Prayers for the 60th Anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Coronation of Her Majesty the Queen who was crowned in the ancient ceremony which was held in Westminster Abbey on Tuesday 2 June 1953. Churches in the Diocese in Europe may want to mark the anniversary at services on Sunday 2 June. There will be a service from Westminster Abbey televised on BBC on Tuesday 4 June at 11.00 am British Summer Time.

The following prayer, which has the Queen’s approval, will be incorporated in the Service of Thanksgiving in the Abbey on 4 June. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have commended it for use throughout the Church of England. It is available in both traditional and modern language, and I commend it for use in congregations of this diocese. Some local adaptation may be required in countries which are clearly outside the realm of England. It could be as simple as omitting the words "of our Sovereign Lady" before "Queen Elizabeth".

Traditional language:

Almighty God,
who through anointing with the oil of gladness at the hands of priests and prophets
dost strengthen thy chosen servants with the gifts of thy Holy Spirit:
be pleased to accept our joyful praise as with united voice
we give thanks for the long and glorious reign
of our Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth;
and to receive our humble prayer that, by renewing thy blessings,
thou wilt pour upon her thy choicest gifts,
and upon all thy people the spirit of humility and service,
shown forth in the life and death of him who is the anointed King of all,
our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Modern language:

Almighty God,
at the hands of priests and prophets
you anoint your chosen servants with the oil of gladness
and strengthen them with the gifts of your Holy Spirit:
accept our joyful praise as with united voice
we give thanks for the long and glorious reign
of our Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth.
Renewing your blessings, pour on her your choicest gifts,
and on all your people the spirit of humility and mutual service
shown in the life and death of him who is the anointed King of all,
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

© Westminster Abbey 2013

Other liturgical resources to mark this anniversary can be found here.

Anglicanism Module for Trainee Readers

Readers (that is Licensed Lay Ministers) in this Diocese in Europe, after selection for this ministry, train for approximately three years, studying various aspects of theology and biblical studies through St John's College, Nottingham. There is an additional module which the Director of Training, the Revd Canon Ulla Monberg, has instituted this year, on Anglicanism. This module will be run by the diocese itself and will be a residential weekend of lectures and discussion followed by an essay. The first Anglicanism module was held for 12 trainee Readers last weekend in St Columba's House, Woking.

Director of Training, Canon Ulla Monberg

Readers are licensed to lead services of the Word, to preach and to teach, and are better described by the phrase "Licensed Lay Ministers". Very often people from other Churches assume that all that Readers do is read lessons and there is sometimes some puzzlement as to why this requires a selection process and a three-year theological training and formation!

Senior Tutor and Advisor for Reader Training, the Revd Elaine Labourel

During the weekend, the participants heard lectures on aspects of Anglican history, ecclesiology, ecumenical engagement, liturgy, music, spirituality, canon law, structures and synodical life. Worship was held each day, taking advantage of the range of authorised forms, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer to the ancient Vigil Office celebrated on Saturday evenings since about the 3rd century! The residential gathering offers the chance for exchange of experiences and for many basic and practical questions to be raised and discussed.

Deacon Frances Hiller leads session on Anglican Hymnody

Aiden Hargreaves-Smith, Diocesan Registrar instructs on Canon Law

There are about 100 licensed Readers in the Diocese in Europe with another approximately 40 in various stages of discernment and training for this ministry. This attendees at this first module on Anglicanism were from Gibraltar, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal, France, Switzerland and Croatia.

New Priest-in-Charge of St James's Porto

On Tuesday 30th April Fr Peter Ford was licensed to serve in St James Porto by the Ven David Sutch, Archdeacon of Gibraltar in the presence of Bishop José Jorge Pina Cabral, the recently consecrated Bishop in the Lusitanian Church in Portugal, Fr Nigel Stimpson from Lisbon, Fr Bob Bates from the Algarve, Fr Michael Bullock OGS, formerly of Lisbon and Judith Murray, a Reader in Training, supported by Terry Weineck and Ian Sinclair, the Churchwardens.

Fr Peter knows this diocese well. He most recently served as priest-in-charge of Holy Trinity, Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, with her daughter congregations on that island.
St James's Porto can trace its history back to 1671. The parish website is here. We welcome Fr Peter to this new responsibility in this historic parish.

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The Very Revd John Arnold at St Thomas Becket, Hamburg

The Very Revd John Arnold, centre, with Fr Matthew Jones

The Church of St Thomas Becket in Hamburg welcomed as its guest preacher at its Sunday Eucharist on 5 May, the former Dean of Durham, the Very Revd John Arnold. This Eucharist which celebrating the feast of Saints Philip and James, concluded the parish's extensive involvement over the days of Kirchentag in Hamburg and it was fitting that such a prominent ecumenist and distinguished European Churchman should be the preacher. Dr Arnold was in fact, one of the drafters of the Meissen Common Statement. He has also served as the President of the Conference of European Churches, and even had a hand in shaping our diocese at the time of the preparation of the Diocese in Europe Measure in 1980!

