Eurobishop

On Saturday 30 January, the Revd Sara MacVane was licensed by the Archdeacon of France as the new priest-in-charge of the Anglican congregations in Pas de Calais. There are four congregations in this extended parish, based in Arras, Calais, Boulogne and Hesdin. Services take place every Sunday at one or other of these places. As is to be expected in widely scattered communities, friendship and fellowship is a vital part of congregational life. Each of the four churches enjoys a programme of social events. The parish serves the large numbers of English-speaking residents in the region. Some have retired and live here permanently, many are second home owners, attracted by property prices in the area, who come for weekends or extended holidays. There are also quite a few British/French couples committed to a life in France. Sara knows the diocese well. She comes to Pas de Calais from All Saints, Rome, where she has been Assistant Curate. Sara also brings a commitmente and experien...

A panel of senior Church of England bishops has told the EU that its plans for the next decade fail to reflect the needs of both the most disadvantaged and those 'ordinary citizens' who indirectly contribute to its financial and political viability. The bishops, led by the Christopher Hill, the Bishop of Guildford and Chair of the House of Bishops’ Europe Panel, were responding to EU 2020, a strategy paper outlining how to make the EU a smarter, greener, social market. The bishops assert that: more effort must be made to improve the EU’s financial and accounting transparency, and to reduce bureacracy.  the welcome environmental focus of EU 2020 seems to be based purely on an economic argument for efficient growth rather on a commitment to the sustainable stewardship of global resources for future generations; an emphasis on investment in vocational subjects that provide skills for industry ignores the importance of other subjects that sustain common life, and betrays “a...

Mrs Barbara Wood, the Diocesan President of the Mothers' Union (MU) has recently written to all the members of the MU in the diocese with news and an update on the development of the organisation here in Europe. Barbara is delighted with continued growth of the MU and hope for even greater things in the future. In her letter she writes: "When we decided to take the leap of faith and start our own diocesan Mothers’ Union in 2007 we did so with just 4 branches and a few diocesan members. We now have 9 branches and quite a number of diocesan members, which is most encouraging, but I would like to see our membership grow especially in those parts of the diocese where there is no presence at the moment. We need to try to make more people aware of the work that is done throughout the world, to encourage more people to support the Mothers’ Union and then to become members. In this diocese Sheila Lewis from Lanzarote is looking after Action & Outreach. We are also delighted t...

Pope Benedict XVI has issued a call to all Christians to give a common witness starting immediately, even though full unity has not yet been achieved. He made this appeal during his homily at Vespers in the Roman Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls (above), on the feast of the Conversion of St Paul, 25th January, a service which traditionally concludes the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Pope recalled that this year is the 100th anniversary of the Edinburgh Missionary Conference, which marked the beginning of the modern ecumenical movement. That historic gathering in 1910 stressed that Christians cannot proclaim the Gospel credibly if they are divided. The Pope urged Churches to take steps that lead to full communion; questions still separate us, but the Holy Father expressed the hope that these can be overcome by prayer and dialogue. He affirmed he importance of the "central content of Christ's message that we can all proclaim together". Tha...

It is with great sadness that I share the news of the untimely death of the Revd Deacon Lindy Jordan. Lindy died on Saturday morning as a result of complications from some routine surgery which she underwent last Monday. She was the assistant curate of St Andrew's Costa del Sol East, where she worked with the Venerable David Sutch, the Archdeacon of Gibraltar. I ordained Lindy to the diaconate last Petertide. Bishop Geoffrey wrote in a message to the parish of Costa del Sol East: "...[Lindy] rejoiced in the fulfilment of her calling to the ordained ministry, which has sadly been so short. We remember with thanksgiving her many gifts of mind and heart, and I recall personally her capacity to read the Scriptures, as she did at the Cologne Clergy Conference last September, in a way which drew out meaning and touched and challenged us". The Revd Ulla Monberg, the diocesan Director of Training, wrote to Lindy's colleagues in our Post Ordination Training Course: ...

The Serbian Orthodox Church has elected Bishop Irenaeus (Gavrilovic), Bishop of Nis, (pictured above) as the new Patriarch of Serbia, succeeding Patriarch Pavle who died on 15 November. The 45 bishops which make up the electoral assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church named three candidates on Friday morning 22nd of January: Metropolitan Amphilochius of Montenegro, Bishop Irenaeus of Backa and Bishop Irenaeus of Nis, and chose the new Patriarch by lot. Bishop Irenaeus is already quite senior in years, having been born in 1930. He has been bishop of Nis (a large town in southern Serbia and the birthplace of St Constantine the Great) for 35 years. He is a graduate of the Theological Faculty in Belgrade and did a doctorate in Athens, and known to be a "moderate" among the bishops. The inauguration of the new Patriarch in Belgrade will be this Saturday at 9 am. As the historic Patriarchal See is Pec, the solemn enthronement will be held there, in due course when conditions ...

An Appeal from Bishop Geoffrey and Bishop David for the People of Haiti The devastation suffered by the people of Haiti by the earthquake which struck on 12 January has caught the attention of us all. Already the poorest country in the Americas, with 80% of the people living on less than £1.50 per day, the struggle of the country’s poor in the face of this disaster is unimaginable. We invite the congregations and people of our diocese to support the needs of the Haitian people by donating generously to the Christian Aid Appeal for Haiti. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have endorsed this particular channel for relief aid. Christian Aid is working with partners on the ground and with the UN for the effective delivery of aid. Local partner organisations are focusing on areas that appear to be getting little help from other agencies, including some towns outside Port-au-Prince, but close to the epicentre of the earthquake. The provision of food, tents, hygiene kits, b...