ICS News Issue 50 April 2012 - Intercontinental Church Society

Transcription

‘I am the good shepherd. The
good shepherd lays down his
life for the sheep.’ John 10: 11
It was on 30 June 1823 that the
Newfoundland School Society
was formed ‘. . . to promote the
Education of the numerous poor
in Newfoundland.’ Eventually,
from these roots sprang the
fellowship of chaplaincies now
known as ICS. The vibrant chaplaincy in Tervuren has come full
circle to the Society’s origins
by establishing St. Paul’s British
Primary School (see ‘How does
your garden grow’).
The Society’s early work was
lay led and in recent years lay
workers have once more been
supported (for example, see ‘An
intern in Brussels’).
The magazine of
INTERCONTINENTAL CHURCH SOCIETY
Centre pages:
A new home for the office
ICS summer chaplaincies 2012
ISSN 1755–294X | ISSUE 50 | April 2012
Contents
ICS is an Anglican mission society which makes known the Christ
of the Scriptures to people of any nationality who speak English,
mainly in countries where English is not the first language.
Object
ICS is established to advance the
Christian gospel by evangelical
mission and ministry to Englishspeaking people throughout the
world.
Legal Information
Registered charity no.: 1072584; a
company limited by guarantee
registered in England and Wales
no.: 3630342.
ICS News and Prayer Diary
Published quarterly. Any correspondence should be addressed to
the office. The views expressed by
contributors are not necessarily
those of ICS . Sub-editors: Dennis
and Elizabeth Sadler.
Credits
Our thanks to all who have
provided articles; also photos:
Portia Morgan Photography
(1,10), Richard Kibble (17), Chris
Maclay (28), Alja Tollefsen (29),
Hi-Pix Photography (30),
Anneke Barends (54), John de
Wit (55), Dianne Cox (57), BCAS
(26, 62); others generally by the
authors of articles, staff
members, David Healey ARPS or
Jim Perryman
Common Worship © The
Archbishops’ Council 2000
Biblical quotations are from the
NRSV unless indicated.
Appointments
These are announced subject, on
occasions, to the usual clearances.
Data Protection
Data about individuals and
organisations with whom ICS is
in contact may be held on its
database for the purposes of
pursuing its activities. We may
contact you by post, telephone or
e-mail unless you tell us you do
not wish to be contacted. ICS does
not pass any mailing lists to unconnected third parties.
© Intercontinental Church
Society March 2012.
No part of this publication may
be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means (electronic, photographic, mechanical,
recording or otherwise) without
the prior written permission of
Intercontinental Church Society.
ISSN: 1755-294X.
2
As a mission, ICS enables the planting of new international
Anglican churches and other mission initiatives, and spreads
the gospel through seasonal outreach to tourists.
As a patronage society we recruit and nominate ministers for
Anglican churches abroad and own many church buildings.
Our web site and Directory of English-speaking Churches
Abroad enable people to find churches away from home.
Our Prayer Calendar 2012 (ideal for intercessions or compiling prayer diaries) or a list of ICS projects can be obtained
by visiting www.ics-uk.org/about/articles.shtml or contacting the office.
Features
3 For such a time as this
4 Tunisian ‘ups’ and ‘downs’!
7 Every encounter leaves a trace
8 Trevor: a farewell appreciation
10 How does your garden grow?
13 Renewing the foundations
16 At home in Vevey
18 An intern in Brussels
20 The church in the cupboard
22 Seeking a city with foundations
24 Waiting in Egypt . . .
26 More than a land of crocodiles
27 ICS family news
30 A new home for the office
33 ICS summer chaplaincies 2012
Prayer Diary
35 Events for prayer, April–June
38 News and Prayer Diary, April–June
63 ICS prayer and support groups
Information
64 Contacting ICS
ICS News and Prayer Diary | April 2012
For such a time as this
God often seems to speak to people when they find themselves outside their own culture. It was true of Jewish people
in exile and many in New Testament times too.
Stephen Wookey
I have always loved the book of Esther. In many ways it is a
curious book to find in the middle of the Bible, since it never
once mentions God. But it is a wonderful story, and my last
boss, Richard Bewes preaches a magnificent sermon on it.
There is one verse in Esther chapter 4 which summarises
the message of the book. It comes when Mordecai, deeply
concerned for the fate of God’s people, turns to Esther,
recently become Queen to Xerxes, and informs her of her
responsibility: ‘And who knows but that you have come to
royal position for such a time as this?’
Of course nothing, in God’s economy, is ever by accident,
and Esther’s rise to the palace in Susa was no exception. And
so much of ministry is of that order: the seemingly chance
meeting, which is no chance at all, turning up at an ICSlinked church just to meet someone else speaking English,
only to find so much more than one ever expected.
It is a costly ministry, since it for ever involves goodbyes. It
is at times a challenging ministry, constantly losing so many
valued church members, but it is also infinitely rewarding.
How often I meet people whose Christian lives began in
churches in the ICS fellowship, and who owe their spiritual
foundations to that type of faithful ministry. Our present
youth worker here at church had the privilege of being
brought up in a Christian home, but his mother was converted in Paris.
It is a constant reminder that we have this ministry by the
mercy of God, so we do not lose heart (2 Corinthians 4: 1).
And it is, perhaps above all, those God-given opportunities
that most encourage us, and help us to know why we have
come to positions such as these. Stephen Wookey
Stephen Wookey was at one time an Assistant Chaplain at
St. Michael’s, Paris. He is now Rector of Moreton-in-Marsh,
Gloucestershire and a member of ICS Council.
3
Tunisian ‘ups’ and ‘downs’!
Bill Musk reflects on ministering in a time of uncertainty,
insecurity—and yet opportunity: times not unlike those of
the early churches.
Bill and Hilary Musk
4
We live at present in a world of tremendous ‘ups’ and some
considerable ‘downs’—a daily reminder that our lives, our
church and our host nation are best seen as being held in the
hands of God. On a Saturday afternoon in December 2011,
for the first time our regular church service for Arabicspeakers saw more participants than our early Sunday
morning service for English-speakers! At that Saturday
service, the kingdom of heaven increased by two, followed
by a third the next day. Bishop Mouneer has licensed one of
the more mature Saturday brothers as a lay assistant to my
colleague, Rev Emil. Most days of the week, small groups of
friends sit in our grounds, praying or responding to those
coming in off the street seeking answers to questions about
the Christian faith. ‘Ups’!
