Eurobishop

I am very pleased to report on Eurobishop this significant project outlined below. I take this from the website of Us, the mission agency with whom we have been working in recent months, with regard to the refugee crisis. The actual Us material is on their website  here . I cannot speak highly enough of this partnership with Us which has been vital in enabling our Church to respond to the crisis, particularly in Greece. ___________________________________________________________ The Diocese in Europe and the Anglican mission agency Us (formerly USPG) are to give funding to an emergency centre for refugees at the remote Pharos Lighthouse on the Greek island of Lesvos. The refugees arrive cold and wet having crossed 15 kilometres from Turkey, typically making the journey in small rubber boats crowded with up to 50 people in each. Many make this dangerous crossing at night to avoid the Turkish coastguards that patrol during the day. They come mostly from Syria, Iraq and Afgh...

The parish of the Holy Spirit Costa Blanca comprises 8 worship centres on this part of the Spanish Coast. It is one of our parishes where the majority are people from the UK who have settled for retirement, and sometimes for work. The Senior Chaplain, Fr Marcus Ronchetti, reports that newcomers continue to be attracted to the Church, and the potential for further growth is great. In terms of Church growth, he teaches his people that "it is not about hustling people, or ramming religion or the Bible down their throats; it is about creating opportunities where natural discussion can be about things to do with faith, which can lead to an appropriate invitation". He holds before his people an impressive list of opportunities and ways that can help them reach out to enable others to explore faith. But as well as integrating newcomers, the Church community honours those who have a long history among them, and two special birthdays of parishioners were recently marked in one of ...

A recent Sunday Eucharist in St John the Evangelist, Casablanca, provided a chance to use one of the historical treasures of the Church. It is the original Bible given for use in the parish over 100 years ago. The remarkable thing about this Bible is that it was nearly destroyed when the Church was overrun and ransacked in 1907, during a rather sombre chapter in the country's history when the French were consolidating their colonial rule. It has been carefully restored and was presented to me for use by the Churchwardens, Angie and John. It was a weighty volume for the server to carry for the Gospel procession! St John's is home to English-speaking Christians from many foreign countries around the world. The growth in congregational life in recent years has meant that the Church Council is now looking at how to redevelop their historic property to meet the needs of the future. The patio and gardens surrounding the Church are a peaceful oasis in the midst of thi...

The Ministry Team of the Diocese comprises the Director of Ordinands, the Director of Training, the Senior Tutor for Reader Ministry, the Administrator, Deacon Frances and the two bishops. We are ably assisted by a wider group of Assistant Directors of Ordinands/Reader Selectors and Vocations Advisors scattered across the diocese. Through the work of this team vocations to lay and ordained ministry, counting approximately 60 persons at any given time, in many stages of discernment, education and formation, are supported and supervised. The core team itself held a 24 hour residential meeting in the shadow of Chichester Cathedral to review the ongoing work and to reflect on wider matters pertaining to vocations and training, using some case studies from our own diocese as well as input from another Anglican Province. Some time was also spent in studying the Pilgrim Course, a Church of England discipleship and lay catechesis programme, which we will shortly be recommending to the c...

As a bishop I do not get the opportunity to preside at many weddings. But it is becoming a tradition in St John the Evangelist Church in Casablanca to include a wedding ceremony in the menu of activities during a pastoral visit! And it is quite a privilege for me. During a visit to Casablanca earlier this month, once again a service of Holy Matrimony for two members of the parish was celebrated, after the required legal civil ceremony, of course. It was international affair, the Church of England at her multicultural best. The groom, Thomas, is from Liberia. The bride, Lydie, from Côte d’Ivoire. The parish priest is Egyptian. (I am Scots-Burmese). The Church is one of three Church of England congregations in Morocco . Oh, and the service itself was in French. We all know it is customary for the bride to be late. In Africa this can mean really late. In this case it was an hour and 15 minutes for me to keep the groom cool and patient in the vestry! Time also escaped from th...

A confirmation service in St George's Barcelona I draw attention to the opportunity posted below, which is coming available at St George's, Barcelona. Please feel free to forward this to anyone who may be interested. St George's is a vibrant, international congregation in one of the most attractive and exciting cities in Europe. More information on the community's life and ministry can be found on St George's website .  ______________________________________________________________________________ Opportunity at St George’s Barcelona for Youth and Young Adult’s Coordinator www.st-georges-church.com St George’s has a thriving and developing ministry amongst English speaking teenagers as well as young adults (students and young professionals). This work is led by a Youth and Young Adult’s Coordinator and due to the ending of their permit to work in Spain (they are from the United States), we are very likely seeking a new person to fill this role fr...

St Christopher's parish, Costa Azahar, is a relatively new pastoral area in the Diocese. Services are held in three centres: Alcossebre, Vinaros, and L'Ampolla. Three drop-in centres are run by the parish which serve both as fund-raising sources but more importantly, provide the Church with a public window and presence in the communities, as it seeks to serve English speaking Christians in the Spanish coastal area between Valencia and Barcelona. Candidates for confirmation being watched over by angels! I recently visited L'Ampolla to celebrate the sacrament of confirmation with members of the parish. They were joined by candidates and their clergy from St George's Barcelona. It was a joyous occasion, which included a paella feast - standard fare in this ancient fishing port. The parish website is here . The parish is praying earnestly for the appointment of its next priest-in-charge, who will be privileged to serve an energetic and committed community. ...

