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Convocation News
June 2017
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A Newsletter for Members and Friends of the
Convocation of
Episcopal Churches in Europe
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This is a monthly convocational newsletter.
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Jesus said to his disciples:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
(Mt 28:19-20)
From the Gospel for Trinity Sunday, 2017
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Youth Across Europe Twenty Years!
Youth Events - YAE, JAE, Alumni, Ascension Weekend 2017
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Youth Across Europe, Juniors Across Europe, and Youth Across Europe - Alumni gathered in the American Cathedral in Paris for the closing Eucharist of the Ascension Weekend activities.
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May 24-28: Youth Across Europe (YAE) Pilgrimage from Canterbury to Paris
High School aged Youth gathered in Canterbury England, toured the Cathedral and other sites and travelled on foot for three days to Dover. From there they came by train to Paris. It was a moving experience for all.
May 25-28: Juniors Across Europe (JAE) in Paris
Junior High youth gathered in Paris and studied the book of Jonah. Visits included the sewers of Paris and the top of the Eiffel tower - from the belly of the whale to the hill above Ninevah. The Juniors engaged Scripture and the City.
May 25-28: YAE Alumni Event - Paris
YAE Alumni gathered in Paris under the direction of Canon Mary Haddad exploring spirituality and young adulthood.
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Many thanks to Jane Doebler for her long years of service as Chair of the Convocation Youth Commission. She and her team organized a meaningful constellation of events and served as mentors for our youth over many years. Jane will retire from this ministry at the Convocation Convention in Wiesbaden.
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European Institute of Christian Studies
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A hearty thanks is expressed to
Dr. Rosemarie Valentine (center of photo) who retired as Chair of the EICS Board at its June meeting. Rosemarie, a resident of Orvieto, Italy, and parishioner of St. Paul's in Rome has provided strong, committed, and insightful leadership to EICS for the last eight years. Well done, good and faithful servant!
Correction: In an earlier edition, the retiring chair of EICS was incorrectly listed as Rosemarie Sullivan. The correct name is
Rosemarie Valentine. Please accept the apologies of the editor. (The Rev.
Rosemary Sullivan is a former
Secretary of The General
Convention of the Episcopal Church.)
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The European Institute of Christian Studies (EICS) is the body responsible for the formation needs of Convocation leaders. EICS supports the study, prayer and formation that all Christians require for spiritual growth. These three areas help to build one’s knowledge of the faith to enable each of us to become more effective ministers in whatever work God calls us to do.
EICS board members are lay and clergy from around the Convocation. Members are appointed to the board by the Bishop, who is himself also a member. EICS board members typically serve on the committee for several years. At left is a photo of the board members of the European Institute of Christian Studies (EICS), together with APL conference speaker Mary Palmer.
The new Chair of the EISC Board is Janet Day-Strehlow (to the left of Bp Whalon in photo) is a parishioner at Church of the Ascension in Munich Germany.
EICS sponsors the Academy for Parish Leadership (APL) and Education for Ministry (EfM), a distance theological training program connected to the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee. EICS also provides oversight for licensed lay ministries, and ordained ministry.
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Academy for Parish Leadership - 8
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This year's ALP training was "Invite-Welcom-Connect" a method for parish growth and evangelism, which is headquartered at the University of the South in Sewanee TN. The photo above is the group of lay leaders and clergy with Leader of Invite-Welcome-Connect Mary Parmer and Bishop Pierre Whalon. Clergy and lay participants from almost all of our parishes and missions gathered for APL 8. It was held in Schloss Fürstenried in Bavaria May 19-21.
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Stay tuned for information on upcoming regional APLs in the Spring of 2018 focused on Vestry Leadership.
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Invite-Welcome-Connect -- was a well-received conference for Clergy, Vestry, and parish leaders of the Convocation who desire to explore a new approach for building healthy, vibrant and growing congregations, to transform our communities to become centers of Divine hospitality, and to love and care for the world. We look forward to many good things from APL 8.
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Education for Ministry (EfM) is a distance learning program in theological education based upon small-group study and practice. Students sign up one year at a time for the four year program which covers basic theological education in the Old and New Testaments, Church History and Theology.
EICS is looking for new members to join us for the 2017/18 season, which will run from September 2017 until June 2018. We meet online every Tuesday evening from 20:00 to 21.30.
If this program interests you and you would like more information, please contact
Kaye O’Connell (
[email protected]) +49 8456 2577 or +49 176 84487420.
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UPCOMING
CONVOCATION EVENTS
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See statements by the
on the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords....
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2017 Convention of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe
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The
2017 Annual Convention
of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe
will be hosted by the Church of St Augustine of Canterbury, Wiesbaden,Germany, from October 19 to 22, 2017.
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News from the Council of Advice
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Council of Advice Meeting - May Meeting
The Council of Advice, meeting in Milan, Italy, began preparing for the Convocation Convention Oct. 19-22 in Wiesbaden, Germany. The theme: The Jesus Movement. As our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry puts it on the website, "we’re following Jesus into loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God, with each other and with the earth." If all goes as scheduled, our principal speaker will be Canon Michael Hunn, Canon to the Presiding Bishop for Ministry Within the Episcopal Church.
