From the Bishops' Staff and the Diocesan Staff ....

The staff from the offices in London and Worth gathered last week for their annual Christmas lunch. We were able to raise a toast to the people and friends of the Diocese in Europe, which we are privileged to serve.

From all of us, we wish you a very happy and blessed Christmas! 

Or in some of the languages of our diocese... 

Arabic                    عيد ميلاد مجيد

Armenian               Շնորհավոր Ամանոր և Սուրբ Ծնունդ

Bulgarian                Честита Коледа

Castilian                 Feliz Navidad

Catalan                   Bon Nadal

Czech                     Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce

Danish                    Glædelig Jul

Dutch                     Vrolijk Kerstfeest

Estonian                  Rõõmsaid Jõulupühi

Finnish                    Hyvää Joulua

French                    Joyeux Noël

German                  Frohe Weihnachten

Greek                     Καλά Χριστούγεννα

Hungarian               Kellemes karácsonyi ünnepeket

Icelandic                 Gleðileg jól

Italian                     Buon Natale

Latvian                   Priecïgus Ziemassvºtkus

Lithuanian               Linksmų Kalėdų

Luxembourgish       Schéi Krëschtdeeg
Maltese                   Il-Milied it-Tajjeb

Norwegian              God Jul

Polish                     Wesołych Świąt

Portuguese              Feliz Natal

Romanian               Crặciun Fericit

Russian                   С Рождеством Христовым

Serbian                   Христос се роди

Slovenian               Vesel Božič

Swedish                  God Jul

Turkish                   Mutlu Noeller

Ukrainian               Веселого Різдва

For Syria and South Sudan

At the Midnight Mass around the world tonight the story of the birth of Jesus will be proclaimed in the words from the second chapter of the Gospel according to St Luke. We may stop to pause at verse 2 which refers to the census that Emperor Augustus decreed, that brought the Holy Family to Bethlehem:

"This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria". 

We in the Diocese in Europe remember that Syria borders with our diocese and lift up a special prayer for all caught up in the conflict there.

We also remember South Sudan which seems to be entering yet another period of civil strife. Many of the faithful of our diocese, members of the White Nile congregations in Finland, come from that country. We join our prayers with the White Nile congregation for all who are affected by the outbreak of violent conflict. Fr Amos Manga their priest is presently in the region and we pray for his own safety.

In the words of the Christmas from Common Worship Daily Prayer

Mighty God, the government is on your shoulders: guide the leaders of the nations and bring in your kingdom of justice and righteousness.  

O lover of justice and peace, ruler of all the ages: be born in us today.

Curates continue their training - and are joined by their training incumbents

Two training events were held recently for the assistant curates in the Diocese in Europe. 

The first was one of the semi-annual Post Ordination Training residentials. In the Church of England, training for priesthood and distinctive diaconate is a 7 year process. Normally 3 of these 7 years is before ordination. After ordination the compulsory training continues; this is called IME 4 - 7.

Sessions of IME 4 - 7 and a supervised curacy are also required for those clergy who seek to serve in the Church of England but who come from other Provinces of the Communion, if their own training and ordained ministerial experience has not included elements of the pre- and post-ordination requirements laid down by our Church.  

The focus of the recent IME 4 - 7 session was on issues on "Issues in Public and Personal Ministry". The entire IME 4 - 7 process is overseen by the Director of Training, the Revd Canon Ulla Monberg. 

A highlight of the residential sessions is when one of the curates is invited by Canon Monberg to preside at a eucharist for their colleagues. The Revd Jennifer Elliott de Riverol presided at one of the eucharists at the recent sessions, with the Revd Nigel Thomas assisting as liturgical deacon. 

