November 2014 (nr. 146)

MAGAZINE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN HAARLEM Church

The Anglican Church of St. Anna & St. Mary Kinderhuissingel 74, 2013 AV HAARLEM

Priest-in-charge Vacant (if a locum priest is in residence the telephone number is 023 547 37 60, otherwise please contact the Secretary 020 645 71 03)

Reader

Jaap Theunisz, Tel: 023 537 42 42 Rijksstraatweg 541-III, 2025 DE HAARLEM

Warden

Martin van Bleek, Tel: 023 542 21 33 Pieter Kiesstraat 76, 2013 BK HAARLEM

Warden

Annelies Dix-Swart, Tel: 023 529 12 06 Heemsteedse Dreef 175, 2101 KD HEEMSTEDE

Secretary

Rob Uittenbosch, Tel: 020 645 71 03 Groenhof 260, 1186 GE AMSTELVEEN e-mail: [email protected]

Organist & Choirmaster

Martin van Bleek, Tel: 023 542 21 33 Pieter Kiesstraat 76, 2013 BK HAARLEM

Lifeline Editor

Philip Whittaker, Tel: 0341 45 35 07 Schaapskamp 7, 3849 PS HIERDEN e-mail: [email protected]

Website

www.anglican-church-haarlem.nl

The Anglican Church in Haarlem (Anglican-Episcopal) is part of the NW Europe Archdeaconry within the Diocese in Europe. It seeks to serve all English speaking people in the Haarlem area. All payments, donations, general, missions, subscriptions to Lifeline (€12.50/year), please to: Bank nr: NL87 INGB 0000 5776 41, Church of England Haarlem indicating purpose of payment (donation, mission, Lifeline, etc.) Lifeline contains the official Haarlem chaplaincy news and various articles. However, the views expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of the Chaplaincy or the Editor. All issues of Lifeline can be found on http://www.anglican-church-haarlem.nl/category/all/lifelines/

Thank God for inviting us to be part of his church The editor asked me to write a farewell article for Lifeline, at the occasion of my leaving the Old Catholic parish of Haarlem. My duties as Principal and Lecturer at the Old Catholic Seminary (based at Utrecht University) have expanded over the last five months. As it became clear that this will be a permanent situation, it became impossible to combine the organizational and theological work at the Seminary with being a parish priest. Happily, I will continue to do some parish work in the Old Catholic parish of Egmond aan Zee, but only as an assistant with limited duties. I will go and live in Alkmaar (address will follow in due course), where it will be easier to share part of the life of my sons Stijn (11) and Sem (9), who live in Egmond aan Zee. After nearly 4½ years I will say farewell at a Eucharist on Sunday 9 November at 4 pm. During the same service, the Bishop of Haarlem will institute my successor, the Revd Robert Frede. To my great pleasure, the Anglican choir has agreed to make a musical contribution to this service. For the Old Catholic parish it is fortunate that the change of parish priests can take place rather smoothly and without much of a rupture. I hope that Robert will also develop a good relationship with the Anglican congregation. I hope that my leaving the Old Catholic parish of Haarlem will not be the end of my contacts with the Anglican Church Haarlem. I have taken Anglican services, now and then, since I was ordained a priest in 1999, and of course my becoming the parish priest of Haarlem in 2010 – living ‘next door’ – made my presence more frequent, and for a while I made myself available for pastoral ‘emergencies’, something I later shared with Canon Emeritus Jake Dejonge. The fact that I feel so welcome among you, and the obvious ‘click’ that we experience concerning liturgy and music, makes me very thankful and makes me hope that the contacts will continue. But for your own sake, of course, I also hope that you will very soon have your own priest. After all these words about the actual changes, let me now reflect a little bit more on the ‘click’ I just mentioned. The click between Anglicans and Old Catholics is not only a personal one. There is also a formal click and this is called the ‘full communion’ between us. In our time, there is much relativization of church affiliation, summarized by sayings like, ‘There is onl y one God’. It seems to be irrelevant, to what institutional church you actually belong. Of course, there is a good side to this. I am young enough (born 1970) to have no personal experience of members of different churches behaving badly to one another. I have no wish to go back behind the ecumenical era. But it is another thing to say that it doesn’t matter to what church you belong. Different churches have, sometimes, very different opinions about the meaning of Christianity, reflected in such subjects a s 2

