Today Fr Matthew announced to the congregation that Bishop David has accepted his resignation as Chaplain in Hamburg, and that he will be leaving Hamburg and returning to Australia to take up the position as Rector of the parish of Ballina, within the Diocese of Grafton. His last Sunday in Hamburg will be 28 June, 2015. You can read Fr Matthew's statement to the congregation here.
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Music hall sing-along with the Victorian Minstrels
Yes, that's right, tomorrow – Saturday 21 February at 7.30pm – is the music hall sing-along evening with the Victorian Minstrels. The event's in aid of the church, so do come along and help swell the numbers. Entrance is free but donations are welcome. See more on Facebook.
Meeting point for Hahnheide walk
The meeting point for the Church Wanderers' exploration of the Hahnheide on 14 February is the Großenseer Straße bus stop in Trittau at 11:10. Those coming by public transport can catch the U2 to Steinfurter Allee (direction Mümmelmannsberg) at 9:54 am at Hauptbahnhof, arriving 10:10 am at Steinfurter Allee. Then catch bus 133 to Trittau at 10:23 am. Those coming from the north-east can use bus 369 from Ahrensburg / Großhansdorf or 364 from Rahlstedt. Please let Anke Peters know if you are coming by Thursday, 12 Feb – just_det [at] web.de
Don't miss choral evensong
On Sunday at 5pm our own Anglican Consort will be singing choral evensong with a Candlesmas theme. Music includes O nata lux by Tallis, canticles from the Short Service by Gibbons and Lord now lettest thou by Mendelssohn. See more on the STB Facebook page.
Wanderers head for the Hahnheide
The next Church Wanderers walk, on 14 February will be through the Hahnheide, beginning and ending in Trittau. Further details to follow.
Out now: Becket News
The latest edition of our parish magazine, Becket News, is out. You can pick up a printed copy in church or download a PDF here.
CofE consecrates first woman bishop
Libby Lane, the first woman bishop in the Church of England, was consecrated on 26 January. You can watch highlights of the service from York Minster on the BBC website.
Junior Church begins new ‘Family Sing and Pray’ group
Junior Church now has a new group for families with children from birth to six years in addition to the regular group for school-age children. ‘Family Sing and Pray' is for children with a parent or caregiver and takes place during the Sunday service in the school near the church. Through developmentally appropriate activities, music and movement, Junior Church leaders introduce beginning scriptural concepts and prayer in a way that is fun for the children and encourages family bonding and fellowship. At the end of the lesson we return to the Church to join in communion with the congregation. Please come join us with your little ones!
Do we have your address?
If you made a donation to the Anglican Church of St Thomas Becket in 2014, are not on the church electoral role and require a receipt for tax purposes, please let us have your postal address. Please send details by e-mail to info (at) anglican-church-hamburg.de or by post to The Treasurer, Anglican Church of St Thomas Becket, Englische Planke 1A, 20459 Hamburg.
Cicely Hollingsworth 15.2.1929 – 20.12.2014
Cicely will long be remembered as one of the kindest, most active, serious, and thoughtful, also most knowledgeable, members of the congregation in recent decades. In every respect, she possessed a tough constitution. As late as September last year, she was leading a country walk for the Church Wanderers, whom she led and ran for many years.
Cicely and her husband Geoffrey, a retired naval officer and keen cyclist, first came to Hamburg in 1978, when he joined the frigate sales unit of Blohm & Voss shipyard. Cicely was a graduate in French and German of St. Andrew’s University. During Geoffrey’s naval career they had lived in both Oberammergau and Toulon, and had a daughter and a son, Lesley and Robert. Of the three grandchildren, Cicely was especially pleased to see Anna graduate at Cambridge last summer.
After Geoffrey’s early death in 1995, Cicely was elected People’s Warden, and as such played a central part in the life of the church on into the 21st century. For years she was one of the church delegates to the Council of Anglican and Episcopal Churches in Germany (CAECG), often staying on after the bi-annual meetings to visit the host church. Closer home, until the end she gave up a lot of her time to representing St Thomas Becket at the ACKH, or Working Group of Christian Churches in Hamburg. As one of the church’s relatively few car owners, she regularly collected supplies for its Fair Trade stall and was otherwise a pillar of the Mothers Union. She was a generous hostess, among others for the Western Hamburg House Group.
Aside from all these group commitments, Cicely was an immensely thoughtful and considerate friend to people of a wide variety of ages and backgrounds. She was invariably generous with her time, a good listener, especially for people with problems. She tended to shun frivolity, but participated actively in the life of several English-speaking associations in Hamburg. She did so despite having a home in England and family there and in Finland, which she visited annually for Christmas.
Cicely personified the ideal of Christian service, and will be seriously missed.