Cérémonie de rentrée académique de la FUTP Bruxelles

Le 11 octobre, le chapelain-président, en sa qualité de professeur titulaire d'histoire moderne à la FUTP Bruxelles, a participé à une joyeuse cérémonie de rentrée académique et de remise de diplômes, organisée à la chapelle royale de Bruxelles. En plus des diplômes habituels de bachelier et de master en théologie, les nouveaux certificats universitaires proposés par la FUTP en études afropéennes, en dialogue interreligieux et en islamologie ont produit un nombre de récipiendaires massivement élargi. La cérémonie est suivie d'une conviviale réception, occasion surtout pour les professeurs de rencontrer les familles fières des étudiants.

Session d'information chez le Ministère de la Justice

Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

Le 10 octobre, le Secrétaire Général et la Deuxième Secrétaire ont participé à une séance d’information offerte par le Ministère de la Justice concernant la collecte et le contrôle des extraits de casier judiciaire des ministres du culte et délégués de la Laïcité.

Le Comité central souhaite que chacun, en particulier les mineurs et les adultes vulnérables, se sente bienvenu et à l'aise, que ce soit dans nos bureaux ou dans l'une de nos paroisses. Le Comité central tient alors à s'assurer que tous ses ministres ont effectué toutes les vérifications nécessaires en matière de protection des personnes vulnérables.

The Central Committee at the EU Institutions

On 8 October, the Chaplain-President was busy in the European Commission for a session led by Frans van Daele, EU Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief, after which he went to the European Parliament. Later that day, the Chaplain-President, the Revd Sarah-Jane King (chaplain at St Martha and St Mary Leuven) and M. Balthazar Nahimana (worship-leader at Saint-Esprit Mons) were the Anglican attendees at the Prière oecuménique de la Rentrée at the Chapelle de l'Europe (the Jesuit and ecumenical mission to workers in the EU Institutions), led by Bishop Robert, Archbishop Luc Terlinden (who preached) and other church leaders. This was followed by a delicious reception.

Malines Conversations Centenary

On 7 October, the Chaplain-President was invited by the Archbishop of Malines-Bruxelles for lunch at the Archbishop's Palace in Mechelen with the Catholic group overseeing the centenary celebrations of the Malines Conversations of 1921-1927, the first serious ecumenical conversations between the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church since their separation in 1534. Centenary plans were well-prepared for 2021, but the covid pandemic interrupted these. A major conference involving the Catholic and Anglican Churches and KU Leuven is now planned for 18-21 September 2025. The gap in our photo shows the plaque on the actual table in the Archbishop's Palace which was used for the Malines Conversations, with a portrait behind of Cardinal Désiré-Joseph Mercier, who spearheaded them.

Licensing of the Revd Sarah-Jane King as Anglican chaplain in Leuven

On 6 October, the Chaplain-President, Secretary-General and Second Secretary were delighted to attend the licensing of our friend and colleague Sarah-Jane King as the new priest-in-charge of St Martha and St Mary Leuven.  The Anglican parish in Leuven currently uses two Catholic buildings for worship, the chapel of Justus-Lipsiuscollege and the chapel of Amerikaanscollege, and this service took place in the American College chapel. A packed congregation, including many ecumenical friends from the Catholic and Evangelical Churches, watched the Venerable Sam van Leer, archdeacon of Benelux, license Sarah-Jane on behalf of Bishop Robert. A fine lunch of samosas, cake and coffee followed. Welcome to the team of Anglican incumbents in Belgium, Sarah-Jane!

The Central Committee at the Archdeaconry of Benelux Annual Synod

From 3 to 5 October, the Chaplain-President, Vice-President, Secretary-General and Second Secretary were pleased to attend the annual synod of the archdeaconry of Benelux of the Diocese in Europe, a gathering for prayer, worship, study and discussion by 37 Anglican clergy and 48 Anglican laity who work in Benelux parishes and ministries. The synod has met for the past decade in the beautiful Oude Abdij Drongen near Gent. The synod reminds the Chaplain-President of the European Parliament in the sense that the business tends to take place in English, with French and Dutch being spoken in the wings and at meals! On a busy synod agenda were in-depth discussions of ageing and of youth in the Church, as well as sessions on safeguarding, care for creation and racial justice. Bishop Robert flew in to join the synod from Washington DC, where he had been co-chairing a meeting of the global Anglican-Roman Catholic conversations, IARCCUM.  At a meeting on the final day, the Central Committee was able to present a video outlining our work and to speak in particular about the new Anglican Institute in Belgium. 