church, ministry and sacraments, but also social and moral teaching. The fact that Anglicans and Old Catholics are officially ‘in communion’ (since 1931) means that we recognize each other as fully ‘catholic’ churches (that is, churches which have all the ‘essentials’ of the Christian faith and church) and that – apart from different organizational structures – our churches are theologically and sacramentally one. For this reason, a combined service of our two congregations is not an ‘ecumenical’ service: we are not ecumenical partners (as for example the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church in The Netherlands), we are not ‘guests’ at each other’s pulpit and altar, but we officially belong together. This being true on our local level, it is also true on the more hierarchical level: at Anglican festivities, the Old Catholic bishops are not seated among the ‘ecumenical guests’, but among the ‘churches in communion’, and vice versa. You may find this all very formal and abstract. But there is a prac tical and spiritual side to it. That is the fact that we may feel ourselves entirely ‘at home’ with one another. When I am in England or the USA (or anywhere in the world), and I worship in a Church of England or Episcopal Church parish, I am not just tolerated, but I am entirely at home. The same applies to Anglicans who might find themselves worshipping in Old Catholic parishes in The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic or Poland. Abroad I have personally experienced with gratitude the spiritual value of not just being a guest, but being ‘at home’ in an Anglican church. The click we feel in liturgy and church music has to do with the way in which we worship. You could call it a moderately Catholic style of liturgy, and a Cathedral style of music. But behind this style is the contents of what we do, and why we do it this way. To name only two important things: behind our common liturgical style is belief in the incarnation and the resurrection : - belief in the incarnation: for only because God became human, is it possible to encounter God in earthly and human forms, like the sacraments (foremost Baptism and the Eucharist), the baptised people (we all) and the ordained people (deacons, priests, bishops). - belief in the resurrection: for only because Christ lives, is it possible to encounter him, through the power of the Spirit, in the liturgy we celebrate. Without the contents of our faith, the liturgy would merely be an empty vessel. But it is not. It is filled by the Spirit with the presence of Christ. That is what elevates a mere ritual to become Christian liturgy. That is what we experience when we feel a ‘click’. Not just the click between you and me, but the click with God and one another in the church. Thank God for allo wing us to be members of the church. Do not take it for granted. It is a precious gift. Mattijs Ploeger

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Music Matters Though the weather outside is not really keeping pace with the season of autumn – only 8 weeks to Christmas! The choir has of course been practising carols for a few weeks now, but we have temporarily avoided the snowy ones! Our Advent Season will begin with our Advent Carol Service at Sunday 30 November at 7.30 pm. Fr. Mattijs Ploeger will be taking that service. This annual service of hymns, lessons and carols focuses on the Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ and sets our mind on the way to Christmas and the birth of Jesus himself. Do join us for that service and the fellowship after the service. On Saturday 13 December our Church Choir and the Anglican Singers will be singing Christmas carols at the Christmas Fair at Middachten Castle (approx. 1 pm, 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm). Each year the castle is wonderfully decorated for Christmas; there are ample opportunities to admire the splendid rooms and to peruse the stalls, buy home made jams, pâtés, etc, have a drink and of course listen to the choir! This year the theme is a Victorian Christmas. In the evening the choir will be singing the annual Carol Service in the Lutherse Kerk, Spoorwegstraat 8-10 in Arnhem at 7 pm. On Sunday 14 December our service of Holy Communion will be followed by Advent Tea and Christmas Bring and Buy. There will be plenty to buy, but, as noted elsewhere in Lifeline we are also counting on your contributions! On Saturday 20 December the Anglican Singers, together with our church choir, will sing the annual Carol Concert in aid of the maintenance of the historic Kunckel organ. The concert begins at 8.15 pm. After the concert there will be drinks in the church hall. Hopefully the weather will be kind to the organ! Frost lowers the humidity in church and this can have an effect on the organ and produce some strange sound effects outside the control of the organist! There will be a short said Eucharist in church on Sunday 21 December, with the choir rehearsing around the service for the Christmas Eve services. The Christmas Eve Choral Eucharist will be at its usual time of 6 pm, followed by the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at 8 pm. These services are the culmination of the Advent season and a joyful and festive celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ! We hope you will all join us for these important services in our church life! Fr Jake DeJonge will be taking both services; we are happy to have Fr.Jake and his wife Irene with us for these services. Over the Advent and Christmas period we hope we shall sing most of your favourite carols, a few new compositions, but also the well known carols. If you are looking for a nice musical Christmas present, don’t forget the Christmas CD ‘Lo! He comes’ which features our choir together with singers from the other choirs in our Archdeaconry. (€ 15.- is good value!). It will be on sale at the Christmas Bring and Buy, but if you would like one before or after that event, please let me know either before or after one of our services. 4

