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It’s been a while, but there’s finally a new edition of our chaplaincy magazine, Becket News, with news from our church and the wider diocese. You can read it online or download it here.

On Sunday, 1 December at 6.30 p.m. the Anglican Consort will be singing our annual Advent Carol Service, with readings and Advent music, including by contemporary female composers. Of course, there will be carols to join in, too. Do come along – and wrap up warm!

Firstly, fulsome thanks to Irene Windsor and Christian Nweze, both or whom stood down as Churchwardens this year; and to Wendy Sprock, who stood down from Lay membership of the Council after many years. Thanks to each of you, the aforementioned, for your service and commitment. 

We welcome Norbert Schoen as our new Churchwarden, and are looking for a second warden to join him in office soon. 

Our Lay members this year are Jo Dawes, Monica Schofield, Emmanuel Saarkodie, Madeleine Resuehr, Jonas Karlsson, Peter Alexander, Nissi Marapatla, Irene Windsor and Penny Loehrig. 

Our Deanery reps continue to be Madeline Herring and Joshua Ezike.

As our organist had to relocate, we are again looking for a new organist / church musician for STB.

We are very flexible, and this is a unique opportunity for someone who wants to play in the Anglican tradition. Our choir and music are a big part of our mission and worship, so we hope to find someone who will enjoy and value being part of this.

For more information please contact the Chaplain (chaplain (at) anglican-church-hamburg.de) , or choir leader Arwen Pearson (music (at) anglican-church-hamburg.de).

For our church members, families and friends, and celebrating our own ‘United Nations of St. Thomas’, with music, food and fun. 

Please save the date, further details to follow!

Any thoughts and/or constructive suggestions about our church life? If so, there is now a special notice board in church, so that you can physically post your thoughts there.

It is there for YOU, if you have anything to do with STB, so, please feel free to make use of it. The intention is to offer a further means of sharing your experiences, ideas and feedback.

Thank you! 

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• MARCH DIARY
• NOTICES & NEWS
• CONTACT DETAILS

Holy Week and Easter at STB 2024, offer YOU the opportunity to walk alongside Jesus every step of the way from Palm Sunday to Easter Day. The story of his last days on earth: from being received jubilantly in Jerusalem as the Messiah; through his last supper with his friends, and betrayal on the very same evening in the garden of Gethsemene; his trial and crucifixion; the emptiness of the tomb and his miraculous resurrection by Easter Day. A whole week recalling not only the most dramatic and wonderful of narratives, but the deeply moving events that enable the gift of our redemption. (And SO much more meaningful when you don’t just turn up at the finishing line!)

 

MARCH DIARY

SERVICES: Please check the CALENDAR for our list of services, including Holy Week.

Please remember to wrap up warmly when coming to Zeughausmarkt during these colder months!And we are delighted to announce that Junior church returns during March.

EVENTS

Choir rehearsals: Sunday 10th March, 14.00 – 16.00 and Sunday 24th March, 14.00 – 16.00

Church Council Meeting, Zeughausmarkt Wednesday 27^th March, 18.30-20.00 

NOTICES AND NEWS

Hurrah! We will be in our own Zeughausmarkt building this year for Passiontide and Easter, and you are invited to attend as many of the individual services and devotions as you can. 

Please check our HOLY WEEK page for details!

Adult Baptisms on Easter Eve. 

If YOU missed out on being baptised when you were younger, there is the opportunity this year to be baptised on Easter Saturday during the full Easter Liturgy of the 21.00 evening service. In the early centuries of the church almost everyone got baptised at Easter, so there could be no better time! Please contact the Chaplain by 18th March if you have any questions or might be interested. Don’t be shy.

Last call for those wishing to prepare for Confirmation this year. 

We will have an adult group, as well as one for the youngsters too. There is still space for more confirmands of all ages though, so, if you have questions or would like to sign up, please contact Revd Jules as soon as possible. Classes will start after Easter, for confirmation on 17th November. It’s great fun, and we always learn a lot. Plus, it’s a very special, spirit-filled experience finally to be confirmed by the Bishop. 

Our Church Electoral Roll 

is a list of all those who consider STB to be ‘their church.’ As our Annual General Meeting approaches, a reminder that under canon law, only those on the ER prior to the meeting may stand for election, and vote on the matters discussed, which includes any contested elections. So, please sign up! If you would like to join the ER please contact our Electoral Roll officer Dorothee Moeller, and she will explain how you can do this – her address is in the contacts section below – or ask the Chaplain. To join the roll you must have been baptised in a Trinitarian church, and have worshipped regularly at STB for at least 6 months.

NEW: suggestions and ideas board in Zeughausmarkt. 

Any thoughts and/or constructive suggestions about our church life? If so, there is now a special notice board in church, so that you can physically post your thoughts there. It is there for YOU, if you have anything to do with STB, so, please feel free to make use of it. The intention is to offer a further means of sharing your experiences, ideas and feedback. Thank you! 

Please invite the Chaplain round for a cup of tea. 

There are still lots of you that I haven’t visited at home, and I would really like to come and see you. And to hear your thoughts. So, let’s make a date for a cuppa or a G&T, potentially any time and day except for Sundays or Tuesdays. I can travel to pretty much anywhere, and would love to have time for a proper chat. If you’d rather, don’t forget I am almost always in church on Thursdays too. (And thank you, to those of you who have already invited me to visit – really good to get to know you a little better and to see where you hang out.) 

