newsletter Advents Impuls December St. Martin s Kirche, Rathausplatz Sunday December 23rd Christmas Party

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1 building a community of grace anglican church in freiburg Minister: Rev. Robin Stockitt stockitt@t-online.de newsletter December 2012 TELEPHONE Address: Petrus Gemeinde, Lorettostrasse 59, Freiburg Advents Impuls December St. Martin s Kirche, Rathausplatz Each year St. Martin s Church orgainses a series of quiet meditations early in the evening during the season of Advent for the benefit of those people visiting the Weihnachtsmarkt. We - the Anglican Church in Freiburg - are always invited to participate in offering an Impuls. This is a short service lasting minutes and it is a time of a time of quiet and prayerful reflection. If you are visiting the market on December 14, do come along! Sunday December 23rd Christmas Party This year, we'll have our annual Christmas party immediately following the church service on Sunday, 23rd December. We'll begin with a shared lunch, enjoy some games, sing carols and maybe have a visit by a certain personality dressed in red! Contact Judith Moratscheck or Linda Sloan-Ecker and be on the look-out for the flyers and sign-up sheets. Bank Details: Anglican Church in Freiburg: Sparkasse Freiburg Konto Nr.: BLZ:

2 ANGLICAN CHURCH IN FREIBURG NEWSLETTER! PAGE 2 Services in December December All Age Worship Taize Service with Holy Communion December Holy Communion December Morning Worship December Holy Communion December All Age Christmas Day Holy Communion December Morning Worship Mid week groups at the Church December Men s Breakfast December Roots and Shoots Bible Study December Women s Prayer Group December Women s Prayer Group Robin s day off is Monday Every Tuesday morning Women s Group The Great Advent Interruption Challenge During the coming season of Advent, which begins on Sunday 2nd December, we consider what it means to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ into our lives. May I invite you this year to take part in The Great Advent Interruption Challenge. The idea is this: most of us lead busy lives, full of important things to do and deadlines to meet. I wonder what would happen if we intentionally interrupted each day at a specific time (let s say midday), stopped what we were doing, and prayed one specific prayer. Here is the prayer, it taken from Ephesians For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord s people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Amen January Newsletter If you have any items for the January newsletter, would you please send them to Robin by December 23rd. Thanks. Now you could pray that for yourself, or you could insert the name of someone you know and love, someone you have just met, someone you work with, someone you find hard to get on with... It is a truly wonderful prayer and who knows what might happen if we took up the challenge to interrupt our lives each day? Advent Interruption prayer cards, with the prayer printed on them, will be available to take with you, on the Welcome Desk on December 2nd. The Anglican Church in Freiburg is a part of the Diocese in Europe of the Church of England. It is also in partnership with the Anglican Church in Basel, where Rev. Geoff Read is the minister.. Tel: admin@anglicanbasel.ch

3 ANGLICAN CHURCH IN FREIBURG NEWSLETTER! PAGE 3 New Archbishop of Canterbury Recently the Church of England announced the appointment of the next Archbishop of Canterbury. The current Archbishop, Rowan Williams is due to retire at the end of this year after 10 years in the position. His successor, Justin Welby, will be installed in March The position of Archbishop of Canterbury is a demanding one. Not only is he the head of the Church of England (of which we are a part) but also the head of the Anglican Communion worldwide. There are Anglican Churches in 165 different countries and 85 million members. Justin Welby spent the earlier part of his life working in the oil industry and has extensive experience in reconciliation work, particularly in Nigeria. He faces a very difficult task over the next few years and will need our prayerful support. Women Bishops in the Church of England Recently the General Synod of the Church of England voted narrowly to reject the proposal that women priests may become bishops. For many this was a great disappointment after years of discussion. In some other parts of the Anglican Communion worldwide however, women bishops are permitted. Caring for God s creation POP Protect our Planet Striving for a sustainable culture founded on Christian faith Genesis 1:29-30 I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground everything that has the breath of life in it I give every green plant for food. And it was so. God saw what he had created and God saw that it was good. - But what have we humans since done to God s creation and its natural food cycle? - Did you know there is a group of people in our church who have formed a group to look into just these issues? - Did you know our coffee team have been using fair trade coffee and organic food? - Have you noticed that after the All Age Service there has been special wholesome, organic food on the table? Nick and Christine have been busy making organic treats for you. No? Then take a closer look at the coffee table following the next All Age Service on 2 nd December. If you are interested in learning more about our environment and Christianity then make a note of 29 th January in your diary. We hope to be showing a film on gene manipulated foods that evening. More details to follow in January. Please speak to Margaret Bredow for further information. Caring for God s creation is an essential part of our life as Christian disciples. To help you think about this issue from a theological and biblical perspective, some reflections have been added to our ACF website ( Take a look for yourselves!