Our first service in the New Year will be on 4 January with a Choral Eucharist, probably followed by the New Year Vespers of the Rt. Revd. Dick Schoon, the Old Catholic Bishop of Haarlem. Our choir will be singing at both services. Our choir will also be joining the European Cathedral Singers for a long weekend of services in Coventry Cathedral from Friday 13 - Sunday 15 February. On the Friday the service will be in commemoration of the Dresden Bombing. This will be a Civic service, probably with representatives from Dresden as Dresden and Coventry are twinned. The music will be chosen accordingly. With all good wishes for a blessed Advent and Christmas season! Martin A. van Bleek, Organist and choirmaster

♫♫♫♫ Stir up! In a couple of weeks, in the liturgical year, we enter the season of Advent, a time when traditionally people were preparing for Christmas; when attention was being given to Christmas presents, and to the food to be consumed on Christmas Day. One of the central ‘works of art’ was the Christmas pudding. In the week before Advent commenced the first steps were taken in the making of this pudding, the mixing of all the ingredients being often done by mother and children. In the service on the Sunday before Advent, people would have smiled when the priest said the collect for that day: Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by you be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. This call for stirring up reminded them of that annual ritual. The collect doesn’t mention the baking element, but instead calls upon all of us to reflect on the good things we receive from God and to be generous to those around us. On TV we often hear about budgets, cutting costs, and recently the upheaval with countries being required to contribute more towards Europe. The reaction is understandable - nations act in a similar way as individuals. We prefer receiving to sharing; being generous is not overly developed in our society at large. As Christians we are asked to wait for the coming of the Kingdom. This doesn’t mean sitting on our hands and letting others or even God do everything. We are called to do our utmost to share God’s grace, by being with others and supporting them, whoever they are and whatever their needs. Fr. Joop 5

In Memoriam

Monica Scott (née Drew) (Cheam, 9 October 1938 – Aerdenhout, 4 September 2014) It was with great sadness that we record the death of Monica Scott. Monica had become a much loved member of Haarlem church since she and John joined Haarlem church in 2000, and her fortitude and cheerfulness in her struggle with cancer the last few years was admired by all. Monica’s funeral was held in Jordanstown, N.Ireland where she was buried in John’s family grave. Monica was born in Cheam, Surrey on October 9th 1938, went to school in Wimbledon and college in Kingston. She worked as librarian and in publishing and journalism, until she moved to Northern Ireland in 1964, where she married John a year later. They lived for a while in Montreal, where Fiona was born, and then moved to The Netherlands where Niall and Ellen were born. During this time Monica taught in Sunday School at the English Reformed Church, Amsterdam. After a period in Houston in the late 1970s the family moved back to The Netherlands, where Monica became Secretary at the American Protestant Church of The Hague. In her early Dutch years Monica played violin in two local amateur orchestras. Scouting became her principal volunteer work, mainly in the role of adult training in an area stretching from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. She founded a Cub Scout Pack at the International School of Amsterdam where she remained as Cubmaster until her death. She obtained an MA in adult education and was recognized for her work in Scouting with the US Silver Beaver Award and a James E. West Fellowship. We extend our deep condolences to John and their children May her soul rest in peace and awake to a joyful resurrection.

