Anglican Diocese in Europe

Transcription

1 Anglican Diocese in Europe St. Clement s Church, Prague, Czech Republic Parish Profile Services are held in a church building belonging to the Church of the Czech Evangelical Brethren (a united Reformed/Lutheran denomination) to whom we pay rent and with whom we have a very friendly association. The church is, however, only available for use on Sundays. We also have access to a small hall (used for coffee hour after church) and a committee room (used for Sunday school, council meetings and so on). As part of the Church of England s desire to strengthen its ecumenical relationships following Lambeth 98 the St Clement s congregation became in 2000 the Englishspeaking parish of the Old Catholic Church in the Czech Republic according to the terms of a covenant signed between Bishop Dušan Hejbal and Bishop John Hind. This covenant gives legal status as a church to the St Clement s congregation. St Clement s continues to be part of the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe. The two bishops exercise joint supervision of the church, the Old Catholic bishop is the formal Ordinary and the English bishop is Coadjutor, with significant decisions being reached by consensus. The parish is made up primarily of English-speaking expatriates who are in Prague temporarily, typically on two to five year contracts. This group comes mainly from the United Kingdom and United States, but there are a number of Commonwealth countries represented as well (currently including; Australia, Canada, Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria and South Africa), as well as other English-speakers. The regular worshippers are from a wide variety of church backgrounds. The majority are either Anglican or Episcopalian, from the High Church, Liberal and Evangelical branches and various combinations of the above! A significant minority of the members are not from an Anglican background at all, at present these range from Roman Catholic to Quaker. St Clement s tends to attract worshippers who prefer a more formal style of worship. The large number of expatriates has meant that the congregation is a very fluid one, with key members constantly leaving, to be replaced by others. There is, however, an increasingly significant and important group of permanent residents comprising mainly expatriates who are married to Czech spouses, but including also some English-speaking Czech nationals and a few retirees who have settled in Prague some on a part time basis. At the last AGM 59 names were recorded on the Electoral Roll. Currently the Eucharist is celebrated in such a way that people from a variety of traditions can feel at home, whether high or low church. The style might be characterised as dignified informality.

2 Sunday services Services are held at 11:00 am each Sunday. These usually take the form of a Sung Eucharist. When the chaplain is away and no locum is available, the service takes the form of Morning Prayer. The church council is currently experimenting with occasional non-eucharistic Family Services as there are a growing number of families with young children in the congregation. This is a very encouraging development, but it also poses a new challenge, as the congregation needs to establish suitable programmes for the children and to be alongside the family units - providing support and friendship. Weekday Services Evening services are held on Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday (which is not a public holiday in the Czech Republic). Services have also been held on Ascension Day (these have recently taken the form of outdoor Eucharist services and home communions, but have not been very well supported). On a few occasions services have been held for festivals such as All Souls, but there has been very little support for these from the congregation. Midweek Meetings Bible Study Groups have met regularly each week since Numbers attending have varied from 4 to 14 (with three groups operating in various geographic areas at one stage). The weekly Prayer Breakfast (which includes a study/discussion component) has been very popular with congregation members who work late hours. Occasional seminar series have been held on topics as diverse as The Church and Homosexuality ; An understanding of, and an appropriate Response to the Roma Question in the Czech Republic, A Christian response to Climate Change ; The Kingdom of God and Anglicanism. These short courses have been very well supported and greatly appreciated by the congregation and have often participants from outside the congregation. During Lent a Lent Course usually replaces the usual evening Bible Study. An Alpha course, which had 12 participants, was held in Currently we are seeking to develop a relationship with Nová skola, a Czech charity that seeks to improve the educational opportunities of Roma and other disadvantaged children. Pastoral Oversight Very few expatriates remain in Prague after retirement age, and most chronically or terminally ill patients return to their countries of origin, consequently the chaplain has a much lighter Home Communion and hospital visiting load than in a typical parish in the U.K. There are also very few funerals to conduct and consequently less bereavement counselling. However, there is a very important pastoral role of a different sort.