Last week, though, Rev Emil accompanied me as I visited
the Russian Orthodox priest in town to express solidarity
after an icon of St. Cyprian at his church was disgustingly
desecrated and a considerable number of Russian graves
had their crosses broken. More—that week we were visited
by the deputy chief of the local police to ask us to be very
circumspect and careful as they (the police) could not
guarantee to keep control of everything going on in the local
area. Did he visit to give us that warning because it was part
of a general tightening up of awareness and security after the
Russian church incident or did he have knowledge of a
specific threat against us? Who knows? ‘Downs’! We try to
be wise, for example arranging entries and exits for folk on
Saturday by side doors and in small groups; we are also embellishing our containing walls with razor wire (horrible—
makes us feel like we are living in a prison!) and bougainvillea (beautiful—brings lots of colour whilst hiding nasty
barbs!).
Our women’s ministry arranged and hosted an international, ecumenical conference in December in about three
weeks flat! It had to be postponed for a few weeks because of
elections in Tunisia, but it was a wonderful achievement and
brought together those who speak English, French and
Constituent Assembly, Tunis
The ubiquitous tourist train
Arabic from across the churches and communities of Tunis.
The coordinator of our Women’s Ministry at church, and the
main mover behind this particular conference, discovered
in the middle of organising it that she would be leaving
Tunis before Christmas. Her husband works for the Africa
Development Bank (ADB) and the bank suddenly decided to
shift him from Tunis to Pretoria. We have lost several key
church families recently (as have all expatriate churches
here) and will doubtless lose more, as the ADB gives up a
policy of ‘waiting to move everyone back to head office in
Ivory Coast’ and elects, instead, to base their work in the
continent around regional offices.
Whilst our ministry base at St. George’s is constantly
increasing (with a University Students’ Fellowship and a
Prison Ministry recently off the ground, plus a new service
held once a month, courtesy of a Roman Catholic church, in
an area of Tunis where diplomatic and international business people reside), our funding base is decreasing as the
ADB moves more areas of its work plus personnel into the
regions of Africa.
It was fascinating to observe Tunisians electing a new
Constituent Assembly in late October, 2011. Their participation—at least that of believers whom we know—seemed
to be enjoyed almost as a spiritual experience. The Assembly
is in turn electing and inaugurating significant officers of
state and will seek to produce a new constitution for the
nation within a year. If anyone can take the reins of a
renewed nation and give it good direction, the Tunisians can!
Yet, there is so much against them. Hilary and I, on my
weekly day off, sometimes visit some of the tourist resorts in
order to walk by the sea. Those resorts are like ghost towns at
the moment when they should be—and need to be—buzzing
with visitors, especially (during winter months) of the older
generation variety. Tourism is the second largest bringer of
wealth to this country.
The presence of large numbers of Libyans in the country
throughout 2011 has proved a mixed blessing. The Libyans
brought their money, but they also brought crazy driving,
opportunities for smuggling and, for some Tunisians, sad
social or family consequences. It is lovely to see Tunisians
free, as never before, to express themselves about any matter
5
Medina, Hammamet resort
Prayer points: page 40
6
in a public manner, but some of that expression has come to
be without restraint—for example, in the treatment of some
female university lecturers who were deemed by certain
male students not to be adhering to appropriate Islamic
dress codes.
The sense of ‘withdrawal of self-imposed restraint’ finds
common expression everywhere as a veritable boom of
property extension goes on in nearly every community;
everyone seems to be putting up the next floor on their (still
uncompleted!) single story dwellings. Nearly all of it is being
carried out without licence, without permission and without
adherence to quality controls. Political winners in this nation
at the moment, as elsewhere in North Africa, are the
Islamists, yet they are under intense scrutiny for the kind of
polity they are going to promote and will be held strictly
accountable for making a success or a failure of newly found
freedom.
I have really enjoyed rereading many of the epistles of the
New Testament in recent months. This is probably because
of my experience, in support of Rev Emil, of seeing a
wonderful new expression of Christian believing take place,
right on our doorstep. Many of the epistles were composed
because of ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ in the early church; their initial
experience is so relevant to our current experience!
I am also so excited by the contribution to nation-building
that is going on throughout this continent courtesy of the
expert and experienced work carried out by members of
the ADB, many of whom worship in our churches (and
mosques!) whilst residing in Tunis. It is hard when they are
being called away to new offices during this period. But how
blessed have parts of Africa become through what has been
achieved by these dear people during their sojourn in this
nation. Their joyful, kinetic contributions to worship are
inspiring, plus there is the fact that, in them on a Sunday
morning, one finds oneself preaching to a room full of PhDs:
that helps to keep us church leaders humble!
‘God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son
Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.’ (1 Corinthians 1: 9). Here
alone lies our hope, our stability, our rock in the midst of all
the current Tunisian ‘ups’ and ‘downs’! ICS News and Prayer Diary | April 2012
Every encounter leaves a trace
Christmas still provides a golden opportunity to proclaim
the wonderful truth of Jesus—God with us—in the presence
of many people who would not normally attend church.
Geoff and Pat Maddox
St. Bernard’s, Wengen
The snow was late in arriving at Wengen this year, and so
too were the people, put off by webcam images of green
pastures, instead of snowy slopes.
This initial quietness had its advantages. Hoteliers had
time to talk and were happy to do so. Meetings of the DHO
Club (Downhill Only Ski Club) were also less busy than later
in the season, so mixing with people there was easier too.
We had three carol services on Christmas Eve, attended by
over three hundred and fifty people; these occasions are
ideal for involving people in worship. Each service included
a sketch for a family of three, and the first, more childfriendly one, also included a dramatised version of the
annunciation. In total, nearly thirty people participated in
the carol services, many of whom are not regular
churchgoers. Young and old, they all did well, and it is our
prayer that the story they helped to tell will become their
story too. Fifty-four people attended the midnight service
with a further eighty-five attending the ten o’clock service on
Christmas morning.
On Christmas Day I was asked to take part in an outdoor
ecumenical service organised by the Tourist Office. Despite
the bonfire it was freezing cold, yet about seventy people
were present, many of whom were locals. Most of it was in
German, but my three-minute slot was thankfully in English,
and several people thanked me afterwards for what I had
said. Both the Wengen community and the Tourist Office
help and support St. Bernard’s, so it was nice to be able to do
something for them.
Finally, throughout the chaplaincy we were both very
conscious of the many people supporting us in prayer. Time
and again we found ourselves in the right place at the right
time, meeting and talking to people we needed to see, so
thank you for your support. The theme of this year’s training
day was ‘Every encounter leaves a trace’. So please pray with
us for all whose lives were touched this Christmas: that if a
tiny seed of faith was planted, it will next be watered and
God will make it grow. Geoff and Pat Maddox
7
Trevor: a farewell appreciation
Robert Watson, having first become a seasonal chaplain in
1974, has been invited to share his thoughts on Trevor
Letchford’s thirteen years with ICS.
