July 2017
Convocation News
July 2017
A Newsletter for Members and Friends of the  Convocation of
Episcopal Churches in Europe
This is a monthly convocational newsletter.
Please direct any comments to archdeacon@tec-europe.org
Jesus said to Mary,  "Go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’" Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
(John 20:17b-18)  
From the Gospel for the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, July 22 
Canon Michael Rusk to be Instituted as Rector of Emmanuel Church in Geneva on September 2nd. 
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,  at Noon, with a reception to follow. 

Please mark this weekend in your dairies now for this important time of fellowship and recognition of new ministry at Emmanuel and in Geneva. Clergy of the Convocation and of the Geneva area will be invited, as well as ecumenical guests.

Information is available at  Link or +41 22 732 80 78 or office@emmanuelchurch.ch, please  RSVP to the church office by August 15 if you intend to attend.
The Rev. Canon Michael Rusk and the Rev. Deacon Richard Cole at Emmanuel Church, Geneva, Switzerland.

Canon Michael Rusk was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1958. Growing up during The Troubles, he attended Methodist College, Belfast while attending the Anglican Parish of St Simon of which his father was the Church of Ireland Rector....

read more
The Rev. Dr. Mark Barwick is called to Strasbourg!
The Rev Dr Mark Barwick has been appointed to the Anglican chaplaincy of St Alban’s in Strasbourg, France, effective the 1st of October. Please pray for Mark, Corinna and the children during this time of transition. Pray also for their people of All Saints’ Waterloo, Christ Church Charleroi and St Alban’s Strasbourg.

Currently, Mark is the Associate Priest of All Saints’ Church in Waterloo. He is also the Vicar of Christ Church in Charleroi. Mark has been described by some as a tender of sacred fires, referring to his work as a teacher, spiritual guide and retreat leader.

He has also worked for more than twenty years for non-governmental organizations in the promotion of justice, peace and human dignity, particularly in African countries. He is currently a policy adviser for international organizations based in Brussels, which work on issues related to human rights, democracy and the prevention of violence. He is a frequent presenter at conferences, and leads workshops on promoting dialogue and combatting discrimination and intolerance.


Fr Mark is a member of the Third Order of the Society of St Francis, a Franciscan religious order within the Anglican Communion. He currently lives in Brussels with his wife Corinna, daughter Madeleine and son Elias.


Mark's many international connections together with his work with EU institutions, non-governmental organizations, and his fluency in French and German will also be very helpful in his new ministry endeavors in Strasbourg.


In the Convocation, Mark serves on the Commission of Ministry of the Baptized (COMB) and is the chair of the Strategic Plan Committee. This committee completes its work with the presentation of the Strategic Plan to the Council of Advice at its September meeting. 


The news of Mark's appointment was announced at Sunday services both in Strasbourg and Waterloo on July 23.


We hope that Mark will continue to be involved with the Convocation, as he continues to serve our Lord in another part of the Vineyard. 

2017 Convention of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe
    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.

The Convention sessions will be held at the Roncalli Haus, Friedrichstraße 26, Wiesbaden. 
Convention 2017 Registration
Did you miss Church?
Were you unable to attend Church on Sunday? The American Cathedral, along with some other of our congregations, posts Sunday sermons online each week. Hear Dean Lucinda Laird, Canon Mary Haddad, Bishop Whalon, and others preach God's Word from one of the great pulpits of the Episcopal Church.
News from the Council of Advice

A Note from Mark Barwick, 

Chair of the Strategic Plan Committee

Strategic Plan Committee Enters the Homestretch

In horse racing, you enter the homestretch after you make the final turn and have the finish line in view. After some intensive efforts in June, members of the Strategic Plan Committee feel that they too have turned a corner and have made good progress toward fulfilling their mandate. 

The committee has taken seriously the ideas and opinions that have emerged from many sources, including the small group sessions at the 2016 Convention. We have also been careful to consult with a range of individuals who have meaningfully contributed to the shaping of the plan. Interviews are still ongoing and continue to bring new insights on the future direction of the Convocation.

On June 6th, we met with the clergy of the Convocation at Baden-Baden for a lively discussion. We are grateful this important and fruitful session.

