Author: Jo Dawes

Our annual fundraising bazaar is tomorrow from 10:00 – 16:00. There’ll be plenty to buy, win, eat and drink, so why not come and join in a fun day? You can find more about the bazaar here.

On 11 November 2017 the Church Wanderers will be walking round the Außenalster as we did in November last year.   We meet at 10:30 in Dammtor Station in front of the Deutsche Bahn Reisezentrum. This is a short walk to suit the cold, dark time of year and will take 2 to 3 hours, depending on how often we feel the need to eat or drink something warming on the way! Please mail Nicki – nicki.schiller (at) gmx.de – by 10:00 p.m. on 10 November if you would like to come.
Please note that the December walk will be on the third Saturday in the month, on 16 December, so that we don’t clash with the Nine Lessons and Carols Service at the Church on the 9th.

Today the German Lutheran church marks the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation, when Martin Luther published his 95 theses in Wittenberg protesting against the sale of indulgences.

The profound difference in opinion on the understanding of justification – how humankind can be reconciled to God in Jesus Christ – was the fundamental issue which divided the Church in the West during the Reformation.

At a special service at Westminster Abbey in London today, the Archbishop of Canterbury presented copies of a text supporting an agreement resolving the theological dispute behind the Reformation to the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation.

Read more on the Church of England website or click here for the full text of the Joint Declaration.

On Saturday, 9 September the Church Wanderers will be walking in the Lüneburger Heide from Buchholz to Büsenbachtal. The walk is 11 kilometres through forest and heath where the heather should still be in full bloom. We aim to eat our sandwiches whilst enjoying the view from the top of the Brunsberg (129m) and have time to enjoy the legendary cake at the “Schafstall” in Büsenbachtal before taking the train home.

Meeting point in front of the Reise Zentrum at the Hauptbahnhof at 9:50.  This gives us time to get group tickets if necessary .The journey is within the HVV Gesamtbereich. We will take the RE4 to Buchholz (via Harburg) which leaves at 10:15 and arrives at Buchholz at 10:37.

Anke will be leading the walk and we are really looking forward to seeing you.  Please mail Nicki – nicki.schiller (at) gmx.de – by Friday, 8 September if you want to join us.

Tonight’s Choral Evensong has been cancelled due to the disturbances connected with the G20 Summit.

St John’s College Chapel Choir from Durham University in the UK will be singing at the Ecumenical Forum Hafen City on Monday, 10 July from 13.00hrs to 13.45hrs. There will be a very short Andacht from 13.00 to 13.15, during which they will sing a special item, followed by a 30-minute recital of sacred music from the Tudor period to the present day.

This evening, Friday 30 June, at 6 pm our own Anglican Consort, directed by Yotin Tiewtrakul, will be singing Choral Evensong with all pieces by Tudor composers. Music includes Gibbons: Almighty and everlasting God, Gibbons: Magnificat & Nunc dimittis from the Short Service and Sheppard: In manus tuas. Our Chaplain, Revd Canon Dr Leslie Nathaniel, will be officiating. Come and join us as we pause at the end of the week for some meditative calm and beautiful music!

Sad news: Sir Jeffrey Tate, chief conductor of the Hamburger Sinfoniker, has died aged 74. Sir Jeffrey was a good friend to our church, last visiting in March to hear Clare Hammond play. Together with Daniel Hope and Sebastian Knauer, Sir Jeffery gave a gala benefit concert at the church in February 2012 during our 400th anniversary. Further details in English can be found on the websites of the BBC and Deutsche Welle.

The latest edition of our parish magazine Becket News is out. A lot has been going on in the past few months and there are exciting things happening. Enjoy the read!

The Stuttgarter Hymnus Chorknaben will be singing music by Schütz, Lassus, Brahms and more at St Thomas Becket on 6 June. Please see the events section for details or download the flyer.