At one of his regular meetings with fellow canon theologians of Anglican cathedrals (at the moment conducted by Zoom), the Chaplain-President learned from his friend and colleague from Norwich, Canon Dr Peter Doll, that the final letter written by Edith Cavell to her mother before her arrest in August 1915 has been gifted by its private owner to Norwich Cathedral, where Edith Cavell is buried. The full story may be read in this press release. Almost Edith Cavell's last words before being shot were: "Standing as I do in view of God and eternity, I realise that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness for anyone", words which continue to resonate across history. The Church of England remembers Edith Cavell in our calendar of saints, commemorating her on 12th October, the anniversary of her execution.
102nd anniversary of the end of World War 1
The commemoration of the Armistice of 11:00 on 11th November 1918 has become in Anglican practice an annual opportunity to remember before God and neighbour all those whose lives have been cut short or damaged in human warfare, and to give thanks for all those who have fought and died in the service of peace, freedom, justice and brotherhood. During this time of pandemic, this annual commemoration has taken different forms. Here is the service from Gent, led by Canon Stephen Murray of the Central Committee:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF7qYApgBBc&feature=youtu.be
New Covid-19 Emergency Measures
Following the meeting of the Government's Concertation Committee on 30th October, the National Anglican Protocol and all our parish protocols are suspended until 14th December, and our parishes return to the régime of lockdown we experienced earlier this year, in which all parish worship and activities move on-line (except for funerals). As the pandemic continues, we renew our resolve to face it with strength, mutual support and generosity.
SportsConsilium Belgium
Further to our article of 7th October 2020 below, the SportConsilium website is now up and running. You may consult a page which shows some interviews with Committee members, including the Chaplain-President, here: https://sportconsilium.org/le-comite/
New restrictions and new protocol
The Government's Concertation Committee met on 22nd and 23rd October to discuss the evolution of the covid19 pandemic and to impose stricter measures on the country to combat it. The Central Committee's latest National Anglican Protocol (our 9th since May) was approved by the Concertation Committee and comes into effect from today. It can be found here in French and here in Dutch.
Indisposition of Mrs Sophie Wilmès
The Chaplain-President joins the whole Anglican community in Belgium in prayers and best wishes for our former Prime Minister - the first woman PM in our history - Sophie Wilmès, now our Foreign Minister, who is unfortunately currently in intensive care in hospital with Covid-19. Madame Wilmès has steered our country through the difficult waters of the pandemic with skill, expertise and good humour and we thank her for all that she has done for Belgium. We wish her a speedy and full recovery.
Latest NAP#8
Chancellor Paul Vrolijk resigns from the Central Committee
At the annual meeting of the synod of the Archdeaconry of Benelux, held last week online, our Archdeacon Paul Vrolijk, who is also Chancellor of Holy Trinity Pro-Cathedral Brussels, informed the meeting that he would step down from his duties as Archdeacon in November and as a member of the Central Committee with immediate effect. This was solely and simply due to Paul's extremely heavy workload as Chancellor and senior chaplain of one of the largest parishes in the Diocese in Europe. We record our deep thanks to Paul for his professional and cheerful contributions to the work of the Central Committee since he joined us in 2017. Because the Central Committee office is situated inside Holy Trinity Brussels, we rejoice that we will remain just a few metres from Paul's office on the same corridor! We look forward to continuing our deep collaboration in the future as representatives of the Diocese and of the Central Committee. We intend to submit the name of a new member of the Central Committee to the Minister of Justice this calendar year, for appointment by the Minister in the name of HM King Philippe.
A New Emouna Year
Twenty new émouniens met in Louvain-la-Neuve on 7th October 2020 to inaugurate the new academic year. Emouna is a one-year Francophone interfaith formation for leaders in various Christian Churches (Catholic, Anglican, Protestant, Evangelical, Orthodox) and in Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. Because of the ongoing pandemic, several participants were present by Zoom. The Anglican student this year is the Revd Charles Kabera, one of our stipendiary prison chaplains in Belgium. More information about Emouna may be found here: www.emouna.be (NB: A Dutch-speaking course Emoena België will begin in 2021 to accompany the French-speaking course.)
The SportsConsilium Officially Inaugurated
On Tuesday 6th October, the Chaplain-President and the Secretary attended the official installation of the SportsConsilium. This new advisory body, supported by the French-speaking Community in Belgium and Panathlon Wallonie-Bruxelles, is composed of representatives from the recognised religions and secular humanism, and representatitves from the important national sports organisations, like for example the Belgian Olympic Interfederal Committee. The SportsConsilium will investigate complaints and queries relating to the life-stances in the environment of sports. It is the practical outcome of the charter “Le sport, l’esprit de l’humanité” which was signed 4 years ago, and is an unicum in the world.