Of course, every idea that has been raised will not find its way into the actual text of the Strategic Plan; however, we are collecting these ideas in a common document that will be presented to the Council and to the new Bishop for their considered attention. No comment will be lost – and we understand that this is a long process.


The draft Strategic Plan will be presented to the Council of Advice for its meeting in September.


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 

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.
Convocation Convention Plans 
On Sunday, May 7, some members of the Council of Advice 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 female priest. 
The Council of Advice, meeting in Milan, Italy, made final preparations for the Convocation Convention October 19-22 in Wiesbaden, Germany. The theme of Convention is: 

"The Jesus Movement" 

As our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry puts it, "we’re following Jesus into loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God, with each other and with the earth."

Our principal speaker will be The Rev. Canon Michael Hunn, Canon to the Presiding Bishop for Ministry Within the Episcopal Church.

Canon Hunn was with the Council in Milan, helping with the process of finding a successor for our Bishop-in-Charge, Pierre Whalon, ahead of his planned departure in 2019.

Canon Hunn is also a member of the Strategic Plan Committee. He will be the liaison from the Presiding Bishop's Office guiding the Convocation in the election of a new Bishop in charge for the Convocation.

Upcoming Events
UPCOMING
CONVOCATION EVENTS


  • October 18: COMB Meeting in Wiesbaden, Germany

 COMING UP IN 2018


  • January 25-27: Council of Advice in Waterloo, Belgium

  • February 5-7: Clergy Retreat 

  • April 27-28: APL Vestry Workshop for Italy in Florence

  • May 10-13: YAE/JAE Events

  • May 31 - June 2: Council of Advice in TBA

  • June 4-8: Clericus 

  • June 15-16: APL Vestry Workshop for Francophonie (FR, BE, CH) in TBA

  • June 22-23: APL Vestry Workshop for Germany in Nuremberg 

  • July 5-13: General Convention of TEC in Austin TX

  • September 6-8: Council of Advice in TBA
EpiscopalEurope Youth Leader Retreat
Friday through Sunday,
October 13-15, 2017
All Saints' Episcopal Church
Waterloo, Belgium

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
  Vocational Discernment Weekend
Friday through Sunday,  17-19 November 2017
St. Arnold’s Retreat House,  Budapest, Hungary
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 priest1295@yahoo.fror Mark Barwick at mark.barwick@gmail.com


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.

Stewardship of Creation: Bishops speak...
See statements  on  the proposed United States withdrawal from the 
Paris Climate Accords:

The Most Rev. Michael Curry,  Presiding Bishop  of the Episcopal Church

The Rt. Rev. Pierre Whalon, Bishop in Charge of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe

+ + + + +
This summer  Bishop Pierre Whalon  is on Sabbatical and is spending time in the area of Stewardship of Creation in an Interfaith context.

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:

European Institute of Christian Studies

Academy for Parish Leadership
Mark your calendars for 2018
APL regional workshop will focus on both general matters about vestry leadership and issues particular to different parts of Europe. 

  • April 27-28: APL Vestry Workshop for Italy in Florence

  • June 15-16: APL Vestry Workshop for Francophonie (FR, BE, CH) in TBA

  • June 22-23: APL Vestry Workshop for Germany in Nuremberg 



In 2018 the Academy of Parish Leadership will host three regional Vestry Training Workshops in the Convocation. 
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 ( kaye.oconnell@gmx.de)  +49 8456 2577 or  +49 176 84487420.  

Parish Outreach: Christ the King in Frankfurt

Heimkehrer/Returnee Support Group

(Report of a presentation at the American Cathedral in Paris)

Last May the Mission & Outreach Committee and Bishop Whalon welcomed Harry Bielskis, a member of the Christ the King Episcopal congregation in Frankfurt, Germany, as the guest speaker for a special talk after the 11am service. Recently deported from the US, Harry shared his story of struggle, loss; faith and recovery with us, and how he now helps others in a similar situation. Here is his story…


“I thought I was an American” Harry “Harald” Bielskis says. That is, until the day the US government began deportation proceedings against him after his arrest for illegal possession of prescription medication. 63-year-old Harry Bielskis, a former bus driver from Portland, Oregon, was deported in 2013 to Germany, the country of his birth—and yet a country Harry had not set foot in since he was four years old, when he and his parents immigrated to the US. After unsuccessfully fighting his deportation order for over a year, Harry arrived in the middle of winter in Frankfurt, Germany, with nothing apart from the clothes on his back, 48 dollars in cash, and a bag full of his deportation documents.

