NEWS
On Wednesday 21 June 2023, Holy Trinity, Brussels hosted a meeting of the Anglican clergy from Belgium and Luxembourg. These regular gatherings give clergy a chance to support one another in prayer and fellowship as well as get updates on news from across the Deanery. the meeting took place both in-person and with participation on Zoom. Thanks to Canon Paul Vrolijk for Chairing the meeting due to the Secretary General being called away to a meeting with the Belgian Ministry of Justice.
On 18 June, the Chaplain-President was delighted to speak to a group of ten visitors from Christians Aware, a UK charity working for justice and peace: Home (christiansaware.co.uk), who had come to Belgium to experience Anglican multicultural and interfaith ministries at first hand. Our picture shows the group at the ecumenical Chapelle de l'Europe listening to three prominent Anglican commentators on Europe: Mr Guy Milton (a head of unit in the Council of the EU), Prof Peter Ludlow (founder of EuroComment, the most influential journal of European Council affairs: European Council | Eurocomment) and Mrs Carole Ludlow (a key player in Eurocomment). The Chaplain-President's presentation concentrated on the future of Anglicanism in Europe in the light of Brexit.
On 17 June, the Chaplain-President was honoured to attend the memorial service at Holy Trinity Brussels for Madame Frieda Mukanyangezi, the mother of Eric Sibomana, who had long been a fervent and faithful member of Holy Trinity before her death during the covid pandemic. Frieda survived the genocide in Rwanda before settling in Belgium. She was able to deploy her sincere and deep faith to tap into reserves of forgiveness, reconciliation and help for other refugees which were an example to all.
The Chaplain-President's words at the wake are here: "Frieda était l'une des premières personnes à me parler lorsque je suis arrivé à Holy Trinity en 2011. Elle m'a immédiatement invité dîner pour me raconter l'histoire de l'action de Dieu dans sa vie, même à travers des terribles événements survenus au Rwanda. Elle était toujours courtoise ; elle m'assurait toujours de ses prières. Je la voyais très souvent lorsque je venais dans l'église au hasard en semaine : toujours assise en train de lire sa Bible et de prier. Un moment fort pour moi est quand, devant une audience de 25 chanoines-théologiens illustres venus de partout l'Eglise anglicane, elle a donné son témoignage pendant une bonne heure, en janvier 2017 : tout le monde a été ému et encouragé par son témoignage. Nous ne connaissons pas l'intimité de la volonté de Dieu, mais s'il y a jamais eu une personne dont nous pouvons être confiants qu'elle est maintenant avec le Christ dans le giron de Dieu, c'est bien Frieda. Que Dieu te bénisse, ma chère soeur, et paix à ton âme."
Le 14 juin, M. Eric Sibomana, membre du Comité central, coordinateur des aumôniers anglicans de prison et lay-reader anglican, a été ravi d'être invité par le SARM de la Défense (c-à-d le Service d'assistance religieuse et morale) à une réunion qui s'est tenue à Talbot House à Poperinge (Talbot House museum) entre les aumôneries militaires britannique (Royal Army Chaplains' Department | The British Army (mod.uk)) et belge (Service d'Assistance Religieuse et Morale - YouTube).
On 13 June, the Chaplain-President represented the Anglican Church at a meeting of the OCJB, the Organe de Consultation entre Chrétiens et Juifs en Belgique / Overlegorgaan van Christen en Joden in België, held at the Great Synagogue in Brussels. Among several dialogues undertaken by the Central Committee, the OCJB is the dialogue which specifically concerns Jews and Christians. On this occasion, M. Samuel Goblet presented his 2021 book Jean-Paul II, le pape des juifs from his own Jewish perspective. This led to a long and fruitful discussion on whether Judaism was intrinsic or extrinsic to Christianity.
On Saturday 10 June 2023, the Vice-president of the Central Committee, The Revd Catriona Laing, Ms. Karen Papellero from St. Martha & St. Mary’s Anglican Church, Leuven, and the Secretary-General greeted 24 Syrian newcomers to Belgium at Zaventem airport. This is the second time that the Anglican Church in Belgium has partnered with Humanitarian Corridors & Sant’Egidio to sponsor and welcome a family from Syria.
Marianne & Mishleen are in their early 20’s and will be living in Leuven. The local Anglican church will help them in many practical ways on a daily basis, as well as guiding them through the asylum seeking application process, and to help them integrate. A team of volunteers has been preparing their apartment for weeks and are they thrilled that Mishleen & Marianne have finally arrived!
Thankfully, their parents and younger brother have also been welcomed by a Roman Catholic parish in Antwerpen. This means that the family was able to travel together and the sisters will be able to live independently with students of the same age. Of course, the family will learn a lot about the trains in Belgium whenever they want to visit each other. An added blessing is that some cousins came to Belgium during the first edition of Humanitarian Corridors in 2019 and are able to translate Dutch and Arabic which should help them as well.
It is never easy to leave your home and start to make a new life in a new country. We give thanks that they have made it this far and we are honoured to walk together with them on this part of their journey. We wish all of them many happy and joy-filled years in Belgium.
On 13 June, the Chaplain-President, in his capacity as Bishop Robert's adviser for EU affairs, was delighted to be received at the EKD Haus by Katrin Hatzinger, director of the EKD office in Brussels, for coffee and talk about ways in which Anglicans and German Protestants can work together in the EU institutions.
On 12 June, the Chaplain-President, in his capacity as Bishop Robert's adviser for EU affairs, represented the Anglican Church at a conference organised by COMECE on the current civil war in Syria. We were privileged to hear from Syrians actually involved in social care on the ground on behalf of Catholic humanitarian agencies, and to learn more about the ultra-delicate political situation in Syria and how the Christian Churches, especially Orthodox and Catholic, are well-placed to offer non-political social help and assistance. The conference was followed by a delicious Syrian meal.