Le vice-président participe à Lausanne IV

Le vice-président du Comité central, M. Eric Sibomana, a eu l'opportunité de participer virtuellement au 4e Congrès du Mouvement de Lausanne, qui s'est tenu à Séoul (Incheon) du 22 au 28 septembre. Ce congrès, inauguré en 1974 par l’évangéliste Billy Graham et le théologien John Stott, vise à rassembler des délégués de divers pays pour réfléchir et collaborer sur la mission globale de l'Église. Il a choisi l'option de participation en ligne, qui lui a permis de suivre les discussions et de s’engager dans des échanges tout en bénéficiant de la richesse des présentations et des ateliers, sans être physiquement présent sur place.

L'objectif principal de ce congrès est d'encourager l'unité des chrétiens dans leur mission commune : l'accomplissement du mandat donné par Jésus en Matthieu 28:19, c'est-à-dire faire des disciples de toutes les nations. Les intervenants ont mis l’accent sur les stratégies pour atteindre les zones encore non touchées par l’Évangile, tout en favorisant la collaboration entre les différentes communautés chrétiennes à travers le monde. M. Sibomana dit, “Ce fut une expérience enrichissante qui m'a permis de renforcer ma vision missionnaire et de mieux comprendre les défis actuels de la mission globale.”

Meeting the new General Secretary of the CEC

On 2 October, the Chaplain-President, in his capacity as Bishop Robert's adviser for EU affairs (and who is also vice-moderator of the General Assembly of the CEC), met the new General Secretary of the Conference of European Churches, Pastor Frank-Dieter Fischbach, at his office next to the European Commission in Brussels. They had a warm and long discussion on various pressing issues which face the Anglican Churches in the EU as well as the Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox and Old Catholic Churches represented by the CEC.

Meeting with the Conseil Musulman de Belgique

On 30 September, the Central Committee bureau was pleased to welcome to Holy Trinity Brussels Ms Esma Uçan, President of the Conseil Musulman de Belgique/Moslemraad van België, with Dr Michaël Privot, member of the Conseil Musulman, and the new Secretary-General Rachida Aghallaj, to discuss matters of mutual interest as the legal Representative Bodies of Belgian Anglicanism and Belgian Islam.

Welcome to Belgium, Reverend Stephen!

On Saturday the 28th of September, the Second Secretary was pleased to be able to attend the licensing service for the Revd. Stephen Graham to Saint Boniface, Antwerp.

Bishop Norman Banks presided and the Archdeacon of North-West Europe, the Ven. Sam van Leer, preached and presented the Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe’s licence. During the service, Revd. Stephen was warmly welcomed by the parish and the service was followed by refreshments in the chapel.

The Central Committee also wishes the Revd. Stephen many blessings as he begins this new stage of his ministry and we wish him all the best as he settles into life in Belgium.

Visit of Pope Francis to Belgium #2

On 29 September, the Chaplain-President and the Vice-President were thrilled to attend as guests of honour the Papal Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in a packed King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, in the presence of the King and Queen and many members of the Royal Family. The atmosphere was lively and festive among the 38,000 people who attended this culmination of the papal visit to Belgium, which saw him meeting the King and Queen, representatives of Belgian public life, representatives of KU Leuven and UCLouvain (sister Catholic universities which celebrate their 600th anniversary in 2025), and also some of the victims of clerical sex abuse in the Catholic Church. The Papal Mass had two prominent themes: first was the formal beatification of Blessed Ana de Lobera (called Anne of Jesus), a Carmelite nun and friend of Teresa of Avila who died in Brussels in 1621: Anne of Jesus was a mystic, a visionary for European unity and the foundress of Carmelite houses in Paris, Pontoise, Dijon, Leuven, Mons, Brussels, Antwerp and Krakow; the second theme, reinforced by the Gospel reading from Mark 9, was the need for the Church to root out those who are a cause of scandal to children and the vulnerable, and the Pope's sermon did not mince its words on this occasion about sexual abuse by clergy, to repeated applause from the crowd. The festive occasion was followed by a lunch in the stadium for the clergy and guests in attendance. The Central Committee records its special thanks to Archbishop Luc and to Bruno Spriet, the new Secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Belgium, whose immense hard work for this visit has resulted in a triumph for all concerned.

Visit of Pope Francis to Belgium #1

On 27 September, the Chaplain-President was thrilled to represent the Anglicans of Belgium and Bishop Robert at a reception held by the King for those in public life in Belgium at the Palais de Laeken in honour of Pope Francis' visit to Belgium from 27 to 29 September. The King, the Prime Minister and the Pope all made insightful and interesting speeches about the significance of the papal visit, with particular accents on the desperate need for peace in Ukraine and in Israel, Palestine and Lebanon, and on the ongoing scandal and shame of clerical sexual abuse occurring in the Church. The frankness and candour of the speeches was both remarkable and helpful. The speeches were preceded by breakfast and followed by a reception at which the chefs de culte were able to catch up, share news and discuss relevant topics with others in public life.