4 ANGLICAN CHURCH IN FREIBURG NEWSLETTER! PAGE 4 Church Wardens Training Day. Two personal reflections. While many of you were enjoying yourselves at the bazaar 27 th October, Almut Schulz and I were enjoying ourselves in Hamburg. We were part of a group of fourteen churchwardens from chaplaincies in Heidelberg, Stuttgart, Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki and Riga meeting together at St. Thomas Becket Anglican Church in Hamburg. Under the leadership of Archdeacon Jonathan Lloyd and our host, Revd Matthew Jones, we learned about the duties and responsibilities of churchwardens. We discovered a great deal about the special nature of our European Diocese and the workings of Anglican structures. We got to grips with log books, terriers* and registers! Jonathan encouraged us too, to look more closely at aspects in our own chaplaincies where more attention to detail might be needed, and provided us with useful links on where to find information, facts and guidance. It was a great time for fellowship, getting to know each other, learning, praying and sharing wonderful meals together. It was fascinating to hear the stories told by other wardens of what problems they faced and what blessings they enjoyed. Above all, this weekend taught us that we, the ACF in Freiburg, are not alone, but are part of a network of churches within the Diocese of Europe. It was an inspiring and instructive weekend spent with delightful and dedicated people. Many thanks to the Anglican Church in Hamburg for their wonderful hospitality and to Jonathan Lloyd for providing this opportunity for us to come together, for his instruction, his empathy and his encouragement. Judith Moratscheck * A terrier is an inventory of property. Mastering the art of mystical churchwardening The last weekend in October Judith and I went for 24 hours of training to Hamburg.Archdeacon Jonathan LLoyd and Fr Matthew Jones (Chaplain at Hamburg) had invited us to St Thomas Becket Anglican Church. Fourteen churchwardens from parishes in Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Finland and Germany met and. It was good to come to a place where you felt immediately welcome and at home and to get to know the other churchwardens and share ideas. There was a sense of belonging together between us. the course included the nuts and bolts of the role of churchwarden as Bishop's Officer, as well as the Church Representation Rules, Synodical structures, Annual Accounts, Duty of Care for the Chaplain, making Church Councils more mission-focused and effective and other important areas of church life (Jonathan Lloyd). Up to then I thought a terrier is a dog. Now I know every church should have one ( a terrier, not a dog) Almut Schulz

5 ANGLICAN CHURCH IN FREIBURG NEWSLETTER! PAGE 5 Getting to know ourselves is a column in the monthly newsletter, written by Daphne Norwood, with the purpose of providing information so that we may know one another better. This month we have chosen two members of our congregation, Ella Teale and Johann Hochbruck, who Jesus thinks are pretty special. In Mark 10:14b Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. It was a pleasure for me to get to know Ella and Johann and I am sure it will be for you too. Ella is a delightful young lady with a twinkle in her eye. She is a big sister of Evelyn and Hugh and the daughter of Will and Ceri. Something else special about Ella is her talent in recorder playing. Ella Born Freiburg Times moved 2 Languages spoken 2 Favorite place in the world at the sea in Cornwall Favorite holiday Christmas, Easter and Birthday Favorite book Famous Five by Enid Blyton Favorite movie Mary Poppins Favorite music Everything with Recorder and drums Favorite Bible Story The story of Adam and Eve What Bible person would you like to be Jesus, because he helps people and he is good. What do you think about Jesus- He is good and can be trusted. If you were allowed to take Robin's place on Sunday what would you say- I would tell the people about Jesus and other Bible stories. Johann is a friendly young man with a serious but also a lively look in his eyes. Surely he doesn't miss much of what is happening around him. He lives with an older sister, Josephine and parents, Wolfgang and Sabine. Johann Born Stuttgart, Germany Times moved 6 Languages spoken 2 Favorite place in the world Yellowstone USA Favorite holiday Christmas Favorite book The Under Docks by Andreas Schlüter Favorite movie G-Force Favorite music Wise Guys, Boogie Connection (very popular in Waldkirch) Favorite Bible Story Psalm 23 about the good shepherd What Bible person would you like to be John the Baptist What do you think about Jesus Jesus has always been there If you were allowed to take Robins place on Sunday what would you say - I would talk to the people about taking care of the earth and about the danger of nuclear power.