Eurobishop

  Bishop Dick Schoon, Co-Chairman, Fr Lars Simpson Co-Secretary One of our parishes in the Diocese in Europe recently hosted a meeting of the Anglican Old Catholic International Co-ordinating Council (AOCICC). The Council met in Ghent from 7-11 June and St John's Church in that city gave us a warm welcome and provided logistical support through their priest, the Revd Stephen Murray, and the pastoral intern, Mr James Roberts. The Revd Stephen Murray offers local Ghent "treats" to AOCICC members James Roberts, intern at St John's The splendid St Elizabeth's Church, which is used by the Anglican parish of St John was the venue for the closing Eucharist of the Council meeting, at which Bishop Dick Schoon, the Bishop of Haarlem presided. Bishop Liederleitner Since we last met as a Council one of our members, Dr Heinz Lederleitner, has become a bishop. Bishop Lederleitner is the new Old Catholic Bishop of Austria. We took the opportunity to mark his election and consec...

Songs in French, English, and Kenyarwanda filled Holy Trinity Pro-Cathedral in Brussels last Sunday, when baptisms and confirmations were celebrated at the 2 pm service. This particular service, one of 4 each Sunday at the Pro-Cathedral, is attended by many Francophone Anglicans, including a large contingent from Rwanda. The Church of England's Common Worship services of Christian Initiation are now available in official French translation, which is enables this bilingual congregation to celebrate these important rites with even greater joy. 2 persons were baptised and along with 15 others then confirmed in the 2 hour service. The backgrounds of the candidates was, as is usual in our diocese, very multinational: from American to Rwandan. The website of Holy Trinity Brussels is here .

Canon Dr Jack McDonald and Canon Ulla Monberg at the Chapel of the Resurrection A day of consultation was held in Brussels last week involving the Director of Training, the Revd Canon Ulla Monberg, the Revd Canon Dr Jack McDonald, Canon Theologian at the Pro-Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Brussels and priest-in-charge of Saints Mary and Martha, Leuven, the Revd Canon Dr Robert Innes, the Chancellor of the Pro-Cathedral and myself.  We explored the potential for training offered by theological faculties in Leuven, and the possibility of working with Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Orthodox partners in developing a lay theological centre for reflection, dialogue and formation, based at the Chapelle de la Resurrection which is situated at the heart of the EU institutions in Brussels.  The Chapel of the Resurrection is also known as the Chapel for Europe. It is a place for all Christians working in the European Institutions and seeks to be a place of ecumenical ...

The Anglican Church of St John the Evangelist in Ghent, Belgium, celebrated a service of Baptism and Confirmation on Mothering Sunday, 18 March. The Church was packed with over 180 people present. The Priest-in-Charge is the Revd Stephen Murray, who came to this diocese from the Diocese of Niagara in Canada. (A very good diocese, by the way!). Fr Stephen also serves the much smaller Church of St George, Knokke, on the coast. It was a poignant Mothering Sunday, given the deaths of so many Belgian children in the bus accident in Switzerland. At the start of the service some young people of St John's lit candles in memory of those who died and prayers were said for them and for their families. Church of England worship in Ghent can be traced back to 1743. A large number of the present members come originally from countries in West Africa, especially Ghana, Nigeria and Liberia. The website of St John's is here . The parish also has an active Facebook presence here .  

On Saturday 17 March I had the joy of presiding at a confirmation service at SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe). SHAPE is located near the Belgian city of Mons and is now the Command Headquarters for all Allied operations worldwide. Several young people were prepared and presented to me by the Church of England Chaplain, Padre Chris Broddle and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Chaplain Padre Ron.     

Another report from this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity comes from Antwerp where the Revd Deacon Ann Babb of St Boniface Anglican Church took part in the ecumenical service at the Roman Catholic Cathedral. Deacon Ann is one of 4 "distinctive" deacons in the Diocese in Europe (so far!). The Bishop of Antwerp, Johan Bonny, is a committed ecumenist, having once served on the staff of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.

As a rule I announce on this website any retirements from active ministry in the diocese. In the last three months there have been three such retirements which I note below.   The Reverend Canon Geoffrey Evans retired as Priest-in-Charge of the Anglican Church of St Nicholas, Ankara, Turkey on 5 October. Fr Geoffrey has had an illustrious career in this diocese having previously served in Izmir, Istanbul, Rome and Moscow. He was the last post-holder of the magnificent title Archdeacon of the Aegean, which he held from 1978 - 1994. In June he was honoured with an OBE in the Queen's birthday list. In his retirement, Fr Geoffrey has Permission to Officiate which will come in useful in our developing work on the Turkish coast. The Reverend Deacon Ann Babb, the Assistant Curate in the Anglican Church of St Boniface, Antwerp, Belgium retired on 20 November. Deacon Ann has had a long association with St Boniface, and with the Mission to Seafarers chaplaincy in the por...