Robert Watson
8
Ring or e-mail, wrote Seasonal Ministry Manager, Trevor
Letchford (to accept the invitation to another chaplaincy).
I decided to ring. ‘Hullo Robert!’ he said. ‘That’s amazing,’
I replied, ‘You recognised my voice.’ A typical friendly
greeting that has meant a great deal to those of us who
have had the privilege of serving under Trevor’s efficient
administration.
Following on from Jenny Hammond and Robyn Gorman,
Trevor has proved to be a most worthy successor, developing
his own framework and providing the helpful information
that makes the chaplain both aware and at ease on taking up
the appointment at the resort.
Over the years of Trevor’s term of office, he has accumulated just about every detail imaginable to pave the way for
the chaplaincies. These are assembled in that neat blue file,
which is meticulously corrected and brought up to date with
the help of input from serving chaplains who think to inform
him. With Trevor in place at the office a chaplain has the
confidence that all is well, which enables the ministry to
proceed smoothly without undue interference and with the
assurance of support back home.
Personally, I have valued enormously the preparation
days that Trevor has organised. The highlight has often been
Trevor’s spiritual and devotional input and his challenge on
planning services and sermons. He has alerted us to the fact
that we never know who might be present, and with what
needs.
Consider, for example, his meditation, imagining the
following characters might be in the congregation: Paul, well
informed and established; Martha, fidgeting; Mary, soaking
up every word; a rich young man, everything to live with
and nothing to live for; Timothy, devoted and a potential
church leader; a sick woman, no cure yet and at end of her
tether . . . . We chaplains have encountered most of these at
some time or another, but have been made to consider who
we might be addressing when we never know until they are
assembled on the day.
Then there’s Trevor’s candles. At one preparation day
about ten years ago, he shared with us a picture of three
candles: one aflame, another barely alight and a third as yet
unlit surrounded by darkness. That has led me to pray:
‘Lord, may I encourage the faithful, re-ignite the lapsed and
engage with those outside.’
Trevor has been unduly modest over his spiritual input.
But the care and thought that he has taken over many
preparation days have surely made a huge difference to the
way in which chaplaincies have been approached. He has
encouraged us to engage prayer support and to get into the
mindset of people on holiday, which for them can be a time
of sadness, great joy or searching. We have been reminded
that what speaks powerfully to those on holiday is Creation
and the space for revaluation of one’s life. Chaplains have
been encouraged to relax, to be available, to be on the look
out for opportunities and to leave something of the gospel
with people.
Now that you have space for revaluation of your life,
Trevor, may the Lord renew your strength and energy and
lead you on in many years of enjoyable and well-deserved
retirement. And may the one to whom you hand the baton
not let it slip. You have certainly made their task a lot easier
by the foundation you have laid. Robert B. Watson
Trevor in Switzerland
9
How does your garden grow?
From time to time Chris Edwards is asked ‘How does
St. Paul’s grow?’ He explains that all they do at St. Paul’s,
even establishing a primary school, is with missional intent.
Chris Edwards
Part of the answer to this question about growth is that we
certainly get new members from the local area. After all, we
are located in a very popular expatriate area. A massive
thirty per cent of Tervuren’s population are non-Belgian, so it
is a great place to find English-speakers. But it takes more
than a good location for a church to grow. St. Paul’s has
always been a welcoming place with a keen evangelical
heart. The Bible has been preached faithfully and small
groups that study the Bible have been essential.
I suppose the evangelical priorities of the church are most
clearly seen in the way St. Paul’s has always been a ‘missional’
church. A commitment to mission away from Tervuren is
very high on the church’s list of priorities. Almost twenty
per cent of the annual budget goes to mission and ministry
elsewhere. But we also see mission where we are as a vital
part of our church life.
The most significant times of growth for St. Paul’s have
been, interestingly, when the church did mission locally.
The first significant growth took place when Holy Trinity,
Brussels sent a core group in 1988 to start the church. It
seemed that in the large expatriate population around
10 ICS News and Prayer Diary | April 2012
Tervuren many were simply waiting to attend a new
Anglican church! The church quickly grew. After about nine
years the local village church we ‘borrowed’ each week was
too small for the growing numbers. The congregation moved
to the cafeteria of the British School. After another six years
the cafeteria was feeling too full! So a whole new church was
planted: ‘The Link’, in nearby Kraainem.
But growth takes more than changes to what we do on
Sundays, or where we do it.
At the same time that the church sent off a team of about
thirty to plant The Link, another group of St. Paul’s members
became involved in the ownership and management of a
local English-speaking primary school. In 2007 the school
was renamed St. Paul’s British Primary School. The relationship between the church and the school is based on the same
principles as with the Church of England primary schools in
the UK and the school has a well-deserved reputation for
outstanding pastoral care and excellence in education.
A challenge as time goes on will be to maintain the good
relationship between the church and the school, and to keep
the school as a local mission. To do that, we insist that the
Head Teacher and the Board of Directors of the St. Paul’s
British Primary School Foundation are individuals who are
in good standing with the church. In 2008 the Independent
Schools Inspectorate (ISI) inspected St. Paul’s British Primary
ICS News and Prayer Diary | April 2012 11
School and found that: The quality of care and relationships (at
the School) is outstanding. The School fully achieves its aim of
creating an environment of trust and mutual respect. To have
such a positive, objective evaluation from a professional
body was obviously encouraging to both the school and the
church.
St. Paul’s has always been a church that is keen to reach
out to the local community and to see the gospel go to the
world. But is that really where growth comes from?
In 1 Corinthians 3 St. Paul uses agricultural imagery to
describe these mission activities. He says these things are
like sowing and watering crops. While sowing and watering
certainly helps growth, they don’t give growth. Where does
that come from? It is God who gives the growth!
And that’s our testimony: that, despite our feeble efforts,
God has given growth. All the glory belongs to him. Prayer points: page 43
ICS News and Prayer Diary | July 2011
Renewing the foundations
Richard Pamplin reflects on his four years in Viña del Mar
and Valparaíso: ‘a time to break down and a time to build
up’,1 in church life as well as for Chile.
Richard and Lynne Pamplin
Arco Britanico,* Valparaíso
*Inscription:
1810– LA CUIDAD DE
VALPARAISO
LA COLONIA
BRITANICA –1910
[The City of Valparaíso
The British Colony/
Community]
1
Ecclesiastes 3: 3
What is there to report after more than four years, an earthquake and an enforced home change, all on the other side of
the world? Admittedly central Chile where we live is not
quite ‘The Uttermost Part of the Earth’ and aspects can resemble the Mediterranean at times, but it is still a very long
way from family and friends in Europe.
