July 10, 2020
Convocation Newsletter
(COVID-19 special edition #16)
July 10, 2020
A Newsletter for Members and Friends of the Convocation of
Episcopal Churches in Europe
Please direct any comments to news@tec-europe.org
Please note that in July and August, the Convocation
Newsletter will appear bi-weekly
"Ordinary Time" in an extraordinary time...
The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 9)
O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 10)
O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A Prayer for Understanding
Almighty God, through your Holy Spirit you created unity in the midst of diversity; We acknowledge that human diversity is an expression of your manifold love for your creation; We confess that in our brokenness as human beings we turn diversity into a source of alienation, injustice, oppression, and wounding. Empower us to recognize and celebrate differences as your great gift to the human family. Enable us to be the architects and bridge-builders of understanding, of respect and love; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, the ground of all unity, we pray. Amen.
- Author Unknown, (This prayer was offered at a recent Bishops and Canons meeting.)
Pray with us in the    2020 Convocation Cycle of Prayer    -    available here
Ordination on Saturday....
Ordination on Saturday, July 11,
at 7:00 p.m.

Transitional Deacon, the Rev. Stephen McPeek will, God willing, be ordained Priest on Saturday, July 11, at 7:00 p.m. at the Church of St. Augustine of Canterbury in Wiesbaden, Germany. A limited number of family and essential personnel will be present in person for the ordination. These precautions are of course due to social distancing and health requirements resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

God and the Internet willing, the Ordination service will be broadcast both via Zoom (in order to involve the participants in Hawaii) and Facebook Live. Steve will be ordained by Bishop Edington on behalf of the Right Reverend Robert Fitzpatrick, Bishop of Hawaii . Bishop Fitzpatrick will be preaching at the ordination via Zoom from Hawaii.

Zoom link:
Meeting-ID: 959 1490 9466 
Passwort: 967742 

And here's where the Live video should appear on Facebook:

The Order of Service can be downloaded here
The Rev. Stephen McPeek , a native of Hawaii, was ordained to the transitional diaconate in June 2019 at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Honolulu, Hawaii, and began his 2-year curacy at St. Augustine of Canterbury on October 1, 2020. In addition to his work with the congregation, Steve works in mission development with the mission churches of the Convocation.

Steve earned a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in German Language and Literature from the University of Hawaii. He graduated in May 2019 from the Seminary of the Southwest with a Master of Divinity. Before attending the Seminary of the Southwest, Steve was a business owner and worked as operations manager for a campus of the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Steve is married to Rev. Vincent McTighe.. Together they are raising 8-year old Alexis. Steve has five adult children and nine grandchildren from his marriage with Lorna who passed away in 2006. Steve and Lorna served for 15 years with "Jugend mit einer Mission Deutschland (JMEM)" until 1997.
The Presiding Bishop's July 5 message to the Convocation
The Most Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate
of the Episcopal Church , preached a sermon on July 5, 2020 for the Churches of the Convocation .

View the Presiding Bishop's Sermon - here
A Word from Bishop Edington
Hard Ground

We are headed into a stretch of parables this month, all of which Jesus tells as an effort to help people understand what the kingdom of heaven is like. It is not always a comforting picture.

“Parables are not parallels,” my old preaching professor used to say, by which was intended a warning for young preachers to beware the trap of imagining one could by the skillful wagging of a finger line up the story of a parable with some set of circumstances, either historical or contemporary. Parables are poetry; they are meant to be evocative, not descriptive. There is no way to define the kingdom of heaven in terms of our usual descriptive categories. It simply eludes our desire to pin it down in descriptive terms.

Jesus, apparently, had a different preaching professor. Because at least in the case of the Parable of the Sower, Jesus goes on to make very direct parallels between the images in the story—the path, the thorns, the rocks, the soil—and the circumstances of the people who hear what he is preaching. There is no ambiguity.

And that’s just the problem.

The images of the kingdom of heaven that we will hear over the next few weeks are filled with fertility and the delirious joy of verdant growth. Seeds and weeds, wheat and chaff, soil and rocks—all of it speaks of God’s relentless, abundant creation. These weeks are filled with the joy and vitality of the ongoing creative acts of God. Those of us who are city-dwellers perhaps do not as readily see this, but the farmers know it instinctively.
But there is a problem picture here, as all farmers know. Things do not always grow as one hopes. Sometimes, things one does not much care for grows instead. It’s evident from Jesus’s own preaching that farmers have been battling weeds for thousands of years. So, as it turns out, has God.

Whatever else the kingdom of heaven is, from the parables we hear this month we know it is at least two things: profligate in opportunity, but selective in result. When the seed falls on hard ground, the opportunity offered does not find a receptive place to grow. When the weeds are separated and bound up, it is not because condemnation is intended; it is because an opportunity offered has been squandered. 

This time of pandemic and distancing has, in a very real way, completely cleared the ground. The whole church is like a field prepared anew for planting; the seeds have already been sown. God is generous in giving opportunity; it is given regardless of the reception it will receive. Our role, at least in the first instance, is to make up our minds what kind of ground we are prepared to be—whether our hardened, fearful hearts will make new growth impossible, or our willingness to allow God’s love to take root in us will make us fruitful.

