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THE ANCHOR NEWSLETTER
DECEMBER 2015
ST BARTHOLOMEW’S ANGLICAN CHURCH ST BARTH, FWI
WELCOME to the ‘new look’ Anchor, your parish bulletin to keep you anchored to what is going on at St Bartholomew’s Anglican Church – whether you are on St Barth or reading this at home! The December 2015 edition contains details of all our Christmas Services – if you are on-island, do come and join us at this very special time of the year. This edition, published at the beginning of Advent denoting the start of the new church year, also contains Father Charlie’s annual letter detailing church life over the past 12 months. We hope you will enjoy reading it and finding out how active we have been on the island. Our 1885 Appeal to refurbish the Church and Vicarage was successfully launched earlier in the year, and we have managed to raise over €430,000 – a truly magnificent achievement. We have left the Appeal open so that you may still donate; and all funds not used in the refurbishment (which will take place during Summer 2016) will be used to make sure the Church is maintained for the future. We will give more details about the Appeal and works in the next edition of the Anchor The Church not only hopes to keep you spiritually anchored on St Barth, but also offers other forms of fellowship – both cerebral and sporting … We will continue our ‘Best Seller Book Club’ which meets twice a month on Mondays at 6pm. A list of the books and dates can be found on page 3. We also will continue our tradition of New Year’s Day ‘Games in the Garden’ at 4pm on Friday 1st January 2016, with Croquet & Scrabble (plus refreshments!) on offer to players of all standards. Do come along and join us!
Annual Letter from the Vicar
Weekly Groups & Services Sunday Eucharist 9am Sundays
As I prepare to write this annual newsletter, the heat is now retreating and we have the normal wonderful weather of November with a cool breeze and beautiful light! The season of Advent is now upon us and the island and the church are gearing up for a very busy high season. Everything seems to go so quickly these days, despite the worries and excitements of the world in which we live! I have spent much of the summer in the UK and Europe, (more about this later) but it’s always good to get back to this wonderful and evocative island! The church has had an exciting year and continues to grow in both its spirituality and its numbers. We are so fortunate to have such an eclectic mix of people that regard our church as their spiritual home on this island. A wonderful richness in its diversity! It has been an extraordinarily challenging year for our global community. Things seem to have deteriorated even from last year. We see appalling conflicts and atrocities in the Middle East. The desperate plight of literally millions of people fleeing the consequences of war and unspeakable acts of barbarism in Syria, Iraq, Libya and so many other
A contemporary service, filled with music and prayer
Taize Service 7pm Tuesdays Contemplative music and candles, held in the Church
Spirituality Group 10am Wednesdays A topical discussion group – all newcomers welcome
Meditation Group 7pm Thursdays A bilingual group, with a focus on calm & reflection
Morning Prayer 9am Fridays An informal prayer service, held in the Church Centre Editor & Parish Administrator: Philip Trangmar Phone: 0690 54 17 99 Email: info.stbartholomews@gmail.com Website: www.stbartholomewsanglicanchuch.com
Inside this issue Page 1 – The Annual Letter from the Vicar with details of the past year Page 2 – Details of our Christmas Services and a Christmas Message Page 3 – The Bestseller Book Club and Dates for your Diary Page 4 – Back Page Spirituality: Getting to know our Archbishop
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Christmas Services Sunday, 20 December 9am - Holy Eucharist Our Sunday service, with a mix of traditional and modern worship, prayers and music, as we prepare for the birth of Christ. Drinks served afterwards.
Thursday, 24 December 6.30pm – Carol Service Our traditional service with readings and familiar Christmas carols. This is always a very popular service, so do come early for a seat!
Friday, 25 December 9am – Christmas Day Join us to celebrate the birth of Christ on this special day in the Church’s calendar – with our Holy Eucharist service.
(Letter from the Vicar cont’d) places. And of course, it is not just confined to the Middle East! The appalling tragedy that unfolded before our eyes in Paris, just a few weeks ago, was a stark reminder to us all as to what fundamentalism, in all its forms, can bring. That 8 or 9 people driven by a madness that wants to attach to itself the label of “God”, is both unfathomable and unthinkable! The pain that so many families are now feeling from the attacks in the Stade de France and the surrounding areas is very deep. An echo of 9/11! Vunerable All of us are vulnerable. London, New York, Washington, Berlin, Moscow, Sydney and so many other places. Truly, it is or has become the challenge of our generation. My parents’ and grandparents’ generations fought two world wars. Perhaps, in some ways, it is a futile comparison but, nonetheless, fundamentalism, in all its forms (but which at this particular moment in history seems to have entrapped a small but significant section of Islam) is a serious challenge to the wellbeing and freedom of our worldwide community.