It would be hard to talk of achievements, though we have
learned a modicum of Spanish: not too bad at our age, especially as some Chileans have told us, with apparent pride,
that they speak the fastest and worst Spanish in the world.
However, the church is still there, somewhat older and
leaner in numbers, but new faces have kept appearing and
disappearing, replacing some of the longer term members
who have moved on, whether upwards or sideways.
In fact, St. Peter’s, Viña del Mar is the last self-supporting
English-speaking Anglican congregation in Chile, a token of
the huge British contribution to the development of modern
Chile and especially of Valparaíso and Viña. The problem is
that changing political and economic realities forced many
Brits to leave Chile, and nearly all of those who remain have
assimilated into the wider European influenced community.
In short, numbers are definitely down—usually not a good
sign! Some have moved on to minister elsewhere, hopefully
better equipped. Some have gone to ‘a better place’, well prepared, I trust. I hope that no failure of mine to teach, rebuke,
and correct from the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3: 16) makes me
responsible for anyone falling away at the end!
Working here has given me time to prepare Bible studies
(and start an evening study as well as continuing the existing
daytime one). Some weeks’ attendance at the two studies has
equalled the Sunday congregation, so even if the flock has
not grown, we believe that it has been fed. Furthermore, I
have had the privilege of attending and very occasionally
leading the local archdeaconry preachers’ seminar. The
questions raised by the participants and those I asked of
myself gave further impetus to go back and study the
Scriptures to a depth I had not done for years.
Star gazing, Elqui Valley
Water in the desert,
Limari District
Other insights from Chile
We lost a fair amount of breakable possessions in the earthquake, a reminder that ‘a man’s life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions.’ (Luke 12: 15 NIV)
On a recent trip to the Elqui Valley, famed for its observatories (and its New Age obsessions), we slept in a kind of
luxury tent with an opening roof that let us see the stars.
Towards dawn, as the first hint of light began to appear in
the eastern sky, the stars suddenly vanished as if switched
off: the light had hit the atmospheric pollution present even
above that remote desert valley. Another reminder: this time
about the ‘unfruitful works of darkness’ being exposed by
the light (see Ephesians 5: 11–13) and how the results of our
sinful actions can cloud our vision of God’s handiwork.
Not too far from the Elqui Valley we stopped to look at an
oasis in the desert, which brought to mind Psalm 1: Blessed is
the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in
the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in
the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in
season and whose leaf does not wither. And Isaiah 44: For I will
pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I
will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your
descendants. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like
poplar trees by flowing streams (NIV).
Much of our life, personal and locally, has involved rebuilding after the earthquake. One house near our new home
was not too badly damaged, but the whole hillside on which
it stood along with half the road that ran above it had slipped
and was unsafe. The house had to be removed to dig a huge
hole so that new footings for the replacement road could
safely be established. Work still continues, two years after the
Adobe house damaged by
earthquake, Viña del Mar
earthquake (see photo below). By contrast, near our old home
an adobe house had far more damage—as pictured in my
previous article in Issue 46—but now the remains of the
ground floor are the base for a whole new house, using newer
techniques, that will be much larger and far better suited to
present day needs (see photo on previous page).
The future of St. Peter’s remains an open question. Metaphorically speaking, should we cover up the signs of ageing
and obsolescence, and struggle to keep all the good things
from the past intact and active? Or, should we tear down the
structure we have been using until we get something we can
build on to create a bigger and better base from which to
reach out with the gospel? Or, in order to be linked with the
world around us, do we have to dig out everything in order
to create new foundations for future action? We ourselves
will no longer be part of finding the answer(s) for St. Peter’s,
but we will have our own rebuilding or new building to do
back in England.
Finally, as I watch the small fishing boats that we sometimes see from our house I ponder that if we are to be ‘fishers
of men’, whether in Chile or in England, we may have to
consider the perceptive remark I heard some years ago: the
bait has to be attractive to the fish—whereas too many
churches spend all their energies making the bait attractive
to the fishermen and fisherwomen! Hole in the road, Reñaca
At home in Vevey
One of the marks of chaplaincy life is a stronger sense of
being the body of Christ than is sometimes apparent in other
churches.
Clive Atkinson
It’s a late Saturday afternoon at the tail end of January and
I’m on a train travelling back from Bern to Vevey. I have just
attended the Swiss Archdeaconry Synod and sitting opposite me is the All Saints’ Archdeaconry Rep, Claire Daglish.
Claire has been part and parcel of the All Saints’ family for
over twenty-five years. She first arrived in Vevey in the mid
eighties as an eighteen year old to work for a year as an au
pair. She returned to Vevey and All Saints’ five years later as
a trained nurse to work in the CHUV (the university hospital
of Vaudois) in Lausanne, and has been here ever since.
People often remark about the ‘turnover’ of members in
expatriate churches and certainly it is the case that All Saints’
loses and gains as people come and go for what is on average
a three-year period. That is why Claire and people like her
bring an essential consistency to what can be a very fluid
church experience.
As the train smoothly moved towards Vevey, the word
‘family’ repeatedly came up in our conversation as we talked
about Claire’s early experiences at All Saints’. For her, finding
a surrogate family, a home from home, was one of the greatest
gifts All Saints’ offered her in those early days.
We ought never to underestimate this simple but powerful
gift of a community of Christians who love one another. And
this becomes even more powerful in an international setting
when families and friendship circles have to be left behind
and new arrivals come eager for security and a sense of
belonging. How many of us have seen the Holy Spirit take
those fundamental desires and use them as a way to draw
people to Jesus? John de Bruin, a great pillar of All Saints’
now gone to glory, especially used to say of All Saints’, ‘It’s
our home!’
Talking further about her experiences, Claire spoke of
the ‘price and privilege’ of being part of a community
which is so fluid. She described how Christian life as an
expatriate caused deep friendships to form very quickly but
equally how painful it was to say ‘goodbye’ to those very
same people as they moved on and one stayed behind. In the
Claire and Jeremy Daglish
nine years that I have been Chaplain of All Saints’, my family
and I have experienced this ‘price and privilege’. We have
met, befriended, loved and been loved by and said ‘farewell’
to many wonderful people.
This is a challenging but a fundamental part of the ministry expatriate churches offer. Church communities like those
which ICS partners intentionally invest in people who may
very well move on. The investment we make in people is not
simply for the benefit of our congregations but for the wider
church. As Claire rightly says, this ministry is both ‘price and
privilege’. I often think of Mark and Linda Simmons who
came to faith through All Saints’: they left to return to New
Zealand and are now running the men’s and women’s ministry in their local church: ‘price and privilege’.