3 Expatriates often find themselves outside their comfort zones, away from their usual support systems of family and friends. Single people, especially, might find the experience of moving to a foreign city a lonely one. In addition to this married couples sometimes find themselves in a situation where one spouse is suddenly heavily committed to a demanding new professional role, while the other spouse (usually, but not always, the wife) is suddenly very alone with no access to the support of friends and family and no ready baby sitters. They may also find it hard to define their role in a society where they have no contacts. This can lead to strains within the marriage. There is a great need for sensitive support and counselling in these circumstances. Cross-cultural marriages and families also have strained dynamics on occasions. Many members of the expatriate community work long and arduous hours, but initiatives like the St Clement s weekly Prayer Breakfast need to be devised to address the situation in an imaginative and effective way. Because there is in some ways less time pressure on the chaplain he has been able to spend more time on the preparation of families anticipating baptism and of couples anticipating marriage. Cross-cultural weddings, requiring as they often do the use of Czech and English and with those marrying perhaps living in UK or elsewhere, can be very time consuming, but also very worthwhile. There are a number of established English-speaking congregations in Prague - ranging from Baptist and Christian Fellowship to Roman Catholic. However, the total number of members and adherents is a fraction of the number of English-speakers actually living in Prague at any one time. Encouragement of imaginative outreach should therefore be a priority for the chaplain. The present chaplain meets with pastors from the other English-speaking congregations in Prague for a monthly prayer meeting. There is regular contact for mutual support and a good spirit of comradeship exists among the ministers. Living Conditions in Prague Prague is a charming city with some lovely parks, a variety of restaurants and an excellent programme of concerts, opera and ballet. The integrated public transport system (bus, tram and metro) is frequent, reliable and inexpensive. There are a number of supermarkets and modern shopping centres, and most electrical items, clothing, sports equipment etc can be purchased locally. While the chaplain s remuneration is slightly lower than that which would be expected in the United Kingdom, the cost of living in the Czech Republic is still lower than that of the UK and so the chaplain s standard of living should be comparable to British levels. There are at present cheap flights to many UK airports. The chaplaincy flat is in a complex built in the last three years and in reasonable walking distance from the terminus of the tram which passes the church (approximately 20 minutes to the nearest tram stop to the church) and somewhat closer to a bus stop, which has a frequent service to the terminus of one of the Metro lines and the airport bus. The flat itself has two double bedrooms, a study for the chaplain, a toilet and shower and a separate bathroom with a second toilet. The living room has an open plan

4 kitchen and is quite large. There are three balconies and there is a fairly large storage room in the basement of the building. No underground parking space was purchased when the flat was bought, but there is some limited road parking. The parish is not currently in a position to provide the chaplain with a car. Education There are a number of English international schools in the area. The largest and most expensive is the American backed International School of Prague. They have a fine, purpose built campus and offer the International Baccalaureate course. [ The English International School is owned by the Noord Anglia Corporation. They have recently moved to a new campus and extended from Primary only to include Secondary Education. They follow the IB programme. [ The British International School of Prague was recently taken over by the teachers from a private owner. The parent body have been very faithful and the school seems to be flourishing. They too offer the IB programme. Riverside International School is the smallest of the four schools with about 300 students from age three to eighteen. The primary school offers the British curriculum, with SATS papers in English, Science and Maths, but with some modifications in the other subjects in recognition of its international nature. The high school has a fairly limited subject choice. Students are entered for IGCSE exams as well as A-levels. The school is a recognised Cambridge examination centre. Parallel to this, students wishing to study further in the United States follow a course of study which qualifies them for university entrance in the US. The school is contemplating starting an IB programme at a future date. [ Riverside School does offer bursaries and there is some chance of 100% fees being paid to children of full-time Christian workers. This is specifically designed for the children of missionaries, a chaplain's family may well get a sympathetic consideration. All inquiries to this effect would have to be addressed directly to the director, Mr Peter Daish. [director@riversideschool.cz] Cost of Living The Economist magazine reckons that its Big Mac Index of prices is as good as any way of giving the comparable costs of living. The last survey published was July 2007 when a Big Mac in Britain cost 1.99 and in CR 52.9czk. If the exchange rate then was 40czk to the then it suggests that a Big Mac cost the equivalent of 1.32 here. Presently the price in London was said to be 18% more than the US$ equivalent and that in Prague 27% less than US$. Taking the Big Mac Index it would seem that the cost of living in CR is 33.66% less than UK. Prices in Prague are estimated to go up 5% in 2008 (and local salaries up by 8%). Undoubtedly prices especially transport and food are going up, though there has been a big drop in income tax for 2008 down to 15%. This is unlikely to last and is likely offset by new Social Insurance taxes (in 2009) February 2008 \\Icsserver\chaplaincies\2008\Prague\Recruitment\Prague - Parish Profile.doc 6 February 2008

