Posts from October 2015

Christian Classics Study Group – Spiritual Friendship

We have had a break from our Study Group over the summer, but will return on Friday, 20 November 18.30, to look at Aelred of Rievaulx’s great work called “Spiritual Friendship”. Aelred was the Abbot from 1147 to 1167 of the great English Cistercian Abbey of Rievaulx, near York in the North of England. From the back cover of a translation comes this description: “In a three-book Ciceronian dialogue Aelred defines human friendship as sacramental, beginning…

The Lord is a shoving Leopard!

Peter Gillies is a member of the Taskforce for an Anglican Church in Amersfoort, better known as TACA.  He will be providing updates on the progress with new church plant in Amersfoort.  This is his contribution for November. The Rev William Archibald Spooner, Warden of New College Oxford, was especially likely to make this sort of malapropism (the title above should read: “The Lord is a loving Shepherd”).  And so it is with TACA (Taskforce…

The Refugee Crisis is a Blessing for Utrecht

Over the past few months and especially in September, we have been confronted by the news of vast movements of people around the world fleeing violence and poverty and seeking a new life. The picture on the front of this month’s Newsletter is of a pilgrimage to Mecca, by the French landscape painter, Léon Belly in 1861. It might seem a strange choice, but I thought appropriate for a few reasons. With the camels it…

Report on Archdeaconry Synod 2015

This year’s synod was again held in Dongen, near Gent Belgium.  Holy Trinity is represented by the clergy and her 4 elected lay representatives.  The main topic was the bishop’s strategy for the Diocese. We also went into vocations and the deanaries. Apart from that we took part in services and met and talked with clergy and reps from other congregations in the archdeaconry.       Synod Delegates 2015: Rosemarie Strengholt, Adrian Los, Sandra…