Chaplain’s Letter
May I take this opportunity to wish all our readers a very happy and above all blessed New Year? The passing of another year should always be a moment for us to stand back and take a good look at our lives. Time passes so quickly, and if we don’t stop and reflect about the things that matter, the years will pass us by sooner than we think. This is the message of Psalm 90 where the psalmist says:-
“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Numbering our days means recognizing that each new day, and each New Year is precious. We shan’t get this day again, and we shan’t get this year again either.
As the psalmist puts it:-
“The length of our days is seventy years— or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.”
Well maybe since the psalmist wrote those words people’s life expectancy has increased, but the point is still the same. Time is short and we need to make the very best use of it that we can. This doesn’t mean that we are called to make heroic and grand plans, or even New Years resolutions. It just means that we should seize every opportunity to do some good in the world. We should look out for opportunities to bring kindness and generosity into the lives of others. We should use our time to be a blessing to others.
We also need to learn to open our hearts to God’s love with every new day. As Psalm 90 puts it:-
“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”
Thankfulness is a good start to any new day or any New Year. Just stop being busy for once and count your blessings, and allow God’s love to open your heart. And then let love and wonder and thankfulness spill over into Blessing for others. The result will be time well used and a life made ready to meet its Maker. As the Psalmist puts it-
“Lord, you have been our dwelling-place throughout all generations.”
In the end nothing else matters – so this year, as Martin Luther once put it
“Glory to God in highest heaven, Who unto man His Son hath given; While angels sing with tender mirth, A glad new year to all the earth.”
John de Wit
Dear Members and Friends of Holy Trinity,
Yesterday(the 8th December) the contractors came to remove the scaffolding used to install the final four restored stained-glass windows in our church, thus completing the restoration of all nine wonderful windows.
When we started the windows restoration project some years ago I hoped that we might be able to fund the restoration of the large “west” window at the back of the church, but I never imagined that we would be able to do all nine!
Others had more faith, and between us and with God’s help we have made things happen.
May I express the church’s huge appreciation to everyone who has helped in any way to make this dream come true? Thank you to all those who gave to the appeal so generously, and to all who helped to raise the funds.
Thank you also to those who helped to administer the fundraising and the applications for grants, and to those who helped to administer the work itself.
It is a fantastic achievement by all concerned and I would like to express both my admiration and thanks to you all for what you have so splendidly accomplished.
We have all been truly blessed.
Yours in Christ
John
And now from the Green Awareness group
Letters of protest to the Minister and Junior Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment
In October the Green Awareness Group wrote a letter to the Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment, Mrs Melanie van Schultz van Haegen, to express their worries about the impending cuts on public transport. The letter runs:
“The Green Awareness Group of Holy Trinity Anglican Church Utrecht aims to inform their fellow parishioners as best as possible on matters concerning the environment and on ways to be personally involved in caring for the environment. Our congregation is made up of families, singles and international students
In our meeting on 16th October 2011 we expressed our concerns that public transport services will be coming under threat in Rotterdam, the Hague and Amsterdam when contracted out. Ticket prices are expected to rise strongly. Trade unions and traffic organizations fear that bus or tram routes will have to be scrapped, forcing travellers to use their cars much more often. Especially the elderly who no longer can drive and youngsters below 18 who are not allowed to drive yet will be hit hard. Their mobility will be seriously affected.
The increase in car use will also harm the environment, resulting in health problems. On top of that the increase in road traffic will lead to the government losing its targets for the reduction of CO²-emission. The use of public transport by people not resident in the Netherlands is hampered because of the introduction of the public transport chipcard. We observe that there is an overall impression that public transport is no option for foreigners because they can no longer pay cash. Travelling by car seems the only option.
Members of our congregation are willing to go to great lengths for the environment, but will become discouraged if their efforts are frustrated. What we expect from the government, in particular from you as the minister responsible in this field, is facilitating legislation instead of frustrating measures. Our protest arises from our belief as Christians that the earth deserves to be inhabited and tilled with care.
Copies of this letter are sent to those members of parliament who for their political party cover the fields of infrastructure and the environment.
In November a letter protesting against the plan to abolish deposit money on big plastic bottles was sent to the Junior Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment, Mr Joop Atsma.”The introduction and ending were the same as in the letter to the Minister.
“We express our worries about the plan to scrap deposit money on PET bottles. In September in a talk you said that `abolishing deposit money on big plastic bottles could be seen as a reward for the packaging industry, as the collection of plastic created sufficient recycling’. We do not believe this is true, for everywhere we see roads and public places littered. We think only a reward in the form of deposit money will lead to sufficient empty plastic bottles being recycled.