Sunday, 27 December 9am – Holy Eucharist Our Sunday service, where we will continue to celebrate the arrival of the infant Jesus. As always, drinks will be served afterwards.
A Christmas Message We will all hear several times during the Christmas period those opening words of John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was God, and the Word is God.” So what are we to make of this famous passage? Perhaps we can visualise the use of ‘Word’ in this passage as referring to Jesus and his ‘Light’. The Light that Christ brought with Him to shine in the darkness of our world. It is a Christmas light that cannot be extinguished because this light represents Christ’s fundamental values of truth, justice, peace, compassion and love - all principles we should try remember to hold in our hearts during this Christmas time.
Whilst many of us believe that this challenge must be met with resolute action and determination by a unified family of nations, it is also hugely important that we try to understand why this is happening. Is it really a question of a clash of religious cultures? I’m not convinced. Economics, education, opportunity, disparity of wealth and the ability for all to access the lifestyles of others through technology, all play a part. It is indeed a huge challenge to be a political leader in these difficult times! Migration Crisis In Europe, we have witnessed one of the greatest migration crises in literally hundreds of years. Millions of people who are desperate to find some sense of security and normality are pouring into Europe to escape the lunatics in charge of so many parts of the Middle East! It is an intractable and incredibly difficult problem to deal with. Compassion and our spiritual values demand that we extend the hand of welcome and hospitality to those who are desperate. However, there is a finite limit to the resources of any one nation. Further more, whether we like it or not, each nation feels a sense of its own identity
and therefore fears a dilution of that and the economic impact on its own indigenous community. That may be selfish but it’s understandable! Our Response And so what should our response be? It seems to me that we have no alternative but to respond forcefully to the appalling acts of barbarity and evil that we’ve witnessed in the Middle East and more recently in Pairs by Isis. We need to find a way to avoid so many young people being recruited to the terrorist cause. We need to compassionately plan our response to the mass movement of so many people and that plan needs to be both compassionate and practical! But above all, we need to continue to live our lives as normal showing solidarity with those who have been wounded in some way and refusing to allow the terrorists to disrupt our normal way of life. The Church across the World The worldwide church has had a mixed year. Pope Francis, such a giant of inclusion and promoting the “sacred heart of Christ” has, I suppose inevitably, suffered the setbacks that he must have expected from those who are terrified of change, or perhaps better put, loss of control. We must pray that his vision for the future church will ultimately prevail! In our own Anglican community, more particularly in the Church of England, we have, just this week been confronted by the preposterous notion that a Christmas advertisement for television and cinemas in the UK which included a sung version of the Lords Prayer was deemed politically inappropriate and unacceptable! Political correctness gone completely mad! However, millions of people around the word will be drawn to the wonderful opportunity of Christmas and for that, we should be wholeheartedly grateful.
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3 (Letter from the Vicar cont’d) Visiting Priests And so now we come to our own little church here in St Barths. It has been an exciting year where we have welcomed a record number of visiting priests, a lot of whom were visiting for the first time. The Very Revd Alan Jones, retired Dean of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, for some 25 years, came in February and it was wonderful to welcome him and his wife Cricket. Alan came to fill the shoes (albeit impossibly) of the Rt Revd Ted Eastman. Ted really has been the father of our church for over 30 years. Ted and Sarah have decided that after all of this time, it is time for them to simply enjoy a holiday here in St Barths in February rather than continue active ministry here. We are all so immensely grateful for what Ted and Sarah have done for us all over the years – I certainly am! It was Ted who got me job of vicar here nearly 14 years ago. It has been such a huge privilege for me during all of that time.