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From Ms Miscellaneous I have too many subjects to choose from for this Lifeline! Should I write about how our hedgehog family is doing? Or about the delicious steak-and-kidney-pie Sue Akker made for the choir (even my children loved it – but I confess I did not point out the kidney bits while they were eating…)? About several thought-provoking sermons I have heard over the last few weeks: Fr. Derek Akker: hope is believing despite the evidence, and then watching the evidence change; Bishop Dick Schoon: rejoice in being invited to God’s wedding feast and don’t complain over small things or think your worldly trials and tribulations are more important? Or about a book I read recently, called The Choir (by Joanna Trollop), which made me crack up with laughter, recognizing so much from our own choir and church? Or about why it made me cry when I tried out the suggestion of praying by not saying anything, but by just looking at God and letting Him look at me? Then, maybe I could write about the amazingly personal, open and inspiring discussions in the Chocolat pre-advent course? I never thought a movie featuring lots of chocolate, Juliette Binoche, Judy Dench and Johnny Depp, would be so suitable to discuss the role Jesus and our faith play in our lives... And yet another possibility would be to ponder on my daughter’s indignation with her class mates when they throw in ‘the Bible says so’ in their debates without ever having read the book, or about my son’s feeling quite at home in his Dad’s church community but at the same time proclaiming to be an atheist. I just cannot decide. Maybe it is a sign of our times, at least in our affluent part of the world, that we have the luxury – or misfortune? – to have too much to choose from. This, in turn, distracts us all too easily from the things that really matter. Luckily I have the choir, which is intensifying preparations for Christmas, to remind me every week to prepare myself for one of the principal events of the year: the birth of Christ. And despite the dark days and sometimes gloomy weather that will be a joyful thing to do! Veronique Ruiz p.s. If your curiosity is provoked by one of the mentioned subjects, please let me know and I’ll know what to write about next time…

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Bishop Robert’s vision for Europe

J. Theunisz

During last month’s Archdeaconry Synod in Drongen, Belgium, our new bishop used one of the first sessions to give us an account of the events leading up to and following his consecration. In addition he gave us a glimpse of his vision for the church in the Diocese. He started by emphasizing that a vision is not (to be) imposed by a leader, but discerned corporately. It can be called an exercise in “missional map making”. The Spirit blows wherever He wills. What God is doing is then recognized and blessed, with attention to coherence. However, the bishop already identified three areas worth giving priority to: 1. The character of our churches. They should be healthy places of prayer and authentic worship, as opposed to “expat clubs”. There should be an openness and willingness to change and a flexibility to (sometimes physically) move to where the needs are. A church must be open to children and young people, with ample attention to safeguarding. Videos and other training material on safeguarding are being developed. The Diocese deserves good leadership – the best pastors. We should have a clear mission and purpose and involve lay members. Our spiritual lifestyle and nurture should be intentional rather than accidental. 2. Diversity and culture. The bishop likes to encourage a spirit of welcome as well as invitation towards a diversity of cultures. “The future is rainbow”, he added. There should also be a concern for the poor, which is the same point that has been made by pope Francis. The bishop also mentioned the Global Freedom Initiative, attacking modern slavery. This initiative is supported by the archbishop of Canterbury, the pope [and the Grand Imam of Egypt, the highest Sunni Muslim cleric] and funded by Australian billionaire and mining magnate Andrew Forrest. 3. Ecumenical relationships. This goes a step further than being welcoming. We are to actively contribute to the country’s religious life. The PORVOO AnglicanLutheran cooperation serves as an example. As Anglicans we are in a unique position to act as a bridge-church. We can work for freedom of conscience and be proactive as to where we plant churches. For instance, the Riviera used to be a place where many English speaking people went, but nowadays more and more are to be found in Eastern Europe. A full time priest has been installed in Warsaw and Poland is one of the growth areas. Sometimes it is difficult to be self-funding, but partnerships may help.

