has informed me that there are two or three places still available for the upcoming workshop for diocesan Readers and Readers in Training. Entitled “The Mystery of the Trinity”, the workshop will take place at St. Columba’s House, Woking from 4pm (teatime) Wednesday 6th October to after lunch, c. 2pm on Friday 8th October. This event has been planned in response to the request by many of our lay ministers to spend some time to reflect together on a purely theological theme. Past workshops have been more focussed on practical or liturgical training in an area of ministry important to readers. The resource person for the workshop will be the Revd Elaine Labourel. Elaine is the assistant priest in St Mark's, Versailles and has particular responsibility for the daughter Church of St Paul in Gif Sur Yvette, and is one of our Diocesan Reader Selectors. She is a tutor for readers-in-training at St. John’s Notting...

On Sunday 12 September the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland consecrated Irja Askola to be Bishop of Helsinki. Irja is the first woman bishop in the Finnish Church. She is pictured above, (second from the left, in the green vestments), flanked by women bishops from Sweden, Germany and Denmark. Bishop Irja succeeds Bishop Eero Huovinen, a good friend of the Diocese in Europe, who had been bishop of Helsinki for nearly 20 years. Good relations with the Diocese of Helsinki are very important as the Chaplaincy of St Nicholas receives generous support from the Finnish Church towards the work of our own priests. The two hour service was televised live across the country. The Archbishop of Turku, Kari Mäkinen, presided at the liturgy. He was assisted by co-consecrating bishops from Finland (Matti Repo, and Mikko Heikka, Espoo), Norway (Olav Skjevesland), Denmark (Elisabeth Dons Christensen) and Namibia (Thomas Shivute). The Anglican Co-Consecrator was Bishop Edward Dar...

Inter-religious dialogue has an important place in the work of any bishop. On behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury, I carry some responsibility for relations with Muslim leaders who are engaged in Muslim initiatives, such as the dialogue resulting from A Common Word Between Us and You , a letter signed by 138 Muslim scholars in 2007 and sent to Christian leaders throughout the world. Additionally, this vast diocese which I serve includes two countries where the majority of the population are Muslim: Morocco and Turkey. Consequently I sent a letter of friendship and greeting to dialogue partners and Muslim contacts, on this the feast of Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of the month of fasting, Ramadan. The text of the letter is below. I send you warm wishes on the great feast of Eid al-Fitr which concludes the holy month of Ramadan. As the Muslim community throughout the world has been observing this sacred time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, your Christian friends have been ...

On 1 September, the Revd Canon Andrew Hawken began a new ministry as chaplain of Midi-Pyrénées and Aude. He comes to us from the Diocese of Oxford where he was vicar of St Helen's, Benson. Midi-Pyrenees and Aude is large and vibrant parish in the South West of France consisting of 6 congregations. It covers an area of 46,000 square kms. (In this diocese we often use a more convenient measure - Wales! Midi-Pyrénées and Aude is twice the size of Wales). There are over 100,000 English-speakers living in the area. The work in this part of France began back in the 1960s in Toulouse, stimulated by the growth of British collaboration in the aircraft industry, initially Concorde and then Airbus. In more recent years, the vineyards, quieter pace and congenial climate have contributed to an influx of more, mainly retired people from the UK. Canon Hawken will head up a team of two assistant priests, the Revd June Hutchinson and the Revd Canon Tony Jewiss, and three licensed reader...