Le 10 juin, le chapelain-président a eu le plaisir de baptiser Charles Morelle Henry, dont il avait déjà présidé le mariage des parents, en l'église St-Jean-Baptiste de Wavre, avec l'aimable autorisation et l'accueil chaleureux du curé catholique, père André Sarota. L'église a une histoire célèbre à l'épicentre de la bataille de Wavre qui s'est passée le même jour que celle de Waterloo, le 18 juin 1815 : des troupes prussiennes se sont réfugiées des boulets français à l'intérieur de l'église - un énorme boulet reste enfoncé dans un pilier ! Le baptême de Charles se déroulait loin de ces ennuis : c'est un moment de bonheur total, de consécration de sa vie et de son avenir à la grâce et à l'amour de Dieu.
Le 4 juin, fête de la Sainte-Trinité, le chapelain-président a eu le plaisir d'assister à la messe à la paroisse All Saints de Waterloo, présidée par les révérendes Sunny Hallanan et Katie Osweiler.
The Chaplain-President currently serves as the Chair of the Consultation of Christian Churches in Belgium. This includes representatives from the Roman Catholic Church, the United Protestant Church, the Anglican Church and the Orthodox Church, with the Federal Synod of Evangelical Churches sending an observer. They met on 1 June 2023 at the Koekelberg Basilica. The ongoing war in Ukraine and how churches can help was discussed, which will be explored at the national ecumenical study day in Antwerp in December.
On 31 May, the Chaplain-President, in his capacity as Bishop Robert's adviser for EU affairs, attended a conference at COMECE, "Grounded in the present, skilled for the future", on how Churches and voluntary organisations can aid young Europeans to access the jobs-market by offering skills-training in areas which are ethically and environmentally coherent with human rights. As usual at such conferences, there was also the opportunity for useful talk and discussion with colleagues in the coffee-breaks.
On 30 May, the Chaplain-President, acting in his capacity as Bishop Robert's adviser for EU affairs, attended a meeting of the low-level Article 17 Dialogue between the European Commission and the faiths and convictions. The meeting's theme was how to build antiracist and religiously inclusive organisations, and many good ideas were shared.
On 29 May, the feast of Pentecost, the Chaplain-President was delighted to celebrate Holy Communion at St John's Church Gent (surely the finest and most beautiful Anglican church in Europe), assisted by the Revd Kayode Sopeju, the assistant chaplain there. The sermon was given by Mr Colin De Pelsmaker, a trainee lay reader whose training is being supervised by the Chaplain-President. The service was followed by a convivial lunch in church, which was in turn followed by the annual general meeting of the parish, which the Chaplain-President chaired on behalf of Archdeacon Sam van Leer.
On 25 May, the Chaplain-President attended a board meeting of Cares (caresbrussels.org ) at which a number of projects relevant to African-European theology were discussed, including plans for another major international conference in Brussels in the autumn. The Chaplain-President will chair the next meeting of Cares on 26 June.
Op 25 mei 2023 waren alle anglicaanse kerkraden vertegenwoordigd op zoom om op te volgen over de kerkraad verkiezingen 2023 en voor het eerst ooit hoe een kerkraad de resultaten digitaal moet vermelden.
Daarnaast hebben we ook gesproken over:
Kerkraad budgetten voor 2024
Wat mag (en mag niet) een kerkraad doen tijdens openstaande vacature voor de bedienaar van de eredienst
Een proefproject van een professionaliseeringstraject voor eredienstenbestuur door Thomas More Hogeschool, de Vlaamse overheid en FOD Justitie.
Veiligheidsadviseurs voor alle parochies
verwelkoming vluchtelingen in Leuven
On 25 May, the Chaplain-President, in his role as Bishop Robert's adviser for EU affairs, represented the Anglican Church at an event during a meeting of the Council of the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, which was convening in Brussels. Pastor Dr Annette Kurschus, president of the Protestant Church of Westphalia and vice-president of the Council of the EKD, gave a fascinating lecture on the current state of European politics and Church life, which was followed by a buffet supper.
Following extensive planning by Bishop Mark, the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe (to which our parish in Waterloo-Lasne and our missions in Mons and Charleroi are attached) is organising a summer school at the University of Utrecht from 16-21 July on the theme of "Anglicanism in European Perspective". The Chaplain-President will lecture on Anglican ethics, Anglican sacramental theology, Anglican socialism and European Anglicanism during this full week of lectures, seminars, worship and fellowship. For information about how to register on the summer school, please consult this page: Summer School in Anglican Theology - University of Utrecht | The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe (tec-europe.org) We are very grateful to Virginia Theological Seminary (Virginia Theological Seminary (vts.edu)) and Trinity Church Wall Street (Trinity Church Wall Street (trinitywallstreet.org)) for their help in the organisation of this summer school.
On 9 May, the Chaplain-President, as Professor of History at FUTP Bruxelles, led a session of the Ecole Doctorale on his latest historical research on the active role of the Churches in the colonisation and systematic pillaging of Senegal and in the enslaving of its people. In order to act better in the future, the Churches need to be frank and honest about the past. The Central Committee commits itself to play a full part in this process, however difficult and embarrassing this process proves to be.
On 6 May, the Chaplain-President spent no less than six hours live on LN24 as part of the team commentating the coronation of King Charles III. This mammoth session did give him the chance to explain the meaning of the ritual of coronation and King Charles' dual role as head of the British State and supreme governor of the Church of England. The commentating team did feel by the end of the broadcast that they had become firm friends!