The Prayers of the people/intercessions are a key part of our worship every Sunday. 

But, only one person ever signs up pro-actively for this ministry. So, this is to ask whether you could take on the small, discrete job of organising the rota of intercessors?  Don’t get me wrong, we do have eight people who prepare and read the prayers (very well), and there are also opportunities to read pre-set intercessions – so this is simply about contacting these people and allocating the individual services in advance. PLEASE, think about whether you could assist in this way. (All other attempts have failed, so at Council last month we simply decided to ask whether someone could take on this task: thank you for thinking about it!)

Thank you for the items donated to the Hanseatic Help collection 

on 18th February. These were delivered to their HQ later in the week, and will now go to help those in need in our city, and beyond. If you have a car, and could help transport a future collection, this would be very much appreciated. (It will only take 30 minutes of your time, including loading and unloading.)

And one more call for your used Christmas cards. 

Please bring them to church, or give them to the other English-speaking societies with links to our diaspora. Then the Christmas card team will once again re-use and up-cycle them to make our wonderful and much-loved STB Christmas cards. An institution in themself, and representing a big boost to our finances each year too. Thank you.

A farewell service for Bishop David Hamid, suffragan Bishop in the Diocese in Europe and his Chaplain Deacon Frances Hiller

was held at the end of February. We wish them continuing health and happiness in their retirements, and repeat once again our thanks for their decades of faithful service. The process for the appointment of a new suffragan is underway.

Best wishes to Jan Menno Gebhardt for the future too. 

Sadly, after just five months in post as our organist and church musician Jan finds himself needing to re-locate to south Germany. So, we bade him a fond farewell at the end of Feburary. Our services continue, but we are once again seeking a new, permanent, STB organist/church musician/director of music, keen to work in the Anglican tradition. Any suggestions, please contact the Chaplain or Arwen Pearson.

Making and keeping our churches safe is something for us all to think, and learn about. 

Mandatory checks and training are a requirement for some particular roles within our community. That said, the responsibility to educate ourselves in awareness of the issues, especially so that we can safeguard the most vulnerable among us, is one that is shared by us all. To this end, the diocese offers two short introductory level Safeguarding modules on-line for anyone who wishes to access them (‘Basic Awareness’ and ‘Foundation.’) These can be reached via the diocesan website, here: https://www.europe.anglican.org/resources/basic-and-foundation-courses and are entirely optional. You will be asked to create an account, and then simply carry out the training in your own time.

Spenden (tax) certificates for 2023 have now all been sent or handed out 

If you have not received one and think you should, please email the Treasurer to enquire (treasurerstb (at) web.de). We are in need of more friends who donate regularly: donations made by direct debit /standing order are immensely valuable to us, as they allow us to run the church, with at least some predictable income. If you are not already giving to the church, please consider doing so. And any questions about the church finances, contact Monica the Treasury Liaison Officer (web (at) stbecket.de). Thank you.

Do you have notices regarding church events for inclusion in the April e-News? If so, please send brief details to the Chaplain before the deadline of midnight on Good Friday, 29^th March. Thank you. 

And may I begin with a heartfelt plea, only to bring exactly what is asked for on the list below please. Note info. re sizes in particular. Thank you!

Unfortunately, this didn’t happen with our first, trial collection last year – and Hanseatic Help won’t take anything else, so please read carefully and adhere to this list of February requirements:

Hanseatic Help would be grateful for your donations of Men’s winter jackets, Everyday women’s clothing only sizes L and XL, Baby clothes in sizes 50/56 and 62/68, Large rucksacks (25 litres and bigger), Sleeping bags, Underwear: new socks and pants, New toiletries.

Please bring items to the 10.30 service on 18th Feb. and we will then deliver them during the week. Thank you!

If so, or if you have questions, please let Revd Jules know as soon as possible, and sign up on the list to the left of the main door in the church building (please now write your name on the list, even if we have had an earlier conversation. Thank you!)

There is no age limit when it comes to confirmation, so this is an invitation for adults as well as the more usual teenagers.

Once the group has been formed, there will be a course of preparation over the next months (times arranged to fit). Bishop Robert will visit us for the final service of Confirmation, on Sunday 17th November, 2024. During the classes we learn more about our faith, liturgy, the Bible, God, Anglicanism and other things too. The sessions are interesting and enjoyable, so if you think you might be ready to take this next step forward in your faith, please get in touch. 

This year the Christian women of Palestine have prepared the material and offer the cultural context.

You are once again invited to take part in an English-language ZOOM Workshop (Saturday 10th Feb, 13.00 – 15.00, advance registration required) and WDP service, followed by refreshments, in Bethanian, Martinistr. 49 (Saturday 24th Feb, 15.00 – 17.00).

Co-ordinators, Revd Jules, Pastorin Uta Gerstner and Mary Frances Ludolph.

There will be background information about the women’s home context in Palestine, and prayers for peace. The headline text is from Ephesians 4: ‘I beg you – Bear with one another, in love’ and the programme calls us to do just that – to bear with each other in Christian love, despite all difficulties and oppression. 

For the workshop (10th), please register in advance by email to this address: wgt@Kirche-Hamburg-Ost.de Or, speak to Revd Jules. For the service (24th), just turn up on the day. We look forward to seeing you!