 

When Harry arrived at the airport, the Catholic Social Ministry gave him a jacket to fight the cold. The German authorities gave him a ticket for the S-Bahn and a Welcome Package. In this welcome package, Harry found documents put together especially for US deportees by the Episcopal Church of Christ the King in Frankfurt. The problem of American “returnees” in Germany is common enough that Christ the King has established a ministry, known as the Heimkehrer, or “Homecomer”, to help such returnees adjust to their new life. Last year, around 200 German citizens were deported from the US; many find their way to the Church of Christ the King.


“I call them the Airport Angels, because they rescued me”, Harry says.

“We are open to all who want to come to us”, Reverend John Perris of Christ the King says. Of the Heimkehrer ministry, the Reverend John Perris says: “These are very honest, real encounters with people in need. And yet in meeting them, not only do we give, but we receive so much, because we experience the risen Christ in our relationship, in a new and different way. And so it is exceedingly rewarding in spiritual terms, aside from anything else.”


Christ the King tries to help the returnees adapt to a country that is foreign to them. The church collects gifts in kind like used furniture, and from time to time even helps out financially until the employment agency sends the first welfare check. The German government funds the returnees’ transport from the airport.


Most importantly, Christ the King provides these returnees with a community that understands what it feels like to be away from one’s own country, and how difficult coping with life in a foreign country can be. For some, the Church has truly become a home away from home, and a second family.


“My mother had this wise German saying: After every winter there is a spring, after every December comes a May. I remembered that when I first came here” Harry says. With the support of his new community, and through his work with the Heimkehrer ministry to help other returnees like him, Harry Bielskis is slowly but surely rebuilding his life outside of the US.


Find out more about Christ the King’s ministry by going to their website here.

This blog post partially reproduces content from the following article published in a Frankfurt newspaper (English translation), and from a video by Episcopal News, which you can watch below.  


Article borrowed from: Mission Matters at the American Cathedral.
Ecumenical / Interfaith Work in the Convocation
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.
Lived Ecumenism - Gelebte Ökumene 
Fr. Chris Easthill and the ACK (Arbeitsgemeinschaft 
Christlicher Kirchen in Deutschland) Board in Rome

The Rev. Christopher Easthill, Rector of St. Augustine's Anglican/Episcopal Church in Wiesbaden, is a board member of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen in Deutschland (ACK), the "Working Group of Christian Churches in Germany." It is the largest and most significant ecumenical body in Germany. The Board members of the ACK visited Rome as part of their "Reformation Year" ecumenical discussions. Among their stops was a visit to the Pope at the Vatican, as well visits to the Anglican Centre, the Waldensian Center, the Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum, and the German Embassy to the Holy See.


Fr. Easthill remarked how German Christians leaders are continually amazed at the ongoing ecumenical spirit that exists among Episcopalians and Anglicans, and particularly the advanced stage to which Anglican ecumenical dialogues have progressed in recent years, particularly with the Roman Catholic Church.
Fr. Perris with Deacon Martin Kováč in Bratislava
Ecumenical Partner: Old Catholics
Starokatolíci v Bratislave (Old Catholics in Bratislava) is a new Old Catholic Mission congregation in Bratislava, Slovakia. It is a mission of the Czech Old Catholic Church, as there is no OC church in Slovakia connected with the Union of Utrecht. This Old Catholic mission is among the only progressive Christian congregations in Slovakia. Recently, Fr. John Perris, Rector of Christ the King in Frankfurt, and wife Cat were in Bratislava, and Fr. John was the guest preacher and celebrant at the mass.

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.
  Check out the latest edition of The Read Thread
Francophone Outreach...

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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