5 Appendix St Clement's, Prague - Financial Information Stipend The total stipend (current sterling equivalent of 15,120 p.a.) enables the priest to enjoy a similar standard of living in Prague to that enjoyed by a priest in England, and is reviewed annually. Stipend is presently paid in sterling but this is under review. For those in the UK tax and benefit system, NI Class II insurance is currently paid by ICS and application for exemption from UK income tax will be made by ICS. C of E national minimum stipend will be 19,640 from 1 April Pension For priests in the C of E pension scheme, the appointment until now enjoyed one of the pensions concessions given to ICS as a mission agency by the Central Stipends Authority so that his pension contributions will be met by the CSA. An application will be made by ICS for this to be re-allocated to the new chaplain. Residence Pat anka 2614/11b, , Praha 6 Dejvice, Czech Republic The modern flat has a total area of 108.3sq.mtrs including corridors and balconies. There is a kitchen/diner/living room of 25.8sq.mtrs, 3 bedrooms one of which is a study. There is also a w.c./shower and a w.c./bathroom. There is also a cellar for storage. Furnishings The flat is partly furnished and more details will be given nearer to appointment. The new chaplain will need to provide crockery, cutlery, kitchen utensils and probably a double bed. It will have desks, bookcases, two single beds, three wardrobes, three chests of drawers, dining room table and chairs, settee, curtains, fridge, appliances and shelving in the cellar and possibly a filing cabinet. Location From the church s regular place of worship the flat is minutes by public transport. Expenses met by Council Rates; utilities and telephone (the Chaplain will be expected to pay for private telephone usage) Usual expenses of office, attendance at ICS Conference for chaplain and family, and contribution towards annual travel to the UK Annual Leave Six weeks paid annual leave as per the Diocesan Terms and Conditions of Service.

6 Medical Cover Currently the Chaplaincy pays Exeter Friendly Society for chaplain and spouse. Policy number Overseas Plan level B (There are 4 levels this is 2nd highest). The chaplaincy is investigating Czech health care insurance/provision and further information will be given at the interview. Emergency travel The cost of emergency travel to and from the UK for the chaplain and his wife to visit seriously ill next of kin, in the event of death of next of kin, or of serious illness of the chaplain or his wife or dependent children necessitating repatriation to the UK, will be shared between ICS and the chaplaincy. Local law Registering with Foreign Police and Financial Office for Prague 6 is essential. Travel costs Travel costs at the start of the appointment will be paid by the chaplaincy, as well as for the formal visit prior to taking up the appointment. Travel costs to the port of entry in the UK at the end of the appointment will be shared between ICS and the chaplaincy (except when moving to another appointment in the Diocese in Europe when 50% will be paid). Removal costs Removal costs at the start of the appointment up to an agreed maximum will be shared by ICS and the chaplaincy. Removal costs to the port of entry in the UK up to an agreed maximum will be shared between ICS and the chaplaincy (except when moving to another appointment in the Diocese in Europe when 50% will be paid). Confirmation of the above and further details will be available from the chaplaincy representatives at the interview.