Posts from 2017

Lichtjestocht on 15th December

As is customary, the Lichtjestocht started at Holy Trinity with the proclamation of Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be taxed. After the choir sent the emperor’s people on their way to Bethlehem with a rendering of ‘We wish you a merry Christmas’ , the lighted way then wound itself through the park and the neighbourhood to the Wilhelminakerk and the St Aloysiuskerk. It was at the last church that the crib with the…

Bishop Robert’s Christmas Message

The Bishop in Europe: The Right Reverend Dr. Robert Innes The message of Christmas is so much bigger and better than the trappings of Christmastime! As I write these words, the temperature is about 23 degrees. The red hot poker and bird of paradise are in flower and large bunches of bananas are hanging from the trees. I am visiting the island of Madeira – a thousand miles away from the land of Charles Dickens…

Chaplain’s Letter

Pilgrimage to Wittenberg On the 16 to 18 of November, eight pilgrims from Holy Trinity Utrecht made our way in two cars to Wittenberg Germany as part of the commemoration of the 500th year since the historic nailing of the 95 theses of Luther to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg. The Pilgrimage was organized by Heikki Rusama, a Finnish Lutheran who, with his family, has been attending Holy Trinity over the past couple years…

Bishop’s Advent Appeal 2017

The Bishop in Europe: The Right Reverend Dr. Robert Innes October 2017 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, This year’s Advent Appeal aims to support homeless refugees and asylum seekers in Rome with humanitarian assistance (a daily, cooked breakfast and essential items for personal dignity and warmth) for 6 months. We are doing this through a well-established and well-run project established by our Episcopal sister church of St. Paul’s Within the Walls.  The Joel Nafuma…

Playgroup in December

As we move into December, you are welcomed to Playgroup on three Fridays of this final month of the calendar year. December 1: Playgroup and art & craft for St Nicholas (Sinterklaas) December 8: Playgroup December 15: Last Playgroup of 2017. Christmas celebration All Playgroups start at the usual time of 10:00 am. Playgroup page

Pilgrimage to Taizé

Last summer André, Angela, Vera, Julia, Emilie, Thomas and Arthur went to Taizé to deepen their faith. In this article Thomas, Julia and Emilie share their experiences with us. Thomas’ story  I had never been in Taizé before, nor had any idea what to expect. We found a nice spot where we set up our camp after a ten hour drive from Amersfoort. We started the program with the light service, where everyone received a…

Report on the Synod: Passion, Prayer and Fellowship

This contribution was written by Sandra Sue From the 5th October tot he 7th October seven of us from Holy Trinity Church Utrecht attended the Archdeaconry Synod for North West Europe (i.e. Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) in Belgium. They were fathers David and Grant and the archdeaconry reps Maria Koppenol, Adrian Los, Sandra Sue, Simon Urquhart and Nora Westerbeek van Eerten. (If you are wondering why I do not mention All Saints Amersfoort, it…

Safeguarding

This contribution was written by dr. Ineke Cornet, safeguarding officer  As a chaplaincy of the Church of England in Europe, we are committed to the Church’s official policies concerning safeguarding. In response to the growing awareness of abuse, many Churches have designed policies to protect children, the young, and the vulnerable.The Church of England has been considering, reviewing and improving its existing practice so our churches and activities can be safe thriving places, and has…

Chaplaincy Letter: A Privilege in Albania

This months Chaplaincy Letter is written by the Peter Gillies, member of the Leadership Team in All-Saints Amersfoort, BBQ-er, and organizer of the “Men’s Evenings”  Dr. David Livingstone was reputed to have said, “People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege.” Perhaps that is a too grand beginning to a tale of much less daring-do,…