Convocation Newsletter
(COVID-19 special edition #7)
May 1, 2020
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A Newsletter for Members and Friends of the Convocation of
Episcopal Churches in Europe
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Eastertide in a time of pandemic...
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Fourth Sunday of Easter
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
For Labor Day
(May 1 - in most European Countries)
Almighty God, you have so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good; and, as we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
In Time of of Great Sickness and Mortality....
O most mighty and merciful God, in this time of grievous sickness, we flee unto thee for succor. Deliver us, we beseech thee, from our peril; give strength and skill to all those who minister to the sick; prosper the means made use of for their cure; and grant that, perceiving how frail and uncertain our life is, we may apply our hearts unto that heavenly wisdom which leadeth to eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
.
(1928 BCP, 45)
See Bishop Edington's Sermon for the Second Sunday of Easter
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here
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A Message from the Presiding Bishop
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This Week's Message from Bishop Edington
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This Sunday brings around the familiar image of the
Good Shepherd
. We hear the comforting words of the twenty-third psalm again; we hear Jesus describe himself in John’s gospel as the “gate for the sheep.” And he tells us something more about what it means to be a good shepherd; it means to lead people to abundant life.
There is something else that good shepherds do, something that has come to new significance in all our lives in these past weeks of isolation, distancing, and artificial alienation from each other. The clue to it is in the reading we’ll hear on Sunday from the Acts of the Apostles, simply this:
“All who believed were together….”
Good shepherds are the people who bring believers together. There is no better or more complete description of what they do. And they do it out of a deep understanding of the connection between our being together and Jesus’s desire for all people that they know life abundantly. There is no abundant life in isolation.
The Good Shepherds have been sprouting up among us in these past weeks.
They are our amazing clergy and our creative digital ministry leaders, the people who have embraced the challenge of bring us together in a time when that simple act of leadership faces tremendous obstacles. They have refused to allow us to fall into the disconsolation of distance; they have found ways to bring us together, to knit us together, to keep us together—even though we must be apart.
No, virtual worship is not the same as worship in the church. But all of us need to prepare ourselves for this: As we move toward cautiously reopening our churches, the worship we experience there won’t be the same as what we know. It will be awkward; it will feel artificial and distant; it may even feel a little sad.
And still our Good Shepherds will be there—keeping us together, even as they make sure we are keeping a safe distance apart. Hosting online worship for those still too much at risk to come into a crowd, gathering us in virtual coffee hours, teaching us in online Bible studies, making sure we remain the connected Beloved Community.
I will be spending my Sunday giving thanks for the good shepherds among us who have tended us and kept us together in these days.
One of the surest signs of God’s continual and abundant love for us is the abiding presence of good shepherds in our midst; I hope you will thank them, too.
Blessings,
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See Bishop Edington's Sermon for the Second Sunday of Easter
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here
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Please send us
Alleluias!
We’re continuing with our daily Alleluia on the Convocation’s Facebook page (
https://www.facebook.com/EpiscopalEurope/
). Please contribute a drawing, a picture, or just a selfie with an
“Alleluia”
— and we’ll share it with the world! Heaven knows we need to keep up the supply of Easter joy as we move cautiously back out of our isolation.
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Online Alleluia!
The Youth met online for bible study and enjoyed an
Alleluia
moment!
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A useful resources from the Youth Commission:
FAITH AT HOME - RESOURCES FOR ALL AGES
-
DOWNLOAD
For more information on youth events and registration, please visit the Youth Ministry webpage
HERE
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About five years ago, Canon Jerre Skipper began the work of expanding the Episcopal Asset Map to include our congregations and ministries in Europe to the church-wide resource.
All of the parishes, established missions, and other ministries are on the Asset Map. Much more information needs to be added. Please consider updating the Episcopal Asset Map entry for your church or ministry. If you need help contact the
archdeacon
.
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Online Worship in the Convocation
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Online Worship Opportunities for Sundays and Weekdays
With all our church buildings closed to public worship, many of our parishes and missions have moved their Sunday and weekday Worship online. Consider taking part in worship with your sisters and brothers in Christ across Europe.
All times are (Central European Summer Time (CEST).
Worship on Sundays and during the week:
Sundays
Mondays
Tuesdays
Wednesdays
- American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Paris, FRANCE **
- 9:00 a.m. Morning prayer live-streamed - here
- Compline available each day on YouTube - here
- Christ the King, Frankfurt, GERMANY - link
- 19:00 Compline
- Emmanuel Church, Geneva, SWITZERLAND
- 12:30 p.m. Noonday Prayer - Link
- Resurrection, Orvieto, ITALY
- Morning Prayer at 9:30 a.m. (in Spanish)
- St. Augustine, Wiesbaden, GERMANY
- Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m. "Word and Worship" - link
- St. Boniface, Augsburg, GERMANY
- 12:00 noon - Noonday Prayer
- St. James, Florence, ITALY
- Evening Prayer at 6:00 p.m.