Canon Hunn was with us in Milan, helping us with the process of finding a successor for our Bishop-in-Charge, Pierre Whalon, ahead of his planned departure in 2019. The Council also reviewed grant applications from member churches and mission congregations and outlined the Convocation budget for 2018. On Sunday, some members attended worship at Chiesa Episcopale-Anglicana "Gesù Buon Pastore", a Mission Congregation in our Convocation headed by the Rev. Maria Vittoria Longhitano, Italy’s only ordained woman priest.
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The Strategic Plan Committee is in the process of creating a Strategic Plan for the Convocation which will become the basis of the Profile for the search for a new Bishop — and the new Bishop’s guide to where to lead the Convocation in the next few years. The Committee has met electronically several times, and in person June 4-6 in Baden-Baden, Germany and June 23-24 in Paris, France.
The work of the Committee has been to ask: Who are we (the Convocation and its members) and where do we want to go? This will lead to being able to ascertain what we need our new Bishop to do and to a consideration of the time needed to perform these tasks.
This plan will be given to the Council of Advice for their meeting in September. Council will approve the plan and submit it to the Convocation Convention in October 2017. Then this plan will be used to create the Profile for the Search/Nominating Committee for Bishop, which will be appointed at that time.
The Strategic Plan Committee is using the reports from small groups at last year’s Convocation Convention, along with researching answers to questions suggested by the Episcopal Church’s Office of Transitional Ministries. One member of the committee is not from the Convocation. Because our convocation Bishop-in-charge is actually Bishop Suffragan to the Presiding Bishop, we have a representative from the Presiding Bishop involved with our whole plan and search process. We are pleased to have Canon Michael Hunn on this committee in that role.
The Rev Mark Dunnam is Chaplain for the process, from now through the election and transition of the new Bishop. He has prepared a prayer to be read throughout the Convocation, and a format for the committee to use to help hear the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. He is also available for spiritual support for the search.
Members of Strategic Plan Committee: The Rev Dr Mark Barwick (chairperson), All Saints’, Waterloo /Christ Church, Charleroi; Dr Yvonne Cockcroft, Ascension, Munich;The Rev Canon Michael Hunn, Canon to the Presiding Bishop, New York; Mr Ian Ssali Kiggundu, St Paul’s, Rome; The Very Rev Lucinda Laird, The American Cathedral in Paris; Ms Helena Mbele-Mbong, Emmanuel, Geneva; The Rev Steven Smith, Ascension, Munich; The Rev Robert J. Warren, Christ Church, Clermont Ferrand
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PRAYER FOR THE CONVOCATION:
O God, we pray for the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe as we discern and elect a Bishop to serve your people, build up your Church and proclaim boldly the Gospel to the world. Send us, we pray, an Apostle who is a wise counsellor, a merciful pastor, filled with your joy and grace. May your servant have the abundant gifts needed to lead your flock and the strength and courage to administer them. And may we renew and rededicate our lives to your will and service. All this we pray in the Name of our Great High Priest and Servant of the servants of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Canon Michael Rusk to be Instituted as Rector of Emmanuel in Geneva
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The Rt. Rev. Pierre Whalon will conduct a service of Institution and Celebration of New Ministry for the new Rector of Emmanuel Church, the Rev. Canon Michael Rusk, on
Saturday, September 2nd
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Please mark this weekend in your dairies now for this important time of fellowship and recognition of new ministry at Emmanuel and in Geneva. The Rt. Rev. Dr Robert Innes, Bishop of the Diocese in Europe, will participate and Clergy of the Convocation and of the Geneva area will be invited, as well as ecumenical guests.
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EpiscopalEurope Youth Leader Retreat
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Friday through Sunday,
October 13-15, 2017
All Saints' Episcopal Church
Meet and share ideas with other youth leaders from across Europe. Practical mini-workshops on skills for youth ministry, plus everyone plan to share one thing in your own bag of tricks. Good food, fun & chance to support each other in this ministry. Subsidized by the Convocation so cost is low!
Sign up here
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Vocational Discernment Weekend
Friday through Sunday,
17-19 November 2017
St. Arnold’s Retreat House,
Budapest, Hungary
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Led by The Reverend Canon Mark Oakley - Chancellor, St. Paul’s Cathedral, London
Offered by Bishop Whalon and the Commission on the Ministry of the Baptised (COMB) of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe
for further information contact
Mary Ellen Dolan at [email protected]or Mark Barwick at [email protected]
God calls every Christian to ministry. God’s call comes to us in different ways.
God equips us and helps us fulfil our call. God calls us to a variety of ministries:
to Lay ministry in our parish, in our community;
in our work place; in the mission field; in vowed religious life -
to Ordained ministry: deacon...priest...bishop.
Come and explore. Come and begin to discern, to learn, to pray.
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Parish Outreach:
American Cathedral in Paris
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Mission Matters:
Friday Mission Lunch
If you drop by the Cathedral on any Friday around 11 am, you are sure to notice the buzz of activity that precedes the Friday Mission Lunch. If you come inside, you will also notice the smell of delicious food and hear the laughter and hum of activity wafting out from the kitchen doors.