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In the discussion that followed, the use of local languages was addressed. To many people English is the language of liberation, enabling international connections. On the other hand, local models are often to be preferred above imported ones. The bishop promised to keep us informed via the Diocesan website, and ended by asking us to pray for him and for good cooperation between his senior staff. It is probably too early to tell what the new priorities could mean for our local church, but let us indeed pray for bishop Robert and his staff as they work to support all of us in fulfilling our calling in the kingdom of God.

 Christmas Bring and Buy After our service on Sunday 14 December we will be having our annual Christmas Bring and Buy during the Advent Tea. There will be lots of goodies to buy for the festive season, but we are also counting on your contributions! You may bring them on the day, or you can bring them to any of the preceding services. Please see either Annelies Dix or Martin van Bleek. We will also be producing a flyer for distribution during the coming services.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ Boxing Day Drinks Mary and Leendert Brunt have invited us to their house again for our traditional Boxing Day drinks from 12 -2pm on Sunday 26 December. Their address is Vaumontlaan 20 in Heemstede. Please let Mary know whether you are coming or not.

A smile A smile costs nothing, but gives much. It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it can last forever. No one is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and no one is so poor that he can be made rich by it. A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in business and is the countersign of friendship. It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad and it is nature's best antidote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile - give them one of yours, as no one needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give. (author unknown)

[with thanks to Marga Beekman]

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Should you require further information about a service or event please contact our secretary Rob Uittenbosch (020 6457103) Sunday 2 November All Saints Trinity 20

14.30

Choral Eucharist Retiring collection for Mission

Wednesday 5 November 19.30

Healing Service and Compline

Sunday 9 November Remembrance Sunday

14.30

Remembrance Service – Sung Eucharist with hymns

16.00

Farewell service Rev. Mattijs Ploeger and welcoming the new Old Catholic priest for Haarlem Rev. Robert Frede Celebrant: the Bishop, the Rt.Rev. Dick Schoon

10.00

Coffee morning at the home of Mrs. Daphne van Wijk

Tuesday 11 November

Sunday 16 November 14.30 2nd Sunday before Advent

Evening Prayer and Eucharist

Sunday 23 November 14.30 Sunday next before Advent “Christ the King”

Evening Prayer (said)

Sunday 30 November 19.30 Advent Sunday

Advent Carol Service: carols, readings, hymns for Advent

Sunday 7 December Advent 2

14.30

Choral Eucharist Retiring collection for Mission

Tuesday 9 December

10.00

Coffee morning at the home of Mrs. Ann van Egmond 10

Wednesday 10 December 19.30

Healing Service and Compline

Saturday 13 December 13.00

Our choir will sing Carols at Castle Middachten

19.00

Our choir will sing the Carol Service in the Lutheran Church in Arnhem.

Sunday 14 December 14.30 Advent 3

Sung Eucharist, followed by the Advent Tea and “Bring & Buy”

Saturday 20 December

Christmas Carol Concert in our church, sung by our choir and The Anglican Singers

20.15

Sunday 21 December 14.30 Advent 4

Holy Eucharist (said)

Wednesday 24 December Christmas Eve

18.00

Choral Eucharist on Christmas Eve

20.00

Service of Nine Lessons and Carols

Friday 26 December

12.0014.00

(provisional) Boxing Day drinks at the home of Mary & Leendert Brunt

Sunday 28 December 14.30 1st Sunday of Christmas

Eucharist (said)

Sunday 4 January Epiphany

14.30

Choral Eucharist

16.00

Choral Old Catholic Vespers; our choir will participate refreshments will be served after the service

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LIFELINE MAGAZINE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH HAARLEM afzender: Schaapskamp 7, 3849 PS HIERDEN (ISSN 0920 – 6914)