In talking to Claire about her experiences of an international church, it is impossible to separate her experiences
from those of her husband Jeremy and their three daughters.
It was at All Saints’ that Claire met Jeremy, and All Saints’ has
been the church community in which they have raised their
family. Being part of a church where the spiritual welfare of
their children was taken seriously was ‘massively important’
to Jeremy and Claire.
As we chewed over the need to provide creative children’s
and youth ministry, I found myself reflecting again upon the
challenge of resourcing ministry within fluid expatriate
congregations—be that children’s, youth or adult discipleship. This is probably the biggest challenge we currently face
at All Saints’ and if we find a solution we will no doubt
patent it and grow rich from it.
I was asked by ICS to write an article about ministry at All
Saints’. I am not sure whether I have done this, but I think it
has something to do with living with the ‘now and not yet’.
Ministry in an expatriate setting means loving people who
might move on, making an investment in people from which
you might not benefit and still seeking to be Church in the
normal sense of the word. And at the end of the day I think I
have to say that I love it. Clive Atkinson
An intern in Brussels
ICS has for some years helped to fund an intern to serve with
the Archbishop’s Representative to the EU, based at Holy
Trinity, Brussels. So, what is involved in being an intern?
James Christie Brown
In 2010 I was certain that I would be moving back to
England. The previous two years had been spent in
Fontainebleau where I served as the youth worker. As
wonderful as that time had been, moving back seemed the
right thing to do. That was until I saw the advert to work in
Brussels with Gary Wilton. There was a sudden attraction to
this post that I did not fully understand and, only now that I
am well into the second year here, can I see why that was. I
am extremely grateful to ICS for supporting this role and also
for the great benefit it has been to me.
The ubiquitous question is, ‘So James, what do you do?’
and at this point I have to take a deep breath: ‘I am Assistant
to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the
European Union, who is also the Canon of the Pro-Cathedral
of Holy Trinity.’ It sometimes feels like the job itself is as
complicated and ongoing as the job title, so I suppose it is
appropriate! Gary is the leader of the 7pm Community at
Holy Trinity and so my time also is split between working
with this and with supporting Gary’s work with the political
structures. I will give a little overview of the two sides of my
role and share some thoughts on my personal experience
here in Brussels.
A lot of work on the political side is less glamorous than a
business card would have you believe. The majority of my
time is spent giving admin support to Gary in his meetings,
travels and bookings; although, having said that, there have
been plenty of opportunities for more independent activity
as well. For example, I help to run a prayer group that meets
every week in the European Parliament. Our aim is to
become a source of life and encouragement to those working
there, as well as a place to help keep work and faith
connected.
There is plenty to celebrate in a higher level of engagement
as well since, along with Gary, I have been involved in
Wilton Park conferences. Many of you will have heard us
speak about Wilton Park, which is an executive agent of the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office and which has been
focusing its attention increasingly on the role of religion in
international affairs. This has become a very important and
strategic part of our work as it is a place of great influence
and importance. I was rapporteur for one of the conferences
there and alongside other events such as meetings within
Bishops’ Continuing Ministerial Education (CME) visits, this
has opened me up to a whole range of work that I had
not encountered before. This internship has been a great
opportunity in that respect.
The opportunity for learning and growth has also come
very strongly through the work with the 7pm Community at
Holy Trinity. This is a growing community of people predominantly in their twenties and thirties. Since I have been
involved in a large number of roles in the community, there
has been abundant opportunity to be stretched and to grow
as I have served.
As a result of flourishing here amidst responsibility and
care, I am now pursuing ordination as possibly the next step.
Working so closely with Gary, and also with the rest of the
team at Holy Trinity, has given me real insight into the calls
God has on my life both now and in the future. I am thrilled
to have been here in this time and seen not only the
important work that is involved but also the way it has
shaped me. James Christie Brown
With Gary Wilton at the 2011
ICS AGM, Lambeth Palace
The church in the cupboard
Brian Underwood commented on the church in Voorschoten,
in his history of ICS, ‘The striking feature of the chaplaincy
is the youthfulness of the congregation.’
Andrew and Julie Ison
with Emma and Clare
St. James’, in the British
Senior School Hall
‘We have to apply for this job,’ my wife Julie said, when we
saw the advertisement for the post of chaplain of St. James’,
back in January 2007.
It was not the comment I had expected because I was
merely scanning the advertisements in the Church Times as I
do every week, to see what was happening and who was
moving on. At the time we were settled in Nottingham, so I
thought I could talk myself out of a move, but it became clear
that God had a plan and so we arrived in Voorschoten seven
months later.
That was five years ago and as our time at St. James’ draws
to a close we are able to reflect on what an amazing experience it has been to live and worship abroad as a family. We
have learned a lot from being with such a rich variety of
people from different nationalities and church backgrounds.
A church without buildings—a mixed blessing
St. James’, Voorschoten is, in ICS terms, an unusual church as
we have no building and are located in a small town of
22,000 people. We meet in the school hall of the British Senior
School and have done so for over thirty years since the
Christmas Nativity, St. James’
Our summer picnic
Blessing the children at
Communion
Building the Nativity scene
at Christmas
church was planted by St. John and St. Philip’s, The Hague.
We are affectionately known as ‘the church in the cupboard’
as everything we need for a Sunday service is kept in a cupboard at the school. As a result our Sunday morning service
takes about an hour to set up and resembles a military
offensive! Not having a building has always been described
as our greatest asset and our biggest weakness, but it is
something we live with.
St. James’ is very much a family church and it is wonderful
to have many families come each Sunday to worship. One
third of our church members are under the age of eighteen
which means that we have a thriving junior church. Our
youth ministers, Brad and Marissa Kelderman came to
St. James’ from New Zealand and reflect the international
nature of St. James’.
Like most international churches we have had a large
turnover of people in the five years we have been here.
We have also noticed quite a change in the demographics as
the economic crisis, which has affected the Netherlands
moderately, has brought with it changes. The regular turnover of expats on a four or five year contract working for
the multinationals such as Shell and Unilever has pretty
well dried up, and we have become a much more stable
community where deeper relationships can grow and a
vision develop without constantly having to bring people up
to speed.
As we plan our move to Driffield in East Yorkshire there
are many things that we will miss about life in Holland. By
far the biggest loss will be the amazing people, both locals
and expatriates, whom we have come to know and love.
Holland is a beautiful and safe environment for children and
ours have benefited from the fun, casual life here and a
chance to become bilingual. We have loved the cycling, big
skies, windmills and canals: the list goes on and on.
Conversely, of course, we will be glad not to have to travel so
often or fill in tax returns in Dutch!