See you in church,
‌
See also:
The Bishop's Pastoral Message
from June 5 on YouTube - here

Read: Bishop Edington's op-ed
from June 10 in Le Monde - here
(French and the original English version - here )
Farewell to the Rev. Allan Sandlin
Final Service on Sunday, July 19
The Church of the Ascension in Munich, Germany, bids farewell to the Rev. Allan Sandlin. Fr. Sandlin began his work at the Church of the Ascension on Easter Day 2019 as Interim Rector. In January 2020, he was made Priest in Charge. He will return to Atlanta, Georgia, USA. We will miss Allan and Gretchen. Allan's wisdom, his joy, and his loving presence have greatly enriched the Convocation

Bishop Edington will preside at his farewell service on Sunday, July 19, at 12:00 p.m.

The Rev. Dr. Alison Gray and the Rev. Clair Ullmann will preside at services until an interim is in place.

Upcoming Convocation Events
  • July 11: 7:00 p.m. Ordination of Stephen McPeek to Priesthood- St. Augustine, Wiesbaden




  • September 10-12: CAECG


  • Sept 28 - Oct 1: Clericus


  • October 15-18: TEC-ELKB dialogue - Augsburg, Germany
Online Worship in the Convocation
All Saints' Episcopal Church
Waterloo, Belgium
Online Worship Opportunities for Sundays and Weekdays

With many of 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.

Opportunities for in-person worship are also noted.
Times of in-person worship are also indicated. All times are (Central European Summer Time (CEST).

Worship on Sundays and during the week:

Sundays




  • Emmanuel Church, Geneva, SWITZERLAND
  • In-person worship Sunday 8:30: Holy Eucharist
  • In-person worship Sunday 10:30: Holy Eucharist (with instrumental music and cantors singing)
  • Services are live-streamed








Mondays

Tuesdays

Wednesdays

Thursdays

Fridays

Saturdays

** All live-streamed services are posted to the Cathedral  YouTube  and  Facebook  and may be accessed at any time.
Convocation Convention in Nice, October 22-24
Hybrid Event is Planned
2020 Convocation Convention in Nice
From Convention Secretary, the Rev. Deacon Richard Cole:

At its recent virtual meeting, the Council of Advice discussed preparations for our scheduled Convention in Nice this coming October.

I am writing to advise you that the Council has decided to make this year’s Convention a “hybrid” event, offering delegates the new possibility to participate, to the maximum extent, on a virtual basis - including voting.

We still plan to hold an in-person event. That event will necessarily be shaped by the strictures of these demanding times. Nevertheless, Council felt that, with the help of strong support and flexibility on the part of the organizing team in Nice, plans can and should go ahead for an in-person Convention, with an on-line, virtual attendance option.

It goes without saying that this decision is subject to there being no resurgence of the virus between now and then that would occasion new travel restrictions and border closings. Contingency plans are being made should Convention need to be held entirely on a virtual basis.


The clergy and people of Holy Trinity in Nice (a Church of England chaplaincy) have helped to host our Convention in Nice every ten years. Our former Episcopal parish in Nice, The Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, was merged into Holy Trinity in the early 1970s.
Holy Trinity Church in Nice
Vocational Discernment Weekend 
Friday through Sunday, 16-18 October 2020
¨Lord, give to your servant a discerning heart.¨
Vocational Discernment Weekend                                          

Sanctuaire Notre Dame de Laghet, Trinité, France

Friday through Sunday, 
16-18 October 2020

God calls every Christian to ministry. Discernment is about finding the voice of the Spirit of God speaking to us in the ordinary and practical details of our lives.
Come and explore. Come and begin to discern, to learn, to pray.


Welcome to the Discernment Weekend                                                  
Led by The Rev. Brendan Callaghan, SJ
Director of the Ignatian Spirituality Centre, Glasgow, Scotland

Offered by Bishop Mark Edington and the Commission on the Ministry of the Baptized
in the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe.

contacts: Mary Ellen priest1295@yahoo.fr; Dorothee  ddziewas@gmail.com

Information on the COMB webpage - here

Youth Ministry
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
The Convocation Youth were invited to submit creative ideas for a project called “ Pentecost Project 2020 ”, telling the story of Pentecost . What a wonderful result: a video featuring youth from throughout the Europe speaking the good news in the languages of our Convocation!
Dean Laird is featured on France24
The Very Reverend Lucinda Laird , Dean of our Cathedral, was featured on France24 this week in a program called "The 51 Percent" which focuses on women in leadership.
Convocation COVID-19 Webpage
Information in one place
Convocation COVID-19 Response
Please visit our webpage dedicated to our COVID-19 response, as well as other resources.

If you have things to add please send information to news@tec-europe.org
Congregational Plans for reopening churches - see the Bishop and Council of Advice directives on Regathering the Church Prayerfully and Intentionally here
Episcopal Asset Mapping
The Convocation is on the map! Visit us on the Episcopal Asset Map.

About five years ago, Canon Jere 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 .
Convocation Communications Committee
Trinité Magazine
Spring 2020 issue
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), Maleah Rios (Rome) 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.
Sermons Online

Did you miss Church?


Check out an on-line sermon:




See Bishop Edington's Sermon for Easter 2 - here
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 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 :
Regarding Allegations of Clergy Sexual Abuse
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:
"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 
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