A New Canon for Brussels
The Revd Stephen Murray, chaplain in Gent and Vice-President of the Central Committee, writes,
On Friday 25th September, I was collated as a Canon of the Pro-Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Brussels, and I can now sit in the seat of St. Willibrord, who converted the Frisians. This is a wonderful historic coincidence as my late father-in-law was a very proud Frisian. It is also very appropriate to the mission and ministry in this Archdeaconry.
New Federal Minister of Justice
On Thursday 1st October 2020, the new Federal Government was sworn in by King Filip.
The new Minister of Justice, also responsible for the recognised life-stances, is Mr Vincent Van Quickenborne.
The Central Committee by way of its Chaplain-President has sent Mr Van Quickenborne their congratulations, and wishes for a fruitful cooperation.
New version of the NAP
Possible future Anglican parish in Ostbelgien (Eupen)
On Wednesday 23rd September, the Chaplain-President and Secretary of the Central Committee met with Mr Stefan Pitz, from the chancelery of the Minister-President of the German-speaking Community (Ostbelgien), about the possibility for establishing a recognised Anglican congregation in Eupen.
The meeting happened in a very cordial and positive atmosphere, and we hope that this project for a congregation of a bridge-church as part of a bridge-region will come to fruition.
Photo below: Flag of the city of Eupen (wikipedia.org)
VILD meeting 18SEP2020
On 18th September, the Flemish Interconvictional Platform (Vlaamse Interlevensbschouwelijke Dialoograad) was graciously hosted by the Orthodox community at their cathedral in Brussels. Mgr Peckstadt, Metropolitan in Belgium, chaired the meeting. Representatives from Minister Bart Somers and the Homeland Department were also present.
Some of the subjects discussed were,
-Covid and how the various recognised life stances had dealt with the situation.
-The new future decree on the conditions for recognition of local convictional communities.
-The new lesson plans for convictional education in Flanders and Dutch-speaking schools in Brussels.
-The poverty project and Soligion.
The VILD will meet again in December.
Photo below: Mr Anton Van Dijck, representing the Union of Freethinking Organisations (UVV-demens.nu), next to a painting of H.H. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I.
Latest version of the National Anglican Protocol (September 2020)
Latest version of National Anglican Protocol concerning Corona
Here are the Dutch and French texts of the current version of the National Anglican Protocol, which guides the Anglican parishes in Belgium concerning the conduct of public worship during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Central Committee will meet in the first week of September to take stock of the evolution of the pandemic. We commit ourselves in action, service and prayer to the people of Belgium as we live together through the hardships of the pandemic.
National Holiday 21/07/2020
The Central Committee hopes that everyone enjoyed a happy Nationale Feestdag-Fête Nationale.
GEES imposes compulsory masks in places of worship
At its meeting on 9th July, the Belgian Government's Group of Experts for an Exit Strategy introduced a slight hardening of the de-confinement rules: until further notice, adults entering certain public places, including churches, must wear face masks at all times. The revised National Anglican Protocol which reflects this change can be seen here in Dutch and here in French.
Emouna Belgique: Rozemarijn and Eric tell us of their experiences
“Interreligious dialogue and leadership training weren’t new to me and yet I registered for Emouna, a one year formation experience for religious ministers of different faith traditions. Happy I did, even if I often felt the odd duck, as my work area and field of interest are rather focusing on spirituality and multiple belonging. Happy in the first place that religious institutions have put interfaith formation of their - future - leaders on the agenda and created a space for in depth encounter. No doubt the programme will grow through its teething problems and become a strong partner in interfaith peace networks.”
Rozemarijn Vanwijnsberghe, Master in World Religions and Interreligious Dialogue, in charge of inTOUCH - Fostering dialogue among cultures (www.intouchbrussels.com), coordinator HOPE Network (@hopenetworkbrussels)
“It was an immense joy and privilege to be part of the Emouna 2019-2020 training. I found the training very instructive and very rich. I learned a lot from my Buddhist, Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters. I intend to continue working for a world where people live together in peace. The various speakers were excellent and allowed us to ask questions and express our points of view. All of my misconceptions and misunderstandings about other religions have been clarified and explained. I highly recommend this training to all those who participate in interfaith dialogue or who work in prison ministry.”
Eric Sibomana, member of Holy Trinity Brussels, Reader in training, and Anglican prison chaplain