Therefore we would suggest that, along the same lines as the `Real Hero`campaign , deposit money will be made compulsory for all plastic bottles, including small bottles. In total this will generate more money in addition to lower costs for the plastic waste collection currently in practice. Following the example of other countries the practice of shredding plastic bottles in dedicated machines in supermarkets could be adopted.
If the industry were to come up with a system that would prevent small plastic bottles being thrown away this would actually lead to a decrease of the cost of clearing away litter that local, provincial and national authorities are now incurring. However, we have not yet seen such an initiative.”
We have since received two replies – one from D66 simply acknowledging receipt but also a long, supportive one from Groenlinks who were as negative as we are about the amounts of money spent on roads and the cuts in public transport and who promised to continue to support public transport for the sake of the environment.)
Henny. From the Green Awareness group.
Now Pam de Wit has asked me to print this article for our enjoyment
Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as Holiday Trees for the first time this year, which prompted the following piece written by CBS presenter Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year.
It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crèche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to. In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: this is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.
Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Hurricane Katrina). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'
In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK. Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.' Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Are you laughing yet? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.
Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us. Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not, then just discard it.... no one will know you did.
But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully, Ben Stein
And now the church wardens would like to give us all a message.
Be Vigilant!
Our Church and Parsonage are both public places and are used frequently, not only by members of our own church family but by outside groups as well.
For many events such as shared lunches, Bible study groups Christmas parties to mention but a few, members of our congregations kindly provide food or bring personal items to decorate the hall.
For sometime now several members of our congregation have brought to our attention, that items such as crockery, glass dishes and kitchen utensils have not been returned to their rightful owners. This also goes for articles of clothing as well as umbrellas.
When bringing food to the hall to share with others; please be sure to take all the containers home with you immediately the event has finished.
If you find you have an extra dish in your kitchen cupboard, which does not belong to you, please let us have it so that we may try and find its rightful owner.
We would ask you all to take extra care of your personal possessions.
Thank you for your cooperation!
Let us now enjoy more of Oekes work.
Domcarillon
ze vallen zomaar
in mijn open handen:
de klanken uit het carillon
die buitelend
op weg zijn naar
hun klankbord in de zon
ik houd ze even vast
en laat ze dan weer los:
dronken feest van zonmuziek
omlijst in sierlijke gotiek –
ik prijs mij een gelukkig mens
hier zittend in ’t portiek!
Oeke Kruythof
Dom-carillon
they just fall
into my open hands
the peal of bells
tumbling
on their way
to their soundboard
in the sun
I take hold of them
then, let them go
a drunken feast of sun music
framed in elegant gothic
I so value my good fortune
just sitting here in the porch
Oeke Kruythof
Jenny Narraway translation/transcreation
Archdeaconry Retreat February 17th–19th 2012
Advent is already upon us and it is time to make plans for our Annual Retreat which is only 11 weeks away. I hope many of you will be able to take part in this weekend at the Emmaus Monastery in Helvoirt. We shall welcome back Canon Jeremy Haselock, Precentor at Norwich Cathedral. Father Jeremy has been with use twice before and is a much appreciated Retreat Conductor.
If you are interested and would like more information please contact Maryon Jägers (Churchwarden), either after Church or by email maryon.jagers@planet.nl better still telephone me (030-6371780) and I can explain the Retreat programme.
Then you may understand why so many of us look forward to this very special weekend, away from a noisy world to be quiet and to grow spiritually in our Christian lives.
Maryon Jägers Retreat secretary
Application form follows:
NW Europe Archdeaconry Retreat 2012
The Pre - Lenten retreat in 2012 will be held at the Emmaus-centrum , Udenhoutseweg 15, 5268 CG Helvoirt Netherlands www.conferentieoord-emmaus.nl
Date 17 – 19 February
Retreat Conductor The Reverend Canon Jeremy Haselock,
Precentor at Norwich Cathedral. England
Arrival: Friday as from 16.00 hour, light supper 19.00 hours. Departure-Sunday 15.00 hours.
: A 30 rooms ensuite in new building (i140), B other rooms not ensuite in old building (i130 ). Double rooms if required. The price includes, meals and other costs. Allocation first come, first served!.
Application form to be sent to the Retreat Secretary Mrs. Maryon Jägers, Hoefbladhof 61,
3991 GG HOUTEN The Netherlands F 0031 (0)30 6371780 –
e-mail: maryon.jagers@planet.nl - telefax 0031 (0)30 6351034 – mobile 0031 (0)6 55858337.
Booking fee of i 40.00 on application (non refundable part of total; payment) - final payment to be received not later than 17th January 2012 Complete payment when booking preferred.