- St. Paul's Within the Walls, Rome, ITALY
- Morning Prayer, Rite II at 12:00 Noon
Thursdays
- All Saints' Waterloo, BELGIUM (or on Facebook)
- 21h00 Compline
- American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Paris, FRANCE **
- 9:00 a.m. Morning prayer live-streamed - here
- Compline available each day on YouTube - here
- Ascension, Munich, GERMANY -
- 8:00 p.m. Compline - link
- Resurrection, Orvieto, ITALY
- Morning Prayer at 9:30 a.m. (in Spanish)
- St. Boniface, Augsburg, GERMANY
- 12:00 noon - Noonday Prayer
- St. Paul's Within the Walls, Rome, ITALY
- Contemplative Prayer at 12:00 Noon
Fridays
Saturdays
**
All live-streamed services are posted to the Cathedral
YouTube
and
Facebook
and may be accessed at any time.
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Convocation COVID-19 Webpage
Information in one place
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Convocation COVID-19 Response
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Please visit our
webpage
dedicated to our COVID-19 response, as well as other resources.
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Congregational Plans for reopening churches
- see the Bishop and Council of Advice directives
on
Regathering the Church Prayerfully and Intentionally
here
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Grant Applications for 2021 Now Available!
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Grant Applications for 2021 Now Available!
The Finance Committee of the Convocation has decided to extend the deadline for applications for next year’s grants to May 31, 2020. Instructions to guide grant-writers may be found at
this link
, and the application form may be found at
this link
.
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Dear fellow Convocation Ministers and Wardens,
Alleluia, He is risen indeed! As we celebrate Easter this year we are more aware than ever of the importance and need for live music, dance and art outside of our own 4 walls. Our churches supply us not only with a building for worship, but a building full of art, whether it be church music, altars, windows, sculptures, performances and the list goes on.
I am writing today to remind you all that the
Whalon Fund for the Creative Arts (WFCA
) is now taking grant applications for 2021. Please see below for more information as well as links to our webpage, fund guidelines and application.
Please also forward this information to all your committee leaders that would be interested in this fund (Fine Arts committees, Vestries, Choir/Music directors, Sunday School teachers etc.).
We wish you a blessed Eastertide.
WFCA Committee
Parishes and missions in the Convocation are invited to submit grant proposals to support their work. Grants will be made for up to €500. Grant applications are due by
June 1, 2020.
LINKS
Fund Guidelines - see
here
Application form - download
here
If you would like more information or would like to give to the WFCA please see our
Webpage (click here)
.
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Upcoming Convocation Events
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CANCELED OR POSTPONED EVENTS
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- April 24-26: Clergy Spouses Retreat, Pallottihaus, Vienna, AT - CANCELED
- May 7-10: TEC-ELKB Dialogue Meeting - Augsburg, Germany - MOVED TO OCTOBER
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- July 5-12 Episcopal Youth Event - postponed to 2021 - info
- June 21: Consecration of the new Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht - POSTPONED
- July 19: U.S. Bishops visiting Convocation Parishes and Missions - CANCELED
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Spring 2020
- May 2: Clergy Morning Prayer
- May 16 - Finance Committee Meeting - Moved online
- May 23-24: Visitation in St. James the Less Mission, Nuremberg, Germany
- May 30: Visitation at Church of the Resurrection, Orvieto, Italy
- May 31: Visitation at St. Paul's Within the Walls, Rome, Italy
- June 1-5: Bishops Meeting: "Living our Vows"
- June 8: Clergy Morning Prayer
- June 29 - July 2: Clericus
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Fall 2020
- October 22-25: 2020 Convocation Convention in Nice, France
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Convocation Communications Committee
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Trinité Magazine
Spring 2020 issue
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The Convocation Communications Committee (CCC) coordinates the communications of the Convocation. Special emphasis is given to Social Media, and close coordination with the parishes and missions of the Convocation. Existing modes of communication such as newsletters and the website are getting a facelift.
Members are: Thomas Girty (Paris), chair; Felicity Handford, Marc Smets-Tolley (both Waterloo), Walter Baer (Paris), Audrey Shankles (Wiesbaden), Helena Mbele-Mbong (Geneva), and Ellen Hampton (Paris), ex-officio. Others are being added.
The Convocation is now also featured with four pages in the cathedral's semi-annual publication
Trinité
, covering Convocation events.
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- For questions on recording worship attendance for virtual services, click here
- An article in the Anglican Church of Canada's ANGLICAN JOURNAL about our churches during this COVID-19 crisis - here
- Download the Book of Common Prayer - here
- Some prayer resources during time the pandemic, click here
- Some frightening historical information about the church response to the 1918 flu pandemic, click here
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Did you miss Church?
Check out an on-line sermon:
See Bishop Edington's Sermon for Easter 2
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here
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Other pulpits in the Convocation:
Check other congregational webpages
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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 4e 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 :
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Regarding Allegations of Clergy Sexual Abuse
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Important information on the lifting of the Statute of Limitation regarding clergy sexual abuse...
Let it be known that for three years in the Episcopal Church there is no statute of limitation on clergy sexual abuse. Every diocese has a confidential way to make a report. In Europe here is ours:
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Read the latest on what's going on in the wider church
and much more....
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"Go forth for God; go to the world in peace; be of good courage, armed with heavenly grace, in God's good Spirit daily to increase, till in his kingdom we behold his face."
Hymn 347 - Holy Eucharist; Music: Litton
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The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe | 23 avenue George V, 75008 Paris, France
+33 (0) 1 53 23 84 06 | office@tec-europe.orgl | www.tec-europe.org
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