The second was a training session for the curates and their training incumbents together. This was focussed on the use of music in worship. It was led by the Revd Canon John Wilkinson, who explored the use of the wide range of music in Anglican services, and also gave instruction in the actual singing of the liturgy. As presiders at the eucharistic assembly, it is important that newly ordained priests are comfortable in singing the traditional parts of the service. A sung liturgy is the norm in the Church's life. A said service was largely an innovation in the Western, Roman Church! 

Canon Wilkinson leads sessions on music in worship

Some curates and their training incumbents 

St Mark's Florence launches new website

Although Church of England worship has been held in Florence for almost 200 years, the present day St Mark's Church, on the Via Maggio, opened its doors for worship in 1881. Now this Florentine Church is the centre of a  vibrant parish which includes the congregations of the Holy Cross in Bologna and St Peter's in Siena. Besides offering offering a rich liturgical life, St Mark's is also a centre for the arts and music. There are even flats available for rental for visitors to this beautiful city. 

The parish mission statement reads:

Walking in the light of Christ, the Chaplaincy of St Mark’s Florence with St Peter’s Siena, and Holy Cross, Bologna, works constructively and inclusively together, as three places of Christian excellence and witness, in common with other Ministries of the Universal Church, for and with any people who find themselves in Tuscany and Emilia Romagna.

The Chaplain, the Revd William Lister, who is also the Area Dean of Italy and Malta, has just announced a brand new website for St Mark's which brings this venerable Church firmly into the 21st century. The site is very attractive and informative and worth a look. It can be found here. 

The Revd Amos Manga visiting South Sudan

The Revd Amos Manga, who serves the White Nile Congregation in Northern Finland, has recently been on a trip back to his homeland, the world's newest country, South Sudan. He has been in the country for about two weeks now. The purpose of his trip is to meet with members of his family and the officials and clergy of the Episcopal Church in Sudan. The Sudanese community which comprises the White Nile Congregation in Finland has been very active in assisting the young country to build up its infrastructure and governmental bodies; though many have stayed in Finland some have returned back to their home country.

Unfortunately, as we know, just a couple of days ago, there was an attempted coup against the President Salva Kiir. Fr Amos has reported hearing gunfire continuously in the capital, Juba, where he is at present. He is safe, but apparently about 500 people have been killed in violent clashes in the past 48 hours. He adds that Church leaders in South Sudan are calling for calm and are seeking to offer help to the Government to restore peace in the country. He hopes to get to the countryside in next two or three days, when the security situation improves.

Pray for Fr Amos, that he may be kept safe, and for all the people of his land who are caught up in this recent violence, and for those who work to bring peace and order.   

Fr Amos's colleague, the Revd Tuomas Mäkipää, the Chaplain of St Nicholas's, Helsinki, has been in touch with Fr Amos. He writes:  

As we prepare for celebrating a peaceful Christmas, let us remember those our brothers and sisters who live in uncertainty and pray for those who have lost their lives and those who mourn for them; and let us pray especially for the people and leaders of South Sudan that they - and all people - may be governed in peace with justice and mercy. Christ was incarnated into this world to meet us in our weakness as the Angels sung to the shepherds ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’

Almighty God,
from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed:
kindle, we pray, in the hearts of all, the true love of peace
and guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom
those who take counsel for the nations of the earth
that in tranquility your kingdom may go forward,
till the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen. (Collect for the Peace of the World)

10th anniversary of restoration of regular services in Berlin Mitte

On Sunday 1 December, St George's Anglican Church in Berlin celebrated the 10th anniversary of the restoration of regular services in central Berlin (Mitte).

The first St George’s in the city was built in 1885 under the patronage of the Crown Princess of Germany, Victoria (eldest daughter of Queen Victoria) who was married to the future Kaiser Friedrich III. It was the only Anglican Church in Germany to remain open during World War I, as the Kaiser was the Church’s Patron. It was closed in the Second World War and hit by allied bombing 24 Nov 1943 and the remains were pulled down by the East Berlin authorities. After World War II, new St George's, a garrison Church, was built in the British sector. In 1994 the new St George’s became a civilian congregation of the Diocese.