The Chaplain of St Thomas Becket, the Revd Matthew Jones, informed the congregation that over 1100 people had attended services at St Thomas's over the 4 days of Kirchentag, and many more people visited the church which was open for prayer each day.

It had been a busy time for parishioners, many of who helped as volunteers at the Kirchentag stalls for the Council of Anglican-Episcopal Churches in Germany (CAECG), and the Anglican-Lutheran Society. The parish, which marked 400 years last year with an active programme of celebration, now begins some major external works on the building itself, involving painting, new lighting and other improvements which will make our Church much more visible and identifiable in this great city. The website of St Thomas Becket is here.

 

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St Edmund's Oslo: A international meeting place

The Revd Canon Janet Heil, the Chaplain of St Edmund's Oslo, is the parish priest of an international congregation in the Norwegian capital. At a recent parish visit on 29 April, I confirmed members that she had prepared from Kenya, Nigeria, Norway, and the USA. At a Church Council meeting I met other members from Zambia, South Africa, and even England! Worship at St Edmund's is in English, of course, but Canon Heil has also learnt Norwegian which does help our relations with our sister Church of Norway.

Canon Heil also oversees the work of daughter churches and their resident priests in Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim.

Meissen Service at Kirchentag held in St Thomas Becket Church

Bishop Weber in St Thomas Becket Church

An important worship service during the Kirchentag in recent years has been a Meissen Eucharist to celebrate the relationship between the EKD (The Evangelical Church in Germany) and the Church of England, a relationship established by the Meissen Common Statement which was signed in 1991 This agreement enables eucharistic hospitality between our Churches, as a stage along the way to full communion. The Agreement does not permit interchangeability of ministers, but does promote fellowship in as many areas of Christian life and witness as possible so that our Churches might advance together towards full visible unity one day. It is also an agreement that has huge significance with regard to reconciliation between two countries that once were at war.

This year the Meissen service at the Hamburg Kirchentag was held in St Thomas Becket Church, our Anglican Parish in the city. Bishop Nick Baines of Bradford, the Anglican Co-Chairman of the Meissen Commission, presided. His EKD counterpart, Bishop Professor Friedrich Weber of Braunschweig was the preacher. St Thomas Becket parishioners provided a warm reception for the visitors after the packed service.

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Kirchentag 2013

Archdeacon Jonathan LLoyd with St Thomas Becket Volunteer at Kirchentag

The 34th Protestant Kirchentag was held in Hamburg from 1 to 5 May. There is no other event quite like it in the Christian world. It is an immense gathering of people of all ages and walks of life. There are addresses from global leaders, dozens of acts of worship each day according to many traditions, from Caribbean beat to Iona contemplative, cultural events, workshops, musical performances (brass bands are everywhere!), and a marketplace for churches, groups, movements and agencies to set out their wares. The  CAECG, the Council of Anglican/Episcopal Churches in Germany, were among the stalls at the marketplace.

Angela Merkel and Helen Clark

The theme for this Kirchentag was "As much as you need” taken from Exodus 16.18, which gave opportunity for focussed reflection on issues of sustainability of the planet and to examine critically systems which promote wealth, greed and excess. I attended one of the keynote events on this theme which was a brilliant dialogue session between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Helen Clark, the former New Zealand Prime Minister, now the Administrator of the UN Development Programme. The two spoke passionately about issues in international development touching upon climate change, gender equality and the  sensitive political matter of balancing economic advancement for emerging nations such as China and India while encouraging responsibility for CO2 emissions.

I also attended an interesting panel discussion with the Revd Dr Olav Fyske Tveit, the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches and Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg (who is also the President of the German Roman Catholic Bishops' Conference). The theme was Pope Francis and what he might bring to ecumenical life. Both the WCC leader and the Roman Catholic Archbishop were very optimistic about the ecumenical leadership of the Pope, particularly in a call for Christians to lead a more simple life, demonstrated in his own ministry to date. The hall was filled with 2000 mostly German Protestants, and they had some pointed questions for Archbishop Zollitsch, about the role of women and the future of ecumenical cooperation in Germany. The Archbishop was very candid in his responses. He said he was personally in favour of the ordination of women to the diaconate and was actively promoting a study of this issue. He also said, to the delight of the audience, that he recognised the German Protestant Church (EKD) as a church!

Over 130,000 people registered to be part of Kirchentag, with about 4,000 international visitors, bringing an atmosphere of celebration and Christian joy throughout the city. The Archdeacon of Germany and Northern Europe entered fully into that spirit!

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Vacancy spotlight: Emmanuel Church, Warsaw

From time to time I spotlight a current vacancy for a priest in the diocese. There is one very interesting post which is currently open: the priest-in-charge of Emmanuel Church, Warsaw. The Church of England has a fascinating and long history in Poland, going back to embassy chaplains in the 16th century. After the ravages of WWII, for many years the communist regime resisted recognition of our historic work. The present congregation was reborn in 1995 and the Anglican Church in Poland is now a legally recognised Church. 

This is a house-for-duty post, in a growing parish in an exciting and fast‐moving city at the heart of Europe. The congregation is international, with about 60 on the electoral roll, including citizens of the UK, USA, Nigeria, Australia and Poland. There are two honorary assistant priests with Permission to Officiate who will work under the priest-in-charge. Services are in English.

