Holy Trinity Church in Utrecht and Anglican Church Zwolle are following CIO guidelines during the pandemic. The Interkerkelijk Contact in Overheidszaken (CIO) is an organization of representatives of Churches in the Netherlands (including the Anglican Church in the Netherlands) that has met with the Dutch Government to agree on a safe way to conduct our worship during the corona pandemic. Last March they developed a Routekaart that recommends steps to take depending on the level…

There will be 3 intensive sessions for us to go through the Catechism of the Book of Common Prayer on Thursdays the 8th, 15th, and 22nd July from 2-4pm at the Parsonage (van Hogendorpstraat 26).  We will take a break midway through each afternoon.  Four students have signed up so far. This is what will be covered: Thursday, July   8:  (1) Introductions & Intro to Confirmation/catechism; (2) What do we renounce as Christians? Thursday, July…

On Rogation Sunday, 9 May 2021, the Chaplain made the following announcement at the end of the service: Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: There is no easy way to say this. Last Monday (3 May), I spoke with Bishop Robert and offered my resignation as Chaplain of Utrecht Chaplaincy as of 31st of August this year.  The Bishop has accepted my resignation, and I have informed the wardens prior to speaking with you today. …

Beloved in Christ of Utrecht, Zwolle and Groningen, As human beings we desire first and foremost – communion – communion with God, communion with one another and a certain communion with God’s Creation.  Everything we do in our churches is to help in the reestablishing of communion on these levels – it undoes the loneliness and alienation we feel at the deepest level of our hearts and recalls us to our true purpose.  In communion…

In November/December of 2020 we took a survey of members of the congregations in Utrecht and Zwolle. Requests were sent out to about 150 people on our email list and we had responses from 64 individuals, sometimes responding on behalf of their family. We did this to understand better, during the corona pandemic, how people were thinking about worship, spiritual health, pastoral care, education and opportunities for fellowship. Below are the results of the survey.…

‘Godly Play’ is a very specific way of telling religious or Bible stories to children and adults. In Godly Play the text of the story is reduced to a bare minimum – leaving a lot of room for the individual imagination of the listener – and visuals are used to support the story. Madeleine de Boer is our Godly Play Story teller: “When watching and listening to a Godly Play story/parable, it feels like entering…

This week we begin The Pre-Marriage Course Online at Holy Trinity Utrecht.  The Pre-Marriage Course is from Alpha and has just last year been completely re-filmed.   There are five sessions and they will need to be via Zoom, at least for the first few sessions, because of corona restrictions.  My wife, Daniëlle, and I will host the evenings.  Each couple will receive a Guest Journal with the course materials and, beforehand, a survey via email from me, designed to help…

The Rev’d Dr Robert Crouse Summary Fundamental to any genuine renewal of Christian life in our church and in ourselves must be a renewal in the essential Christian virtues of faith, hope and charity, ‘a trinity of virtues and a unity of grace,’ whereby our souls are conformed to the life of God the Holy Trinity.  These virtues are gifts of God by his Word and Holy Spirit for our salvation, and they are nurtured…