In 2003 in a reunified Berlin, the Chaplain of St George's, the Revd Canon Christopher Jage-Bowler, with his Assistant Chaplain, the Revd Dr Irene Ahrens, decided to restart a weekly evening service back in Mitte, in addition to the regular morning Eucharist in the new St George's, The Marienkirche, the oldest still functioning Church in Berlin, has been the host venue for the Mitte service since 2007. The Marienkirche is only a couple of hundred metres from where the original St George's once stood.

About 150 people attended the anniversary service, which included the confirmation of 10 members. Clergy from the Marienkirche robed for the service as did visiting Anglican clergy and ordinands who have had some association with the services in Mitte during the past 10 years. 

St George's Berlin website is here.

Every parish should have one of these!

All Saints Church in St Pargoire, France, one of the newer congregations in the Diocese in Europe, is blessed by having a vintner and his family as active members of the congregation. Simon Coulshaw and his wife Monica run a vineyard, Domaine des Trinités, and using traditional artisanal methods are producing fine vins du terroir.  

The parish social events, of course, feature wines from Domaine des Trinités, and there is no shortage of wine for the eucharist! But Simon and Monica also use their skill also to encourage and promote the outreach work of the parish. From time to time they host "Wine into Water" events, which are well attended by parishioners. These events include guided walk through the vines, followed by a talk and tasting in the winery accompanied by Monica’s famous tapas. (Monica is from Catalunya). Funds are raised for the international development charity Water Aid. As a result, several dozen villages in Africa have already benefited from this initiative by the Coulshaws, and now have clean water available to them, for the first time.

Domaine des Trinités has a website here. 

Linda Brooke admitted as a Reader to serve in the Manche

On 13 November the Area Dean of France, the Revd Canon Trevor Whitfield, admitted Linda Brooke to the ministry of Reader and licensed her to exercise that lay ministry in the parish of Christ Church in the Manche, in Normandy. This was among Canon Whitfield's last actions as Area Dean, before his retirement on 30 November

Following her three year theological training for this ministry, Linda now joins her husband Mike Brooke, also a Reader, in working with the priest-in-charge of Christ Church, the Revd Peter Hales. 

Although the canons of the Church of England refer to Readers, in the Diocese in Europe we are coming to terms with the fact that a Reader is perhaps better described as a Licensed Lay Minister. This is a term that means much more to our ecumenical partners and avoids the misunderstanding that Readers simply read in Church! 

Christ Church in the Manche is a busy parish with services every Sunday in two centres: in Gratot Homeel, near Coutances, and in Virey, towards the south. 

Area Dean Trevor Whitfield and Reader Linda Brooke

First confirmations in All Saints, Hérault

 

All Saints Anglican Church in St Pargoire, in the department of Hérault in France, is one of the newest congregations in the diocese in Europe. It became formally part of the Church of England in January 2013. Since then, their priest-in-charge, the Revd Roger Smith, assisted by the Revd Richard Acworth, has led the congregation forward in their life and mission.

 

Already, the parish has produced candidates for confirmation. Six young women were presented to me on 27 October to receive this sacrament.

 

In our French parishes, church lunches tend to be quite splendid affairs, and this was certainly true of the reception and parish lunch following the Confirmation service.

 

 

 

All Saints has an active collaboration with Roman Catholic and Reformed Church partners in several outreach programmes. The Church's website is here.

Fr Richard Acworth, Fr Roger Smith and Confirmands

Posted with Blogsy

Now there's a familiar face ...

At the main Eucharist at the November sessions of General Synod, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was ably assisted by none other than Deacon Frances Hiller, my chaplain.

Deacon Frances is quite used to telling a bishop what to do in the liturgy. After all, that's one of the main jobs of deacons! I wonder if she was as directive with the Archbishop? At any rate it was very good to see one of our clergy assisting His Grace in this way.