The results of the elections to General Synod from this diocese are in! The three clergy members are: the Revd Tuomas Mäkipää (St Nicholas, Helsinki), the Revd Canon Debbie Flach (Christ Church, Lille), and the Revd Canon Giles Williams (Holy Trinity, Cannes). The three lay members are: Mrs Madeleine Holmes (Aquitaine), Mr David Coulston (Puerto Pollensa, Mallorca), and Mr Tjeerd Bijl (St John and St Philip's, the Hague). Congratulations to those elected. They will be in our prayers as they prepare to take up their responsibilities in November. The General Synod Hansard transcribers will also need to dust of their umlauts for one of our clergy members!

Canon Malcolm Bradshaw, of St Paul's Athens, reports on the emerging ecumenical cooperation in Greece with regard to assistance for refugees. This emerging coordination is a fruit of much Anglican initiative. On the morning of Thursday 15 October six Christian agencies and Churches came together in the offices of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNCHR), Athens, to learn what each one was doing in the face of the refugee crisis. They were able to share information on the resources that each may have and to explore the possibility of working more cohesively and effectively. Around the table were Apostoli (the centre for the welfare work of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Athens), International Orthodox Christian Charities, the Jesuit Refugee Service, Caritas, the Salvation Army, the Greek Evangelical Church, the Anglican Chaplaincy in Athens (who joined by representatives of Anglican Alliance and Us) and a representative from UNCHR. All welcomed greatly the opportunity to be i...

St Nicholas, Ankara There was shocking news today from Ankara. A barbaric attack on peaceful demonstrators has resulted in at least 86 deaths. Turkey is to hold national elections on 1 November, and the attack seems to be aimed at sowing a sense of insecurity and fear among the population as they approach the ballot boxes. I spoke this morning to the locum priest currently serving in St Nicholas Church in Ankara, who was able to confirm that as far as he is aware, there have been no members of the parish affected directly. But everyone is vigilant. I was able to assure him of the prayers of the people of our diocese at this troubled time in the Turkish capital. Loving God, welcome into your arms the victims of violence and terrorism. Comfort their families and friends and all who mourn for them. Help those who are fearful and uncertain, and bless them with the knowledge of your steadfast love. Strengthen all who work for peace, justice and reconciliaiton among peoples in Turkey. And ma...

The Revd Rachel Carnegie from Anglican Alliance visited Athens last Thursday. ( Anglican Alliance is an organisation of the Anglican Communion that brings together Churches and Agencies of the Communion for coordinated relief, development and advocacy). Fr Malcolm Bradshaw took her to Victoria Square where they were joined by Captain Polis Pandelidis of the Salvation Army. Each day around 3,000 refugees gather in this central Athens square. Approximately thirty five percent are Syrians, others are from Iraq (Kurds), Afghanistan and Pakistan. Here they buy bus and train tickets from traffickers to continue their journey north to the border between Greece and FYRO Macedonia. Although the municipality is providing accommodation in a former Olympic Games sport centre on the edge of the city there is reluctance by the refugees to take up this opportunity because of the scramble for tickets for onward travel. They have no desire to stay in Greece. Rather, they anticipate spending only t...

On September 24th the Venerable Geoff Johnston, Interim Archdeacon of Gibraltar installed and licensed the Revd Jennifer Elliott de Riverol as the first Priest-in-Charge of St Martín of Porres, La Palma. This is a new chapter in the life of this congregation,which, until recently, was a part of the Tenerife North chaplaincy based on the neighbouring island. Jennifer has been instrumental in the development of this work, including nurturing warm and collaborative relations with the local Roman Catholic clergy. The licensing was a very joyous occasion and the newly formed congregation was joined by members of the two parishes in Tenerife, as well as friends from the UK and, significantly, four Roman Catholic colleague priests from La Palma, The Revd Doreen Cage came from the Málaga chaplaincy, so the Spanish mainland was also represented at this historic event. The liturgy included the tradition of the new priest ringing the bell of the parish church. Don Domingo Guerr...

The following is a joint Statement released today by Bishop Christopher Hill, President of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), and Cardinal Reinhard Marx, President of the Commission of the (Roman Catholic) Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE). CEC is a fellowship of some 114 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches from all countries of Europe, plus 40 national council of churches and organisations in partnership. So this is a statement from bodies that represent the vast majority of Christians in Europe. _________________________________________________ Refugees getting food and blankets from Hungarian Interchurch Aid as they walk through a bitterly cold night near the Austrian-Hungarian border. © Paul Jeffrey/WCC/ACT Alliance  2 October 2015 Unified political response needed to current migrant crisis The European family of nations finds itself confronting a humanitarian crisis on a scale without precedent in its post-w...