Our time at St. James’ has been a wonderful experience
and we are confident that the new chaplain will find in
St. James’ a church that is warm, welcoming and excited
about the next stage of its journey. We will miss you,
St. James’! Andrew Ison
Seeking a city with foundations
In David W. Smith’s book, Seeking a city with foundations:
Theology for an urban world, Chris Martin, Chaplain at
Lyon, finds much of relevance to ICS’s ministry.
Chris Martin at Madonna
dell’Orto, Venice, 2011
At Patmos Evangelical
Church, Kibera (Nairobi)
1
David Smith addressed
the ICS Annual Meeting
in 2007
Most of us within the ICS family and within the Diocese in
Europe exercise our ministry in a fast-changing, multicultural, essentially urban world. This is perhaps inevitable,
given the speed of urbanisation. An ever increasing proportion of the world’s population live in cities as opposed to
rural areas. Harvey Cox has suggested that the twentieth
century will be known to future historians as the century ‘in
which the whole world became an immense city’.
It is an acknowledged truth that the Bible starts in a garden
and ends in a city. Many urban writers, and some theologians, have lamented this expulsion from the garden, and
have seen the building of cities as a disastrous consequence
of ‘the Fall’. They long for ‘a return to Paradise’. But a diametrically different reading of the biblical narrative sees the
New Jerusalem as the culmination of God’s plans for his
people; in this vision the transition from rural innocence to
urban civilisation receives the stamp of divine approval. Yet
theologians have too often remained indifferent to the
challenges presented by today’s urban world.
In Part One of this wide-ranging work, David Smith1
surveys a broad swathe of literature that treats the birth and
growth of the city. He traces the evolution of the city, and
of the idea of the city, from the primitive urban culture of
pre-patriarch Mesopotamia, by way of the Industrial
Revolution in nineteenth century Glasgow, and by way of
Ebenezer Howard’s Garden Cities and Le Corbusier’s La Ville
Radieuse, to today’s sprawling, impoverished slums of the
global south.
The underlying question is the search for meaning. Smith
quotes from the prescient lines of T. S. Eliot which continue
to haunt urbanists and urban theologians:
When the Stranger says: 'What is the meaning of this city?
Do you huddle close together because you love each other?
What will you answer? 'We all dwell together
To make money from each other'? or 'This is a community'?
Choruses from The Rock (1934)
Seeking a city with foundations:
Theology for an urban world
David W. Smith
Inter-Varsity Press (IVP),
Nottingham, 2011
Many scholars from the social sciences are profoundly
gloomy about today’s urban world. Jane Jacobs’ latest book
(published in 2005) is entitled Dark Age Ahead, and many
secular writers analyse the contemporary situation in distinctly eschatological terms.
In Part Two of his book, David Smith encourages us to
turn afresh to the biblical narratives. He warns against the
profoundly negative reading of Jacques Ellul’s The Meaning of
the City, and equally against other interpreters who suggest
that all Old Testament urban culture was in accordance with
God’s will and purpose. He encourages us to look again at the
prophetic take on the city. He offers an illuminating link
between the experience of Hosea and Zygmunt Bauman’s
present-day warning about a ‘city without love’.
Turning to the New Testament, David Smith helps us to
move on from the once favoured image of Jesus as a country
rabbi whose followers were simple peasants living in a rural
backwater. Galilee was an area marked by disturbance and
upheaval as a result of the impact of Roman colonialisation.
Excavations at Sepphoris, within an hour’s walk of Nazareth,
reveal a sophisticated urban culture. The demonised man
healed by Jesus (Mark chapter 5) may well have been the
victim of the brutalising violence of the Roman legions.
The book is an antidote to despair. The author calls for a
fresh vision for the future of our cities; for a willingness of
the church to stand out against the prevailing secularist,
materialist world-view; for a form of worship that impacts
and informs our working life and decisions.
I commend this challenging book strongly to all who are
interested in the changing nature of the world around us. Restoring the Shamed:
Towards a Theology of Shame
Robin Stockitt, 2012
View it online at:
https://wipfandstock.com/store/
Restoring_the_Shamed_
Towards_a_Theology_of_Shame
Robin Stockitt, Chaplain of Anglican Church Freiburg, has
written a book on ‘Shame’. Shame transcends boundaries of
time and is evident in diverse cultures across the world.
Found throughout the pages of Scripture, it is conspicuous by
its absence in modern theology. This book attempts to redress
the balance by exploring the theology of shame, from its
inception in the Garden of Eden to the final triumph over
shame on the Cross. Restoring the Shamed offers the opportunity to think theologically about one of the most urgent, yet
strangely secret, issues of contemporary society. ICS News and Prayer Diary | April 2012 23
Waiting in Egypt . . .
Egypt tends to feature in British news mainly when violence
erupts. Mike Parker, Chaplain at All Saints’ Cathedral in
Cairo, gives a glimpse behind the headlines.
Mike and Helen Parker
Fightback on tourism
This article is late. Late, because we’re always waiting here in
Egypt. Waiting for the next moment, what the next event will
bring, how things will go.
What we know is, always expect the unexpected.
Like when we braced ourselves for the first of the Uprising
anniversaries. The big days of demonstrations and protests
passed off without serious incident, despite people pulling
in different directions. Then the rain came.
Rain here is rare—five days a year perhaps. Our water
comes from below, from the Nile, the Mother of the Earth.
Tuesday was different. Down it came, steady, firm, brown at
first, bringing desert sand, then enough to wash some of that
sand away. No drains though, so bad news for those in tents in
Tahrir, but maybe a sign we’re in for more of the unexpected.
One year on, where have we got to? A corrupt and oppressive regime has fallen. Egyptians have votes, so everyone is
now involved. There has been a sense of newness in conversation and debate. For the first time ever, Christians openly
led New Year prayers in Tahrir Square.
We’ve started, but we’re a long way off finished. The old
regime has only gone in part. We’re still under military rule,
albeit more relaxed after most of the Emergency Laws were
lifted at last. The economy is in serious trouble. It wasn’t
brilliant before, but at least it worked. As prices shoot up, no
one seems to know how it will pick up.
As expected, the first Parliamentary elections gave a clear
Muslim majority: seventy per cent if you put the Muslim
Brotherhood (the Freedom and Justice Party) and the Salafis
(the Party of the Light) together. Very few Christians got
elected, even fewer women. Now we wait for the Upper
House election results. Then more waiting, for changes to the
Constitution and the election of a new President in June.
Then (perhaps) the eventual release of power by the Military.