La rentrée à la FUTP Bruxelles

Le mois de septembre voit la reprise des cours universitaires après les grandes vacances. Le 24 septembre, le chapelain-président, en sa qualité de professeur d'histoire moderne à la FUTP Bruxelles, avait le plaisir de débuter son cours "L'Eglise au siècle des Lumières" devant une classe variée d'étudiants venus de l'Europe et de l'Afrique.  Au programme ? Galilée, Voltaire, la Révolution française, Napoléon, la façon dont le christianisme influençait les Lumières européennes et la modernité - un programme tout à fait crucial pour les Eglises d'aujourd'hui.

Anglicaans godsdienstonderwijs

Op dinsdag 24 september ontving het bureau van het Centraal Comité met genoegen het bestuur van het Comité Anglicaans Godsdienstonderwijs in België (CAGO), dat verantwoordelijk is voor de organisatie van het Anglicaans godsdienstonderwijs in Vlaanderen en Brussel, in Holy Trinity Brussels. Het was een productief gesprek over de huidige stand van zaken en over de komende ontwikkelingen in het nieuwe academiejaar.

Ecumenical conversation in Mechelen

On 23 September, the Chaplain-President was delighted to pay his compliments to Mgr Steven Wielands, vicar-general of the Diocese of Malines-Brussels, and Deacon Koen Jacobs, diocesan officer for ecumenism, in the beautifully renovated Archbishop's Palace in Mechelen. There was much to discuss concerning fostering ever-closer ecumenical relations between Catholics and Anglicans in Belgium.

Ichtus Vlaanderen: Hoop

Op 21 september 2024 heeft de secretaris-generaal lezing gedaan voor jonge leiders van Ichtus Vlaanderen die kwamen samen voor een weekend opleiding in Wommelgem. Ichtus is aanwezig bij verschillende universiteiten van Vlaanderen om studenten te steunen en een veilige plaats bieden om hun vragen over het christelijke geloof te stellen. Hun jaarthema is ‘Hoop’ en de titel van de lezing was: ‘Waarom de toekomst van de kerk beter is dan haar geschiedenis’ met nadruk op 5 belangrijke karakteristieken van Gen Z (1997-2012). Bedankt aan de organisatie.

Durven denken

De opening van het academische jaar is al van start bij de Universiteit van Gent waar de secretaris-generaal de ceremonie heeft bijgewoond namens het Centraal Comité. De burgemeester van Gent sprak over de universiteit als het kloppende hart van de stad. Er waren toespraken van een aantal studenten. Twee daarvan studeren op het UGent campus in Vietnam wat bijzonder is en bracht een internationale blik op deze gelegenheid. De lezing van rector Rik Van De Walle ging over een aantal moeilijke onderwerpen zoals conflict in Palestina, polarisatie in ons land en de lerarentekort in het onderwijs. Natuurlijk na de ceremonie kunnen de studenten hun feest beginnen te bouwen. Wij wensen alle studenten, professoren en medewerkers van de Belgische hoge scholen en universiteiten een veilig, vreedzaam en vreugdevol jaar toe.

The Filipino Anglican community welcomes the Chaplain-President

On 15 September, the Chaplain-President was delighted to attend a Holy Communion service in Tagalog, celebrated by the Revd June Mark Yanez, our assistant chaplain at St Boniface Antwerp. The service was followed by a delicious meal cooked by the Filipino parishioners. Our photos include one of the Chaplain-President, the Revd Stephen Graham (the new senior chaplain at St Boniface Antwerp) and the Revd June Mark Yanez - they have helpfully arranged themselves in order of size!

Welcoming the new British ambassador to Belgium

On 9 September, the Chaplain-President was delighted to represent the Anglicans of Belgium to welcome the new British ambassador to Belgium, Ms Anne Sherriff.  The wonderful contemporary music during the soirée was provided by the band of the Grenadier Guards, who were founded in Bruges in 1656. The Grenadier Guards have notably fought for Belgian liberty on Belgian soil in the Napoleonic Wars and in the Two World Wars, underlining the enduring friendship which exists between Belgium and Britain. Guests from Anglican parishes of Holy Trinity Brussels, St Paul's Tervuren and St John's Gent were also present. The soirée was a fine occasion to renew friendships and to offer the services and wisdom of Belgian Anglicans to the new ambassador as she begins her role.