Eurobishop

It is with great sadness that I announce that the Revd Keith Gordon, Priest-in-Charge of the Anglican Parish of St Francis in Tenerife South, died on Monday 4 June.  Fr Keith developed complications following surgery he had for a brain tumour earlier in May. He died surrounded by his closest family and friends, members of his parish, and with the pastoral care for his final journey given by the Dean of Gibraltar, the Very Revd John Paddock, the Revd Mike Smith (Tenerife North) and the Revd Maurice Horsey (locum priest). Fr  Keith (born 1949) was ordained deacon in 1998 and priest in 1999 in the Diocese of  Venezuela, where he served a curacy in St Mary’s Caracas. He took up his  present post in Tenerife in 2003.  His  former bishop, the Rt Revd Orlando Guerrero, of Venezuela, wrote on hearing the news of his death: “on  behalf of the diocesan clergy and parishioners of the Venezuelan Anglican  Church ...

Last October on this blog I announced an essay competition run by the St Boniface Trust , an Anglican charity, which was offering a prize of £1000 for the best 5000-word answer to the question "Why I am an Anglican and believe I shall remain so".  This was a global competition, and 64 submissions came in from around the world. But the prize-winning essay was submitted by a member of one of the parishes of this Diocese in Europe, Natacha-Ingrid Tinteroff. A French convert from Roman Catholicism, Natacha-Ingrid used her essay to celebrate the best of Anglicanism and the Anglican Communion, which she believes includes its liturgy, its space to discover God's truth, and its "integral catholicity".  Tinteroff wrote, “Being an Anglican is much more than what is currently advertised by the media. Anglican global identity is not defined by a positioning in favour or against homosexual clergy and women bishops. The overall depth of our tradition, and particula...

Holy Trinity Cathedral prior to January 2010 I was not sure what to expect when I arrived at what was once the site of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Port-au-Prince. It was once a UNESCO heritage site due to its magnificent collection of Haitian frescos. Close by were St Peter's Secondary School, St Vincent's School for the Handicapped, (the only school of its kind in the country), the Episcopal University and Seminary, St Margaret's Convent, and the home of the country's only symphony orchestra, all run by the Episcopal (Anglican) Church in Haiti. Now it is all in ruins following the devastating earthquake which struck Haiti on 10 January 2010. The site of Holy Trinity Cathedral today But on this site of ruin and death a temporary cathedral was erected for the consecration of Ogé Beauvoir as suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Haiti. A vast congregation of over 1000 gathered from across the diocese, the Caribbean, USA, Canada and Europe. The rubble and ruins ga...

The Reverend Q Marcus Ronchetti, formerly Vicar of Midhurst and Woolbeding in the diocese of Chichester, will begin his new work as Chaplain (Team Vicar) of the Anglican Church of the Holy Spirit, Costa Blanca, Spain on 1 June 2012. Fr Marcus joins Fr Peter Edwards, the Senior Chaplain of Costa Blanca, in serving the 8 congregations in this part of the Spanish Mediterranean. He will be licensed by the Area Dean, Canon Hugh Broad, at 12 noon on Thursday 7 June, the feast of Corpus Christi. Holy Spirit, Costa Blanca, has the largest electoral roll of any parish in our diocese. The pastoral area covers over 7000 square kilometres. The parish website is here . Fr Marcus replaces t he Reverend Robin Carter, who retired on 30 April.  We welcome Fr Marcus to our diocesan family.

Nine fascinating books reviewed this month.  Another important Christian work on ecology, this time by biblical scholar Richard Bauckham, heads the list. A major tome on George Bell is included; it's expensive, but if you are a scholar of Bell, this is for you. Clergy and Readers will be interested in the volume on theological reflection, no doubt, and there are important works on Islam in Europe, the Baptist tradition, patristics, and much more.  The Eberstadt book on the effect of the Pill is sure to be a challenge to Anglicans! But we like challenge, don't we?  As always these reviews are based on those of Dr Martin Davie, the theological advisor to the Church of England's bishops.  Hav en god   læsning! For  the reviews press the   read more  button.

Reader Angela Mirani There are over 100 licensed Readers in the Diocese in Europe. These are lay ministers, theologically trained and formed in liturgical, preaching and pastoral ministry. They are recognisable by the blue preaching scarf they wear over their alb or surplice. In most places Readers work as members of ministry teams, providing essential auxiliary support to the ordained ministry of priests and deacons.  There are some places in the diocese, however, where a Reader is not providing a supplementary ministry, but is the minister of the congregation, at the centre of parish life and responsible for keeping the (non-sacramental) worship of the Church going from week to week. One such example is the congregation of St John the Baptist, Varese, in northern Italy, close to the Swiss border. Although a relatively small congregation without a resident priest, under the leadership of Reader Angela Mirani, it pulled out all the stops to join in this year's celebrati...

All Saints Marseille is a historic congregation of the diocese, but a relatively small one these days. However it is a very faithful one, which is still producing candidates for confirmation. The apostolic rite of confirmations was celebrated again on 6 May. It was a joyous celebration of faith, for younger and older members of the parish. There are several significant moments in the rite of Confirmation, besides the  laying on of the bishop's hand. One is when, gathered at the baptismal font and having rehearsed the baptismal creed of the Church, the candidates dip their hands into the water and sign themselves with the cross, to remind them of their union with Christ in Holy Baptism. Another is at the end of the service when the newly confirmed carry a lit candle out into the world, the place where their Christian discipleship is lived out, as they bear  the light of Christ to those they meet through their service of love.