Author: Dorothee Möller

On Sunday 18 March 2018 at 6 pm the choir of the Anglican Church of St Thomas Becket in Hamburg is performing the premiere of “Greater Love”, a new piece for choir, organ, piano and two soloists.

The composition by Yotin Tiewtrakul, the choirmaster at the “Englische Kirche”, tells the story of Christ’s Passion with passages of John’s gospel but also through the eyes of the medieval English mystic Julian of Norwich.

Two well-known anthems by Thomas Tallis (“A new commandment” and “If ye love me”) are also part of the piece. Not suffering in itself but love redeems the world – this is the experience “Greater Love” wants to share with the listeners.

You can follow Yotin and the choir on the “Greater Love” Instagram page for regular insights into the work on the new piece.

Friends of Britain e.V. bittet seine Mitglieder und interessierte Gäste zu einem Filmabend in St Thomas Becket. Wir freuen uns, dass der Journalist und (Film-) Autor Axel Brüggemann im Anschluss an die Filmvorführung zum Gespräch bereit steht. Getränke und ein Imbiss sind erhältlich.

Weitere Details finden Sie unter: http://friends-of-britain.de/veranstaltungen/

Father Leslie and his wife Julie have shared their condolence letter regarding the death of Bishop Geoffrey Rowell to Bishop Robert with us:

Dear Robert,

The news of Bishop Geoffrey’s death came as a shock to both of us just as we were setting off on a short family visit to Bangalore in India. The informality of this response is owed to these circumstances.

We join the many who, having had the privilege of knowing Bishop Geoffrey and being blessed by his ministry, now mourn the loss of this great churchman, theologian and episcopal leader. He retained his very special humour and touched the lives of so many people, in so many ways and in so many different contexts.

For me, Leslie, he was an inspiration in particular in respect of the work relating to the Orthodox world. He was furthermore a prophetic voice of solidarity for Christian communities across the world who suffer persecution and oppression. He understood the pain of their situation. One of his key biblical verses in such situations was: we share with you in Jesus the persecution, and the kingdom and the patient endurance (Rev. 1.9).

I, Julie, remember him from his visit to St. Catherine’s Church in Stuttgart while still Bishop in Europe and from a very well received lecture on the Oxford Movement to theological students in Tübingen University a couple of years ago.

We thank the Lord for the life of Bishop Geoffrey; a witness to the love of God. We know him to be in God’s eternal kingdom of justice and love. May he rest in peace in the glory of God.

Warm regards as usual

Leslie

The Right Reverend Dr Geoffrey Rowell, who was Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe until 2013, died peacefully after a short illness on Trinity Sunday at the age of 74.  The Diocese in Europe has posted a tribute on its website at the following link: http://europe.anglican.org/news/news/post/1274-tributes-to-bishop-geoffrey-rowell-rip

You might remember Bishop Geoffrey’s sermon at the 400th anniversary service for our church in 2012. If you would like to listen to it again in his memory, you can do so on our STB400 website: http://400years.anglican-church-hamburg.de/events/service-of-thanksgiving-400-years-anglican-church-in-hamburg/

We just got word from ProPiano that unfortunately the concert  “Der Sturm” that was supposed to take place at our church on Saturday 10 June 07:30 PM has to be canceled due to health reasons.

Please also note that the afternoon concert on the same day (“Hammerklavier”) was moved to the Klangmanufaktur (Wendenstraße 255).

All other concerts will take place as planned at our church. Please see our event calendar for details.

While there won’t be a walk in June, our walking enthusiasts can look forward to one in July. Details to follow!

If you are not on our wanderers’ mailing list yet but would like to receive updates on dates and locations, please get in touch with Nicki Schiller at nicki.schiller (at) gmx.de.