We are so grateful to all of those who come to share ministry in this place, which so enriches our worship and our spiritual journey. The 1855 Appeal As all of you know, we launched the 1855 Appeal in the early part of this year to raise €430,000 in order to enable us to refurbish the Church building and the vicarage. It is an extraordinary testimony to the generosity of so many within our Church family that we reached our target during the summer with the result that the work will take place during the summer of 2016, with the Church only closed for 2 months. During that time we will hold church services in the Church Centre and any weddings will take place in the Catholic Church in Gustavia with the very kind permission of the Roman Catholic Priest and his Bishop. The Vestry I’m delighted to say that we have been immensely fortunate with the makeup of our enlarged Vestry. It has been an active and productive group representing so many different gifts and talents and leading the organization of our Church. I’m very grateful to all of its members and particularly to Philip Trangmar, our Parish Administrator and President of the Church Association. Philip has done a wonderful job, not just in terms of the much-needed administrative role, but also in helping to lead services when there was no priestly presence on the island.
Fourteen Years I have had a wonderful 14 years as your vicar. It has not only been a privilege but an extraordinary joy to have been able to take part in the journey of our Church family over so many years. It has also been immensely formative for me and I’ve met some really outstanding people who have enabled me to deepen my own spirituality and therefore hopefully to help others. It would be wrong for me to name those people but they know who they are! However, I have to mention just two! Trinette and James Wellesley-Wesley – they have both been pivotal in my spiritual development. I won’t say more for fear of embarrassing Trinette!
Bestseller Book Club
After 14 years I have decided that it’s time for me to take a prolonged sabbatical. We have priestly cover pretty much throughout the next 12 months and for those odd weeks when we do not, I am delighted to say that our Bishop, Errol Brooks, has agreed to appoint Philip Trangmar as an official Lay Reader. Therefore he will be licensed to lead services of a nonsacramental nature. The reserve sacrament will of course still be offered during those services. In other words, we are well covered! I will be taking the services for Thanksgiving and Christmas but otherwise would expect to return to the fold next season.
Monday, 25th January Dead Wake by Erik Larsson The true story of the sinking of the Lusitania during WW1 and how it affected the United States and the World at War.
During the Year The Spirituality Group, the Meditation Group and most recently the Taize Group continue to thrive. During the year we have celebrated 12 weddings, 4 baptisms and 2 funerals. Mass was celebrated 40 times during the year with a total throughput of the church of some 4,265 people.
Every two weeks during High Season, a group gets together in the Church Centre to discuss a current bestseller or literary classic. There is a fun and convivial atmosphere, so if you have read or intend to read any of the following books, do join us: Monday, 11th January Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee The prequel to ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ has divided the opinions of reviewers and readers alike. It will be interesting to hear different views on how people feel it compares to its predecessor?
Monday, 8th February Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver A missionary and his family go to Africa with surprising consequences. The story is told from five different perspectives. Monday, 22nd February Zone of Interest by Marin Amis Written by one of the UK’s best known living authors, it is set in Germany in the 1940s; and crafts together the horror of those times with black humour and romance. The dates and books for March and April 2016 have yet to be decided. If there are any books which you would like to see discussed, please contact Philip Trangmar.
Dates for your Diary
Thank You I am so grateful to so many of you who contribute to church life in such a selfless way. In particular, the Trustees of our dedicated trust, The Friends of St Bartholomew’s Anglican Church; our music team led by Ombeline Collin and all who have given so generously to the Church. Without all of you, the Church community would not be what it is today. All of us here much look forward to seeing you when you are next on island.
Future dates which you might want to take note of are: Sunday, 7th February – Celebration Mass, followed by drinks and canapés in the garden. Monday, 8th to Friday, 12th February – a daily reflection for the start of lent on the theme ‘Your God is too small!’ led by Dean Alan Jones. More details in next month’s Anchor newsletter. Sunday 27th March – Our Easter Day Celebration, with our usual magnificent Service, and a garden party and egg hunt afterwards.