Meanwhile All Saints’ has grown a bit in numbers and, we
think, in depth. Many who come are what Don Carson calls
‘world Christians’—godly people who are instinctively
thinking beyond their own country and background, who
are tuned to look for what God is doing on the wider stage,
and who are eager to engage fully with whatever they find
wherever they go. Our five Bible study groups are small in
number, but each in turn is grappling with God’s word in the
face of the changes.
Bishop Mouneer’s inspiring leadership has taken him to
investigate incidents, into the media, to meet Coptic Church
leaders, to call us to pray. On a recent visit to his friend the
Grand Imam, he found a long-bearded Muslim man distraught at the hatred being stirred up against Christians
around his downtown home; he had come to urge the Imam
to speak out against the books and papers fuelling it. Not
what you might expect.
Our Coptic friends have a tradition that the God who
moves mountains once moved the Moqattam Hills, where
the Christian rubbish-collecting community now live and
work. Moving mind-mountains is just as much a miracle. At
the recent Cairo Book Festival, the Bible Society took double
their usual space to make more literature available. They
wrote, ‘In this new atmosphere of freedom and openness,
this is a wonderful opportunity we don’t want to miss!’
Now we wait to see if that openness continues. What the
new Parliament will prioritise. If more miracles will take
place. Pray with us for doors to open for the gospel, and for a
clear and winning Christian witness across the nation. Entrance to All Saints’
More than a land of crocodiles
The Christian difference is always to view even the most
remote place as somewhere that God loves, observes Mark
Short, National Director of The Bush Church Aid Society.
Mark Short
For the nine years before I moved to Sydney to take up the
reins as National Director of The Bush Church Aid Society
(BCAS, or BCA for short) our family lived in Wagga Wagga (in
case you’re wondering, the name means ‘place of many
crows’ in the local Wiradjuri language). One of Wagga’s
claims to fame is that it was there that we see the first recorded use of the term ‘outback’ to describe the Australian
countryside.
But what or where is the outback, or the Bush for that
matter? For many Australians it is a place of romance and
adventure, the original home of classic Aussie values such as
mateship and a fair go. For others the Bush is a place of bounty,
where big bucks are waiting to be made in the booming
mining industry. For others it is a place of threat and mystery,
where crocodiles and snakes stalk the unwary traveller.
But Christians know it is a place created by God, the same
God who longs to bless it and its people through the Lord
Jesus Christ. It is that knowledge that since 1919 has sustained BCA’s ministry, which in turn is founded upon the
earlier work of the Colonial and Continental Church Society,
the forerunner of ICS.
How do you begin engaging such a vast mission field? I
am working at listening: listening to stories of faithful saints
who’ve partnered with BCA through prayer, personal contact
and generous giving. I’m listening to Christians in rural and
remote Australia as they share their hopes and challenges.
Some areas are booming even as others are in decline. There
is the constant need to find new and creative ways of equipping believers and engaging missionally with the broader
community. But God is faithful, and so I want to spend time
with others listening to his word.
Our family spent three delightful years in Durham,
England at the turn of the century so we know that mission
on the other side of the world is both the same and different
to what it is here.
I look forward to strengthening our partnership with ICS
as we share in that mission. 26 ICS News and Prayer Diary | April 2012
ICS family news
This year will see an exceptional number of changes, with
several chaplains retiring or moving on, and new appointments; and one French chaplaincy has come of age.
Trevor Letchford
Archdeacon Kenneth Letts,
John Wilkinson, Paul Shelton
Seasonal Ministry Manager
Trevor Letchford, ICS Seasonal Ministry Manager, officially
retired at the end of February after serving the Society since
1999. Over the years many seasonal chaplains have come to
appreciate his thorough preparation, his attention to detail
and his great humility. We are grateful that Trevor has offered
to be on hand in the office on an occasional basis until July. See
page 8 for an appreciation by Robert Watson, a seasonal chaplain of long standing.
Fontainebleau comes of age
Twenty years ago last year, a community of Christians which
had begun as a Bible study group from St. Michael’s, Paris,
welcomed their first resident chaplain, Revd John Benwell.
The English-speaking Church in Fontainebleau, the Eglise
Anglicane de Fontainebleau, grew and developed over the
years, moving from the local Eglise Réformée for its Sunday
services to the chapel of the Lycée Saint Aspais, which gives
greater opportunities, not least for children’s ministry.
St. Michael’s remained the mother church, but the life of the
Fontainebleau church was for the most part independent of
Paris. Over recent years the process of becoming a full chaplaincy within the Diocese in Europe has stopped and started,
but finally on 26 November 2011, Saint Luke’s, Fontainebleau
was inaugurated and the Archdeacon read the documents
which officially meant that we had come of age. Philip
Mounstephen was present on behalf of St. Michael’s, and
representatives of other local churches were also there.
As Saint Luke’s moves forward into a new period of its life,
we ask your prayers for faithful stewardship of all that the
Lord has given us though the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ;
for prayerfulness, and for renewed vision for reaching out in
the English-speaking community around us. John Wilkinson
Comings and goings
Andrew Ison moved from Voorschoten to Driffield, East
Yorkshire at the end of March: see ‘The church in the cupboard’ (page 20) for his reflections on five years of ministry in
the Netherlands. Our prayers go with Andrew and Julie,
Emma and Clare, as they settle back into the UK.
With the prospect of leaving Chile in March, Richard
Pamplin has shared his thoughts on the future of ministry in
the Viña del Mar area (see page 13). We wish Richard and
Lynne a long and happy retirement, back on the same continent as their grandchildren at last. David Greenwood, the
new Chaplain who arrives in May, has been invited to introduce himself (see page 61).
Mark Cregan left Casablanca in March; he, Juliet and their
daughter Sophia, currently at school in the UK, are in our
prayers as they seek the Lord’s way forward.
Roy Ball retires from Heiloo in April, having served with
ICS for a total of eighteen years, first in Grenoble, and then in
Klaipeda, Lithuania. He and Joke are wished a long and fulfilling retirement in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire.
Tony and Jill Roake leave The Hague at the end of April;
Tony is to be congratulated on his appointment as Rector of
Christ Church, Nailsea and of Tickenham in the Diocese of
Bath and Wells.
John de Wit retires from Utrecht in mid-May after eight
years at Holy Trinity, and Zwolle; for the last four he has also
been Archdeacon of North-West Europe. We wish John and
Pam a well-earned rest (and more time for John to enjoy
playing the cello!).
Penny Frank, sadly, has resigned from Château d’Oex . We
trust that she and Tom will quickly settle back into the UK.
Chris and Louise Maclay
A new chaplain for Versailles
We look forward to welcoming Chris Maclay as Chaplain at
Versailles in July. He and his wife Louise write: We are moving
to Versailles after seven years in West Sussex, working in the
parishes of Ashington and Washington; we recently enjoyed the
reunification of the Benefice, to include the parish of Wiston once
more. We have four girls, but two are already at university in the
UK, so will be getting to know Easyjet and Eurostar quite well!