Payment to Mevr M.P. Gordon Jackson in Houten, ING bank 3534672 From Belgium and Germany (IBAN: NL77INGB0003534672 BIC:INGBNL2A.) A place on the Retreat will be reserved on receipt of your reservation fee.
...............................................................................................................................................................
ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST RETURN A CORRECTLY FILLED IN APPLICATION FORM - IN CAPITAL LETTERS PLEASE
To Mrs. M.P. Jägers - Hoefbladhof 61 - 3991 GG Houten The Netherlands
Archidiaconal Retreat 2012
Name Rev / Mr / Mrs / Miss ...............................................................................................................
Street …………………………………. ………………………. House number . . . . . . . . . . . .
Post code ............................ Town. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Telephone …………………... E-mail . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . ………………………….. Chaplaincy…………………… Accommodation preference Q A (ensuite) Q B (not ensuite)
Please indicate if you wish to hire sheets and towels (i 9 to be paid on arrival)
Diet requirements, please state …………………………………..
I am Q a Priest Q a Deacon Q a Reader Q an Organist
PRAYER CHAIN
If you have any requests for the prayer chain, or if you feel called to take part in this ministry, please contact Anne Miechielsen
Here comes a thank-you letter from the Luweero Diocese as a result of the Bishops Lent appeal.
Luweero Diocese
The Luweero Diocese and Healthy Vine Trust praise and thank the Lord for the generosity shown by the Chaplaincies throughout the Diocese of Europe in response to Bishop Geoffrey’s 2011 Lent Appeal. The result of the appeal will benefit countless numbers of people living in the rural areas of the Diocese and make a serious contribution to re-forestation. Luweero Diocese’s ministry reaches into the lives of many people living in the Diocese, not only in pastoral care but also into the daily life of the people of all beliefs living within the diocese.
The result of the Lent appeal will result in more than 8,000 trees being planted
The demand for charcoal in urban areas and wood in rural areas is high and ever increasing so deforestation is a major problem. The Diocese has dedicated large areas of land to reverse
Three motorcycles will be purchased to help the Archdeacons in their duties.
The Luweero Diocese is a rural Diocese, Lay preachers, Priests, and Archdeacons all have to reach the many churches and parishioners. The land area is considerable and the access normally earth roads or tracks. It is impossible for the Archdeacons to perform their duties without transport and these three motorcycles will make a big impact on their work.
The Healthy Vine Trust (Uganda)
Maternal deaths and infant mortality will be substantially reduced
The Healthy Vine’s programme is a health orientated community development programme with reduction of malaria at its core. Being a holistic programme it trains community health workers, supports educational needs and aims to provide clean water for the villages it operates in. It also supports activities to assist the community out of poverty. The elderly and widows who seldom have a voice in the community, are included in these activities.
Support of the government clinic is an important part of the programme and the Healthy Vine has worked in partnership with Luweero District Health Department in equipping the Health Centre to date with water provision, solar lighting and a fridge for vaccines. More recently it has, with community members, successfully lobbied the Luweero District to build a maternity wing for the clinic. Maternal and infant mortality are, in rural Uganda amongst the highest in the world. The Maternity unit is nearly complete and using some of the Lent appeal money The Healthy Vine will initially equip the unit with 6 beds and cots plus all the necessary equipment for a rural maternity centre. The building should be ready for the equipment in February / March 2012.
It is difficult to describe the impact Bishop Geoffrey’s Lent Appeal 2011 will have. The Archdeacons will have far better access throughout the three Archdeaconries of Kiwoko, Luttete and Kikyusa. Although some of the trees will be harvested, an important contribution to the Luweero Diocese’s policy of planting trees wherever it can, will set an example in reversing de-forestation. The maternity wing at Sekamuli will inevitably reduce maternal deaths and infant mortality and reduce the transmission of HIV/SAIDS to the unborn child. The effect of all of these will be felt for many years to come.
Mwebale nnyo
(Thank you very much!)
NORMAL SERVICE WILL BE RESUMED …
I was in England, on what has become known as the ‘mince pie run’, buying in stocks of pies for the Christmas party, which, by the time you read this, will be a distant memory! I hope you all enjoyed it – and the mince pies! Since I have a Makro card, it was dead easy for me to buy in bulk all manner of English goodies that you can’t get here, and at wholesale prices, so the stock of mince pies didn’t precipitate penury, unlike the shenanigans within the Euro zone! Since I was going to be heavily loaded after my pre-Christmas shopping frenzy, I had gone in the car. I decided to treat myself to a business class Eurotunnel crossing, studiously ignoring the little voice of reason that caused me to go for Jet2.com when I flew to Blighty in September. The advantages of this extravagance included a short stay in the ‘club shack’ at the tunnel terminal and the ability to take any crossing that took my fancy. And so it was that I found myself motoring down to Calais in the very early hours of a slightly foggy Saturday morning.
