Eurobishop

With Canon Andrew Khoo Last week I was privileged to represent the Anglican Communion at the United Nations General Assembly meeting on refugees and migrants. Along with a colleague, Lay Canon Andrew Khoo of Kuala Lumpur, in the Province of South East Asia, we were able to observe the summit close at hand for 48 hours and witness the historic signing of the New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants signed by the leaders at the UN. I came away from the summit impressed by the sheer vast nature of the gathering: the 193 member states of course who are the key players, but also the range of groups from around the world representing civil society, Christian and other faith representatives, NGOs, UN and Development agencies and others, who together recognise that we are facing a global crisis, a crisis that needs a new approach that will need solidarity from all. A Syrian Refugee gives his testimony before the UN There were some very significant voices that said we needed to...

  The richness of our ecumenical life became evident last Saturday as I licenced the Revd Canon Dr Leslie Nathaniel as Chaplain of St Thomas à Becket Church in Hamburg. Many seafaring nations have long-established churches in this ancient Hanseatic city, which are now in communion with the Church of England thanks to the Porvoo Agreement. Of course the Lutheran Church is the local church and we have warm ecumenical partnerships with them through the Meissen Agreement. The Bonn Agreement of 1931 brought us into full communion with the Old Catholics. Additionally we have very fruitful dialogues with the Roman Catholic Church and the Methodist Church. All this contributed to a splendid turnout for Fr Leslie's licensing service with clergy and representatives from the Churches of Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Old Catholics, Lutherans, Roman Catholics and Methodists joining members of the parish who welcomed their new priest. Fr Leslie comes to this post as one of the Church of England...

Members of the Nordic/Baltic Deanery Synod The theme of inclusion was explored in many ways during the recent Nordic/Baltic deanery synod of the Diocese, which met in Riga, Latvia. The Bible studies, led by the Revd April Almaas, used a technique which encouraged us to read the scriptures from the perspective of a variety of characters which she assigned to us, as a way of understanding how different people often hear different things from the scriptural text. April Almaas leads Bible Study Synod delegates at work The Area Dean, the Revd Nick Howe, led us through an exercise which was based on a questionnaire filled in by parish reps and their clergy as to various ways in which their parish was, or was not inclusive of differently-abled persons, visible minorities, men and women and people of different sexual orientation. It was interesting to compare and contrast the views from the clergy and the laity! Area Dean Nick Howe   The Principal of the Theological F...

Clergy of the Nordic/Baltic Deanery From Iceland to Estonia, the clergy of the Nordic and Baltic Deanery have gathered in Riga, Latvia, for a chapter meeting, prior to the full deanery synod. "An Inclusive Church?" is the intriguing theme for the synod and the clergy are spending some time in prayer, bible study and fellowship, considering dimensions of this theme and the extent to which it is a challenge in the parishes they serve. In terms of national/ethnic inclusivity, the Deanery Chapter is very diverse indeed! I count 11 countries of origin for the priests and deacons of this part of the Church of England. The tower of St Saviour's Riga The chapter began with a tour of the historic old town of Riga, with a particular focus on the ecclesiastical history of this ancient city. St Saviour's Anglican Church has a prominent and historic place in the old town, within walking distance to ancient Churches of Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Calvinist traditions. St Saviour...

Four new interns on the Church of England Ministry Experience Scheme (CEMES) have just attended a two day residential induction. Fiona Hill (back middle), Joshua Peckett (front middle left), Alison Speed (front middle right) and Annie Bolger to the right of Alison have started their programme which lasts until the end of June 2017. CEMES is part of a strategy to give those considering ordination a parish-based framework for the discernment of their Christian vocation. As well as structured time in parishes alongside clergy and lay people, taking an active part in the ministry of the place, there is time for personal reflection and spiritual guidance with a mentor and monthly academic input from a theological educator. After a pioneer year in 2015-2016 with two UK interns being placed in Brussels and Ghent, this year 3 of the interns are from the UK and one from within the diocese. Fiona will be based in St John and St Philip The Hague, Joshua will be based at Holy Trinity Brusse...

Fr Malcolm at Greenbelt. Photo: Leah Gordon, USPG It was a year ago today that the photos of three year old Alan Kurdi, dead on a Turkish beach, triggered a grass roots wave of conscience that moved governments and international agencies to take action on the refugee crisis. The refugee crossings from Turkey to Greece have reduced considerably this year due to the EU-Turkey migration deal. (However, that the numbers risking their lives to cross from North Africa to Italy and Malta are not reduced). But now over 57,000 asylum seekers are trapped in Greece, held in squalid conditions, despairing of their future. Only about 5,000 refugees in Greece have been relocated to other EU countries, out of a total of over 66,000 promised such resettlement. Our Anglican Church in Greece, headed by Senior Chaplain, the Revd Canon Malcolm Bradshaw MBE, has been active in motivating ecumenical partners and agencies to coordinate activities and share resources to address the complex changing situ...