The priest's residence is a spacious four‐room apartment, centrally located and well served by trams and buses. This is an ideal post for someone with vision to grow a parish, harnessing the enthusiasm of a committed congregation, and to be part of the most exciting diocese in the Anglican Communion!

For more information about this post, please contact our Appointments Secretary, Catherine Jackson.

Sea Sunday 14 July 2013

Sea Sunday is 14 July this year, and the Mission to Seafarers has prepared resources that will be useful for our parishes who wish to mark this day.

The Mission to Seafarers is one of the mission agencies of the Church of England which is active in this Diocese in Europe. There are port chaplains based in Gibraltar, Antwerp, Vlissingen, Rotterdam, Odessa and Dunkirk and honorary chaplains and ecumenical cooperation with other seafarers missions  in many other places in addition. The Mission around the world serves the over 1.3 million seafarers, whose work is hard, often dangerous and involves long periods of isolation from their families.

The Sea Sunday pack is available for download from the Mission to Seafarers website. There are resources for liturgically use on 14 July, sermon notes and material suitable for children. The pack is available here: www.seasunday.org.

Bishop José Jorge de Pina Cabral, new Bishop of the Lusitanian Church

On the Feast of St Mark the Evangelist, 25 April, a new bishop, the Rt Revd José Jorge de Pina Cabral, was consecrated to serve the Igreja Lusitana Católica Apostólica Evangélica, an indigenous Church in Portugal which has been fully part of the Anglican Communion since 1980. The Lusitanian Church traces its origin to a group of Portuguese Roman Catholics who separated from Rome in the 19th century due to their objection to the doctrine of Papal Infallibility which was defined in 1870 at the First Vatican Council.

The chief consecrator at the service held at St Paul's Cathedral in Lisbon, was the Rt Revd Fernando Soares. He was assisted by several bishops from around the Communion including Bishop Geoffrey and myself, the Archbishop of Dublin the Most Revd Michael Jackson (who represented the Archbishop of Canterbury), and the Most Revd Mauricio Andrade, Primate of the Episcopal Anglican Church in Brazil who was also the preacher at the service. Bishop John Okoro, the Old Catholic Bishop of Austria was also a co-consecrator, signifying the relation of communion which exists between Anglicans and Old Catholics since 1931.

At the conclusion of the 3 hour service Bishop Soares enthroned the new bishop in his cathedra and handed him the pastoral staff. From that moment Dom José Jorge became the diocesan bishop of the Lusitanian Church with oversight of its 14 parishes. Dom Fernando has served as diocesan bishop for 31 years!
Two of our own Church of England clergy who serve in Portugal also attended, the Revd Peter Ford, who is about to become the priest-in-charge of St James's Porto, and the Revd Nigel Stimpson, who is about to become the chaplain of St George's Lisbon, with St Paul's Estoril.

We pray for Dom Jose Jorge and for his new ministry, giving thanks for our communion as sister Churches.

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April 2013 Book Reviews

I am sorry that I missed posting the usual selection of reviews of recent theological books during the month of March. Here is April's list. 

It is an stimulating selection of 10 new works including the writings of Fr Roger Greenacre, well known in this diocese, as he had served in St George's Paris and later in St Michael's Beaulieu-sur-Mer. In addition there are two very good introductory theologies, some apologetics, more on science and religion, the fascinating story of a Pope who resigned over 700 years ago, a review of human sexuality from a conservative perspective, a challenging theological critique of Facebook, and a collection of essays to celebrate last year's 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, which includes one by our own Diocesan Liturgical Advisor, Professor Paul Bradshaw.

As usual, these reviews are based on the work of Dr Martin Davie, the Theological Advisor to the Church of England's bishops.

Te volo, bonam lectionem!

For the reviews, click on read more.

The Association of the Church of England in Italy

The Church of England, while established by law in England, has a very different legal status in the countries of continental Europe. In each nation the Diocese in Europe and her congregations conform to the domestic law of that country and adopt whatever measures are necessary to operate juridically and legally as a Church or religious / charitable organisation. (In some countries, such as France, the state does not recognise publicly any Church or religion). 

In Italy, under the leadership of the Archdeacon of Italy and Malta, the Venerable Jonathan Boardman, preparatory work is under way to gain legal recognition of the Church of England, which will give an official status to our over 20 congregations and Anglican communities. The board of L'associazione della Chiesa d'Inghilterra in Italia is pictured above, at its inaugural meeting.

From Left to right: 
HE Nigel Baker, British Ambassador to the Holy See; the Revd Canon David Richardson, Director Of the Anglican Centre in  Rome; Cavaliere Giampaolo Grazian, Church Warden All Saints', Rome;  Dr Giuseppe di Rosa, President of the Board's Auditors; Dr Paolo Coniglio, Secretary;  Mr Willam Richards, Treasurer;  Archdeacon Boardman, President;  Mrs Sandra Seagram Annovazzi, Vice President; HE Christopher Prentice, British Ambassador to Italy and San Marino.