Now many unkind things have been said about the driving habits of our Belgian neighbours. As I discovered this is in fact based on a modicum of truth. Take fog lights for instance. It only needs the merest wisp of mist to appear and on they go. When the rear fog lights are double, this action has a couple of unfortunate consequences. In the first place, two exceedingly bright rear red lights render the brake lights ineffectual, and secondly, if you are behind such a vehicle when the visibility is in fact fairly good, you are just about blinded by the glare! However, I reached the tunnel terminal safely, despite the best efforts of the Belgian drivers and within no time, or so it seemed, I was driving up the M20 towards London.
Those of you who hail from what the French love to call the perfidious Albion (England for the non-French speakers) will recognise the title of this piece. Whenever the BBC television programme (there was only one of them in those days) broke down, the message: “Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible” came up like a caption at the old silent movies. Of course, they didn’t need to advertise the fact that it HAD been resumed, because you could work that one out for yourself when the programme (once again, note the singular!) came back. Not so with London Underground. I had a lunch date in town with Stuart, my school chum, and I needed to take the tube, which announced at regular intervals that there was a good service on all lines. Apparently, this us such a rare occurrence that they have to brag about it! Normal service!
Of course, ‘normal pre-Christmas service’ was in full swing while I was there. Even though at this stage Advent hadn’t even started, the shops were full of tinsel, Christmas baubles and, of course, Christmas confection, which was the major reason for my trip. I remember when I first went to the States in 1968 being surprised to find the big stores in New York celebrating ‘Christmas in August’ so finding everything in full swing as early as mid November is quite reasonable I suppose. Mind you, I get twitchy around Easter time when I see chocolate eggs on sale well before Lent!
It was fascinating walking along an English High Street at this time of the year, another trip down memory lane really, getting the feeling that for me too, some form of normal service was being resumed, so I thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas hype. It also meant that I missed most of the Sinterklaas hype here in Holland. In fact, this was another year that went by without me seeing a single Sint or Zwarte Piet. By the way, I tried explaining these curious creatures to my friends in England. It wasn’t an easy task since they couldn’t understand why a bishop from Turkey, who somehow ended up in Spain, should forgo the lovely weather on the Iberian peninsula at this time of the year to come up to the frozen wastes of Holland to celebrate his birthday, nor indeed why naughty children should tremble at the idea of being whisked away from the mists, cold and rain of December to languish in the gentle warmth of sunny Spain. My friends also had problems with the apparent non-pc nature of a black Pete. I tried explaining that they – oh yes, they also had difficulties with the multiplicity of the Zwarte Piets – were imps from hell who for even more incomprehensible reasons had latched on to Saint Nicholas and that they were black simply from the soot!
Barbara, my dear friend and tenant, had asked me to pick up some piece of electronic wizardry from an Argos store (a bit like the Kijkhuis for our Dutch readers). She had found a store not too far from where I would be staying. However, that store didn’t have what she wanted in stock, but another, close to Makro, did. So after doing the wholesale shopping, we swung by Wood Green Mall where the Argos store was located. Although my satnav, Gloria, got us there perfectly, we actually drove past the front of the store, there seemed to be nowhere to park. No matter, we thought, we’ll try the side streets. Not a hope: resident parking only. Oh, I’ll risk it, I thought, until I saw the traffic warden checking other cars. Obviously normal service applied here, even on a Sunday! So we headed back home with the idea of taking the bus.
Once back in Finchley, we ran into my friend’s next-door neighbour. He looked worn out. Apparently he goes every day to look after an elderly friend who needs a great deal of attention and he often stays until late in the evening, tending to his friend’s needs – one of God’s silent saints. However, I digress. Louis (the neighbour) knew where the car park at Wood Green was and was happy to navigate, so after a dish of tea, off we set once again. No wonder I missed the sign the first time: it was tucked away down a left turn lane which seemed to lead anywhere but to Wood Green
After turning every which way except the way to the Mall, we suddenly came upon the multi-storey car park. There were even adequate parking spaces. Normal service, it seemed, had been resumed. Argos had indeed got the gizmo we were looking for and in no time we were on our way back to Finchley.
And so it’s the New Year, a time for reflection and resolutions. This will be my second New Year without Jamie and I wonder just how long it will be before those of us who have been recently widowed will be able to resume normal service.
Harry
Services at Holy Trinity Church, Utrecht
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