Our current post is Chris’s first as incumbent. Prior to that, he
was Curate in Bedhampton (Portsmouth Diocese). Before he
trained for ordination the family spent four and a half years as
CMS Mission Partners in Nigeria where Chris was a Rural
Development worker for the Diocese of Abuja.
ICS News and Prayer Diary | July 2011
Chris sees his ministry in terms of Ephesians 4, ‘to equip the
saints for works of service’ and enjoys seeing people developing in
their God-given talents and abilities. We have really enjoyed seeing
the churches here grow in numbers, maturity and unity.
We are excited to be moving to Versailles and were particularly
attracted to the ICS sense of being a mission agency. We have some
idea of how an expatriate community operates and feels, but we are
also looking forward to building relationships with ‘locals’—those
who maybe won’t come to St. Mark’s Church. Chris has a degree
(from quite a long time ago!) in French; the rest of us are listening
to Michel Thomas CD’s! We are not really ‘townies’, so it will take
a little adaptation—moving to a house next to the motorway slip
road and the RER railway line—but we feel a very clear call of God
to this chaplaincy. We have not yet broken the news to our dogs, but
we are looking for new homes for the bantams and ducks who
DEFRA tell us would cost a lot to transport.
We look forward to getting to know the ICS family and working
together in what we know will be a tough mission environment.
Alja Tollefsen
A new chaplain for East Netherlands
On Saturday 3 March Dr Alja Tollefsen was licensed to the
East Netherlands Group of Chaplaincies (ENGC): Twente,
Arnhem and Nijmegen. Alja studied Spanish and medicine
at the University of Utrecht and, after a career in medical
research, came to the UK to train for the Anglican ministry.
Following a curacy and incumbency in the north of England
Alja returned to the Netherlands, serving in the Old Catholic
Church until she resigned to nurse her husband through the
final stages of his illness. Now Alja is returning to the
Anglican ministry, this time in her homeland.
The previous ENGC chaplain, Sam Van Leer, is now based
at Groningen. Sam has a long association with the Society
and has expressed a wish to retain his links, particularly
valuing the prayer support of the ICS fellowship.
Collecting stamps and coins for ICS
All stamps (except British ones bearing only the Queen’s
head) and collectable coins can be sold to raise funds for ICS.
Simply trim the envelope around each stamp to leave a neat
border. Stamps, albums, collections, first day covers or coins
may be posted to Mrs Sylvia Leyton, South Parsonage Barn,
Bunstead Lane, Hursley, Winchester SO21 2LQ, UK.
A new home for the office
As a consequence of the sale of the Tachbrook premises by
CPAS, ICS’s headquarters moved in early February to
Coventry, near the Warwick University campus.
ICS office
The Society’s new two-storey office is located partway along
the lefthand side of the courtyard as shown above. The main
windows on the opposite side (seen below behind the three
trees) look out on to a wooded area. Some extra parking is
available on this side of the building.
The Society are grateful to Maggie Winham for leading the
search for new premises and organising all that was needed to
re-establish the office; the support of all the staff in the face of
A wintry move, but . . .
. . . spring was close behind
the extra work, travel and inconvenience is also much appreciated. The move took place when heavy snow was forecast,
but fortunately the actual snowfall did not disrupt unduly.
By the end of the month the office looked as if it had always
been in the new location, despite many challenges.
Setting up the new office:
Maggie upstairs (above)
Downstairs meeting room
and storage (right)
www.ics-uk.org
© ICS
News
Prayer
Diary
| April 2012
ICSICS
News
andand
Prayer
Diary
| January
2012 31
subscription
The new address and telephone numbers for the ICS office
are given on the back of this magazine; there is no change in
either the e-mail address or web site.
In addition to the office committee room, a moderate sized
meeting room is available for tenants on the site to hire when
the need arises. Therefore provision for ICS Council meetings
or seasonal ministry training days is an option within the
Westwood Business Park complex.
Established, despite
the weather!
32 ICS News and Prayer Diary | January
April 2012
2012
ICS summer chaplaincies 2012
An open church door
FRANCE
This year there are fewer seasonal chaplaincies in France
than in the past, reflecting the expected drop in those taking
holidays abroad because of the Olympic Games and the
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, or because of the poor exchange
rate. Chaplaincies have been retained in the French resorts
which have a good record of church attendance.
Worshipping with Christians from other denominations
and other countries, and socialising afterwards, can provide
a rewarding holiday experience—and sometimes a lifechanging one.
Argelès-sur-Mer, Pyrénées (66700, Languedoc-Rousillon)
22 July–19 August
11.00 The Chapel, Argelès Plage
Bénodet, Brittany (29950, Finistère)
22 July–12 August
11.15 St. Thomas Parish Church, by the port
Pont Aven, Brittany (29920, Finistère)
29 July–19 August
12.00 Névez Parish Church
St-Jean-de-Monts, Pays de la Loire (85160, Vendée)
29 July–19 August
11.00 Chapelle de Ste Thérèse, near Plage des Demoiselles
St. Thomas Church on the
quayside, Bénodet
SWITZERLAND
Interlaken, Berne (CH-3800)
8 July–26 August
10.00 Schlosskapelle (cloister chapel, next to the Swiss
Reformed Church)
Kandersteg, Berne (CH-3718)
5–26 August
11.15 Swiss Reformed Church
The chaplain will also serve the International Scout Centre.
Wengen, Berne (CH-3823)
St. Bernard’s Church
Sundays 3 June–23 September, 10.00 and 18.00
Thursdays 7 June–20 September
17.30 informal service
Zermatt, Valais (CH-3920)
St. Peter’s Church
Sundays 10 June–23 September, 10.00 and 18.30
Thursdays 14 June–20 September
17.30 informal service
ITALY
SPAIN
Cavallino (near Venice)
3 June–19 August
11.15 Church on Union Lido Vacanze campsite*
Es Canar, Ibiza
13 May–21 October
10.30 The Chapel
Cala Llonga, Ibiza
June–October (to be confirmed)
18.00 The open-air chapel
Also in some hotels: check locally for information and to
verify services are being held.*
ICS is a mission agency of
* These services may be accessible to hotel/campsite residents only. Occasionally service
times and locations have to be changed due to circumstances beyond our control! We
apologise for any inconvenience caused. Please enquire locally.
Enjoy your holiday, travel safely, be conscious of our Lord.
ICS News and Prayer Diary | January 2012

ICS News Issue 50 April 2012 - Intercontinental Church Society

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