DECEMBER 2015
The Anchor
Back Page Spirituality – Getting to know our Archbishop Whilst many of you will have seen the recent appointment of the new Presiding Bishop in ECUSA (the Episcopal Church of the United States of America), in the Church of England we have had a new Head of the Church for the last two years. As we are part of the West Indian Diocese of the Church of England we come directly under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, so we thought that it might be interesting to find out a bit more about the current incumbent and his beliefs. Background The interesting part of Justin Welby’s story is that he never thought he would end up as a priest. He went from Eton to Cambridge then into the commercial world working for a large multinational oil company. He always held deep religious beliefs, but these were severely tested when he lost his seven-month daughter in a car accident involving his wife in 1983. His first experience with the church as an adult was through Holy Trinity Brompton, a large ‘charismatic’ church in West London which created the well known ‘Alpha Course’ to lead young people to Christianity. Since then, his churchmanship has become more ‘main-stream’. Initially turned down for ordination, he persisted with his calling and was ordained in 1992. After serving as a priest in Coventry, he had a fairly meteoritic rise thought the church hierarchy and was appointed Dean of Liverpool Cathedral in 2007 and Bishop of Durham in 2011. He was one of three names put forward after the Most Revd Rowan Williams stood down, and Father Justin was appointed Archbishop of the whole Anglican Communion in 2013. He has acknowledged that his appointment came in ‘turbulent’ times, with the Church facing many difficult decisions, let alone potential schisms. Prayer Archbishop Justin believes deeply in prayer and says “Prayer matters, and prayer changes things. History shows that a renewal of prayer can result not just in churches transformed, but whole societies too.” He is encouraging all Christians to deepen their relationship with God through prayer. Archbishop Justin hopes to help inspire Christians to explore the many different ways that prayer can bring us closer to God, enriching not just our own lives but the lives of those around us. He is also supporting new and existing religious communities that are devoted to simple lives of work, study and prayer. This includes the new Community of St Anselm (a previous English Archbishop whose prayer was in the Summer 2015 edition of The Anchor), which he set up for young people called to follow a simple ‘monastic’ way of life for a period of a year, sharing his residence, Lambeth Palace, and working with poor communities in London. Does God exist? Recently in an interview the Archbishop said “when there are tragedies like Paris, when friends suffer, when evil seems to cover the face of the Earth” he questions whether there is a God. He went on “that is not to say that [I hold a] belief that God does not exist, or even any serious questioning about his reality. It is [for me] a moment of protest and arguing. It's very much part of my normal prayer life, together with praise and wonder, with delight and awe, with petition and lament, with celebration and rejoicing.” Working together In the current General Synod (the Council of the Church in England) our Archbishop said “Before we are legislators, we are Christians. We are Christians with different views and attitudes, but we are Christians. The plumb line that is held to us as followers of Jesus Christ, is Jesus Christ himself. That means we are called to work together with all those in this country and around the world – all those who are fellow members of the Church, baptised in the name of the Holy Trinity. Loving one another and working together is not a choice we are free to make or not to make. It is an obligation we are given. Within that huge, diverse and extraordinary body that is the Church of God in time and space, the Church of England is one part, and assembles in synods of various forms, including here in the General Synod, to walk together.” We can only hope that others follow his example, which is, after all, simply the example of Christ and will walk forwards together in faith.
Donations:
SBH Prayer Chain
We are an entirely self funded church and dependent on your generosity and regular giving. Do please talk to Father Charlie or one of the Church’s leadership about how to most effectively support the Church or make a donation to the 1885 Appeal. Donations to our US Non-profit are tax deductible for US tax payers.
St Bartholomew’s has a prayer chain to offer the support of prayer for those in need. If you think this may be helpful for you or someone you know; or if you wish to join our prayer chain and include such people in your own prayers, please send an email to this address: prayer.stbartholomews@gmail.com
Images: Thanks to Mandie Vere Nicoll, Philip Trangmar, and others for the use of their photographs. All are copyrighted.
Published by: L’Association d’Eglise Anglicane, Gustavia, St Barth 97133, FWI
US Non-profit 501(c)(3): The Friends of St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church Chairman: Bill Barrett Secretary: Ann Green Address: P.O. Box 6199, Fair Haven, New Jersey 07704, United States Tel: (from the US) 1-732-741-1500 Email: anncwgreen@aol.com
AA Group Meetings Open Meetings in English are held every Tuesday and Friday at 6pm in the Church Centre. Meetings at other times can also be arranged. Please telephone ahead to make sure a meeting will be taking place. For more information call: 0690 65 61 22 or 0690 54 17 99.
Bishop: The Rt Revd Errol Brooks, Bishop of the NE Caribbean Vicar: The Revd Charlie Vere Nicoll Tel: 0590 27 13 06 vicar.stbartholomews@gmail.com Parish Administrator: Philip Trangmar Tel: 0690 54 17 99 info.stbartholomews@gmail.com Church Wardens: Marjorie Romney, Trinette Wellesley-Wesley and Rachel Barrett-Trangmar Vestry: The Wardens, Clarion Romney, Dawn Drouant, Lloyd Younger, Nancy Swann, Dr Richard Lester and Philip Trangmar Treasurer: Alex Harbord Director of Music: Ombeline Collin