I have been in touch with the Revd Paul Yiend, the priest-in-charge of our congregation in Liege, Belgium, to offer the assurance of the prayers of the faithful of the diocese for the city which has been terrorised by today's attack by a criminal armed with grenades and guns. 4 people were left dead and over 75 injured. The attack, according to Fr Yiend, was in the very heart of the city where there is an extensive Christmas market. He added that with the crowds that visit the square it was indeed fortunate that there were not more lives lost. There are no reports of any of the Anglican community directly affected. Of course, an event like this will leave the entire population traumatised. We pray for all who are seeking to bring comfort in the midst of the tragedy. Father of mercy, i n this time of grief  let your people know your comforting love,  that you stand alongside them, as the Son who brings hope  and as the Spirit who brings healing. 

The Revd Augustine Nwaekwe It felt like the Anglican Communion was gathered at Holy Trinity Pro-Cathedral in Brussels on 9 October for a liturgy which was described by the Revd Augustine Nwaekwe, the Assistant Chaplain in Brussels, as an "All-in-One" service. As F r Augustine noted, "it incorporated baptism, confirmation, admission into the Church of England, "churching"- thanksgiving after childbirth, and a memorial thanksgiving service for the father of a member!  Candidates for confirmation from Holy Trinity Brussels were joined by others from from St Pauls Tervuren and the English Church at Oostende. Clergy present included the Reverends Clifford Owen (Oostende), Gillian Wilton (Tervuren), Jack MacDonald (Leuven), Robert Innes, and Augustine Nwaekwe (Brussels).  The 2 1/2 hour service had a distinctive African style, with the multi-lingual music provided by Holy Trinity's African Choir "Living Waters Singers" led by Dr David...

The Revd Andrew Wagstaff (above), chaplain of St Boniface Church, Antwerp, was commissioned by Bishop Geoffrey as Area Dean of Belgium and Luxembourg on 9 October, at the Eucharist which concluded the sessions of the synod of the Archdeaconry of NW Europe. Fr Andrew succeeds the Revd Canon Ray Jones who retired earlier this year. The Area Dean will work under Archdeacon John de Wit (who is based in Utrecht, Netherlands) in providing pastoral support to the clergy of Belgium and Luxembourg. He will also work with the President of the Anglican Central Committee for Belgium, the Revd Canon Dr Robert Innes, Chancellor of Holy Trinity Pro-Cathedral, Brussels. (A unique and helpful feature of our Anglican life in the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is that our clergy in those countries receive a traitement or stipend support from the state. Canon Innes represents our Anglican Church in all dealings with the Belgian State, including the matter of traitements). ...

The Diocese in Europe Director of Training, the Revd Ulla Monberg, recently organised a conference for Readers and those training to be Readers from across the diocese. The event was held at St Columba's House, Woking, from 18 to 20 November. The conference focussed on the ministry of preaching and the speakers included the Revd Canon Mark Oakley, the priest-in-charge of the Grosvenor Chapel and formerly the Archdeacon of Germany and Northern Europe, and the Revd William Gulliford, the Diocesan Director of Ordinands. The conference focussed on theological and practical aspects of the ministry of preaching and teaching. I gave a lecture on divine revelation, the Christian doctrine of how God communicates with his people. 16 participants came from France, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands. As often happens at meetings in our diocese, the participants also valued the opportunity to time spent together in worship and fellowship, and took steps to ...

From 26 to 30 October the Anglican-Old Catholic International Co-ordination Council (AOCICC) met in Canterbury. I have been part of this Council since its inception in 1998, first as co-secretary, and latterly as a member. The AOCICC is the instrument which oversees the relationship of full communion between the Churches of the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht and the Anglican Communion, a relationship established by the Bonn Agreement in 1931. Besides keeping each other abreast of issues and trends in our respective Communions, the AOCICC is engaged in ongoing theological work and is close to finalising a joint statement on ecclesiology and mission. There are two streams of which come together into the Old Catholic Communion: In 1723 in the Netherlands the Cathedral Chapter of Utrecht insisted on its historic right to elect its Archbishop. The Pope refused this right and the Chapter elected independently a new Archbishop who was then consecrated by a French bishop, Domi...

The Director of Training, the Revd Ulla Monberg, has written to Readers and Readers-in-Training in the diocese to announce two workshops to be held in the near future. Workshop on Preaching: This will be held from 4 pm on 18 November 2009 until after lunch on 20 November at St Columba’s House , Woking, Surrey, England. The speakers include the Revd Canon Mark Oakley, formerly the Archdeacon of Germany and Northern Europe, and myself. The cost will be in the region of £150. The workshop will cover various aspects of the craft of preaching and is open to all who presently exercise the ministry of Reader or who are in training for that ministry. Space for this workshop is limited to 24 people. St Columba's House is a short taxi ride or 20 minute walk from Woking railway station. There are good links from Heathrow and Gatwick airports to Woking. Workshop on Funeral Liturgy and Bereavement Ministry: This will be held from 4pm on 24 February 2010 until after lunch on 26 ...