Our guests can often be found chatting in the narthex, relaxing in the nave or sitting outside in nice weather. Many travel for over one hour from all over the Paris region by train, bus and foot to make sure they arrive on time to the Parish Hall.
You might see one of the friendly volunteers come out at around 11h30 with a music stand to check in each guest. You may even have to fight your way through the crowd if you have a meeting at the church scheduled at the same time.
Why is the Lunch so popular? Our guests tell us that this is the best free lunch in Paris and that they can taste the love and the attention to detail put into every meal. They also appreciate being welcomed to sit down indoors and be served on real plates, with real cutlery. They have time to catch up with friends and feel part of the community. Read more
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Ecumenical / Interfaith Work in the Convocation
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The Episcopal Church has been a leader in Christian Ecumenical Work since the 1860s. In the 1950s significant work began also with Interfaith partners, particularly with Jews and later with Muslims.
In the European context, this is especially important. Bishop Whalon, together with many Clergy and Laypersons of the Convocation are involved in ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, councils, activities, and joint work with many ecumenical and interfaith partners throughout Europe.
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Lived Ecumenism - Gelebte Ökumene
Church of the Ascension - Emmauskirche in Munich
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Ascension, Munich, continues to grow its ecumenical relationships. The most exciting development is that through our prison ministry we will hold June 11 the first joint service for Protestant and Roman Catholic men incarcerated at Stadelheim prison. Stadelheim is the largest prison in Munich and Bavaria, and it is a place where our Prisoner Support Group has served for 25 years. Ascension celebrated the 25 years ministry in January, with the Protestant chaplain of the prison as our preacher. June 11 will be the first time we lead worship, in English and German, for the men in a combined group.
Ascension also has grown our relations with the Old Catholics. Our monthly Evensong is now a joint service, with an Old Catholic priest and the Episcopal rector leading the worship. The choir consists of members of Ascension and members of the Old Catholic congregation. The congregation at Evensong is half German and half members of Ascension. In addition, we celebrate major feasts together, Ash Wednesday and Christmas Eve the most important, along with the feast day of St Willibrord, the patron saint of the Old Catholic church in Munich. At Easter, an Old Catholic priest presided at the Ascension service. In 2014, we held a joint service to commemorate the start of WWI.
Ascension's relations with Lutherans is equally strong. With our host Lutheran church, the Emmauskirche, we celebrated together a commemoration service for the start of WWI, and we annually celebrate Ascension Day. We are planning a joint Reformation anniversary service in October. We have worked together on refugee ministry. Equally exciting are on-going talks with the Lutherans in Bavaria and the wider Lutheran churches in Germany toward full communion between the Episcopal Church and the Lutherans. We have met four times, with representatives from the Anglican Communion and the Church of England. The discussions and discernment continue.
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Top: Emmauskirche - Church of the Ascension;
Middle: Worship at Ascension; Bottom:
St Willibrord's Old
Catholic Church in Munich
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Top is the gathering of Old Catholic and Anglican Bishops (together with two notetaker priests), below The Most Rev. Joris Vercammen, Archbishop of Utrecht, with Fr. Perris.
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Ecumenical Partner: Old Catholics
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The International Bishops Conference (IBC) of the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht meets annually and include a few days with Anglican/Episcopal Bishops from Europe. This year the meeting was in Vienna, Austria, June 18-22.
Fr. John Perris of Christ the King in Frankfurt attended as Anglican notetaker and representative for Bishop Whalon who is on sabbatical.
In Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and France, Episcopalians and Old Catholics work closely together, as do our friends in the Church of England chaplaincies in those countries. Our Italian-language ministry in Milan, led by
The Ven.
Maria Vittoria
Longhitano began as an Old Catholic mission from the Church in Switzerland. Bishop Whalon serves on the International Bishops' Conference of the Union of Utrecht.
Archdeacon Baer and the
Rev. Clair Uhlmann are members of the Old Catholic clericus of Austria.
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This summer
Bishop Pierre Whalon
is on Sabbatical and is spending time in two areas of Interfaith relations.
June 18-22 he was in Oslo Norway for the
Interfaith Rainforest Initiative
sponsored by the Church of Norway and the King of Norway. Here are three press releases:
Later this summer Bishop Whalon will attend Interfaith meetings with Muslim Shiite Clerics in Teheran and Qom in Iran.
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A la radio : le Magazine Anglican
Le « Magazine Anglican », animé par Laurence Moachon, paroissienne de la Cathédrale de la Sainte Trinité à Paris.
À propos du Magazine Anglican :
Depuis septembre 2012, Laurence Moachon présente le 2e samedi du mois, le Magazine Anglican. Avec l’objectif de faire mieux connaître la tradition anglicane au public français, elle traite de sujets d’actualité culturelle, historique, liturgique ou ecclésiologique dans la Convocation et la Communion Anglicane.
ÉCOUTEZ OU TÉLÉCHARGEZ LE MAGAZINE ANGLICAN sur :
Cliquer ICI pour l'émission
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The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe | 23 avenue George V, 75008 Paris, France
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