May 2016

(nr. 155)

MAGAZINE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN HAARLEM

Church The English-speaking church community meets at

the Old Catholic Cathedral of St. Anna & St. Mary

Kinderhuissingel 74, 2013 AV HAARLEM

Website: www.anglican-church-haarlem.nl

Priest-in-charge The Revd David de Verny Tel: 023 547 3760 Mob: 06 10492 234 e-mail: chaplain.haarlem@gmail.com

Reader Jaap Theunisz, Tel: 023 537 4242

Rijksstraatweg 541-III, 2025 DE HAARLEM

e-mail: j.theunisz@gmail.com

Warden Jaap Theunisz

Treasurer Renger Afman, Tel: 023 526 2295

e-mail: renger.afman@gmail.com

Secretary Rob Uittenbosch, Tel: 020 645 7103

e-mail: rob.uittenbosch@12move.nl

Organist & Martin van Bleek, Tel: 023 542 2133

Choirmaster

Safeguard officer Ann van Egmond, Tel: 0251-25 2189

Lifeline Editor Philip Whittaker, Tel: 0341 45 3507

e-mail: phwhittaker@cs.com

The English-speaking church community in Haarlem is part of the Anglican-Diocese of

Europe and seeks to serve all English speaking people in the wider Haarlem area.

All payments, donations, general, missions, subscriptions to Lifeline (minimum to

cover costs €12.50/year), please to:

Bank nr: NL87 INGB 0000 5776 41, Church of England Haarlem

indicating purpose of payment (donation, mission, Lifeline, etc.)

Lifeline contains the official Haarlem chaplaincy news and various articles. However,

the views expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the Chaplaincy or the Editor.

Recent issues of Lifeline can be found on http://www.anglican-church-haarlem.nl/category/all/lifelines/

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Letter from your Chaplain:

Dear Friends,

When I was younger (it suddenly seems a long time ago!) “alternative”

religions were all the rage: people who had been brought up in main-

stream Christian denominations (just remember the Beatles!!) became

Buddhists or Hindus, followed strange (and mostly money-grabbing) gurus,

discovered their “Inner Child” and/or fell in love with C. G. Jung. Oh, the

heady days.... And then Mrs T. arrived on the scene and we all became

either hard-line Evangelicals or hard-line Romanist Anglicans – only a few

remained easy-going Progressives....

And where are we now? Well, it seems that Progressives/Liberals are

dying out, Romanist Anglicans are either just Romans now or also battle

extinction and the Evangelicals still have high numbers and high turn-overs

and still have lots of money (it's the Dollar Gospel after all). People like to

hear what they already believe in: affirmation of one's own opinion is highly

desirable and makes one feel comfortable and safe. Being challenged is

“out”, creative insecurity is not wanted anymore– ahhh, for the 1970ies!

However, what I detect – in our own congregation as much as in churches

elsewhere – is the hunger and thirst for Spirituality. A tangible example of

that is this: it seems impossible to get a day retreat booked in any of our

Dutch monasteries! They are all fully booked for months in advance. This

is wonderful. I am truly very happy – although I regret that we haven't got a

booking fixed yet for our own group, either!! I shall be focusing on

spirituality in my talks over the next month.

And while I am writing about wonderfully “old/new-fashioned” things like

retreats and monasteries, let me remind you of more “modern” things: you

can now get your Lifeline copy on-line. This saves us some much needed

money. Our editor Philip and our Reader Jaap will be happy to advise.

And also: remember it costs about 4000 euros a months to run our

Chaplaincy (our Treasurer Renger will tell you the details!): please help us

to keep alive an Anglican/English-Speaking Christian presence in Haarlem.

If you think spirituality is important then you might want to keep on

supporting the Spirituality of Cranmer, Dunne, Herbert, Gore, Temple,

Ramsey, Williams... Thank you.

Your Chaplain,

David

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Music Matters

After the busy period of Holy week and Easter Sunday the choir is now focussing on the period up to the beginning of July. Our Good Friday devotions and Easter Choral Eucharist were very meaningful and the music and readings helped us focus on the meaning of the Passion and joyful Resurrection. James Pollard played for both the Good Friday Service and the Easter Eucharist.

Our choir joined the European Cathedral Singers to sing at Manchester Cathedral from 1-3 April. During this week-end we also sang at Fr Derek Akker’s church in Bury, near Manchester. A congregation of around 80 members from the 5 local churches attended. Afterwards the choir was royally fed on Lancashire hotpot and cakes.

Looking ahead, on Sunday 29 May we will sing Choral Evensong in our own church and on Saturday 4 June we will join other choirs in the Archdeaconry for the Choral Festival in Ghent. This service is also part of the celebrations for 200 years of the Anglican Church in Ghent. The next day, Sunday 5 June, we will have a special service in our own church as Bishop Robert will be confirming candidates during our service.

The choir is already practising for our European Cathedral Week at Wells Cathedral from Monday 8 until Sunday 14 August. As always we should be delighted to see you if you happen to be in the area at that time.

Our final choral service will be Sunday 3 July, after which the choir will be on holiday until the second half of August.

An advance notice: the choir, together with the Anglican Singers, will be singing its annual Choral Evensong in the St. Bavo on Sunday 21 August at 7 pm.

Martin A. van Bleek, Director of Music

♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫

As announced in the last Lifeline, the Chaplaincy is looking critically at

its finances, including the cost of producing and mailing Lifeline.

Readers were asked to confirm whether they wished to continue

receiving Lifeline as a printed copy, or to receive it electronically free of

charge. This edition of Lifeline is being distributed according to your

stated preference.

For those who have not responded and for whom we have no e-mail

address we must assume that they no longer wish to receive Lifeline,

and they have regrettably been removed from the distribution list.

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From Fr.Derek Akker, Bury, Manchester

The visit of the Haarlem Choir and other members of the European Cathedral Singers was well received by members of our congregation and those from nearby parishes, the choir adding to the experience of our Saturday evensong for the congregation. For many it was a rare opportunity to hear what is quintessentially a traditional Anglican act of worship. For Sue and me it was good to share with our church something from our travels in Europe. And at a personal level it was good to share in the worship, as it was the first time I had led worship since my health issues. It was a real boost for me.

It was lovely to see and hear the choir again and brought back some happy memories.

Blessings to you all, Derek and Sue

Saints - Remarkable Christians in the Anglican Church

Remarkable Christians who are remembered by the Church in May include:

May 8th; Julian of Norwich

On this day in the year 1373, when she was 30 years old and suffering from what was considered to be a terminal illness, a woman of Norwich, whose name is unrecorded, experienced a series of 16 visions, which revealed aspects of the love of God. she unexpectedly recovered, and, following her recovery, she spent the next 20 years pondering their meaning and recorded her conclusions in what became the first book written by a women in English: 'The Revelations of Divine Love'. At an unknown point in her life, she became an anchoress attached to the church of St. Julian in Norwich, and it was by the name Julian that she came to be known to later generations. She died around the year 1417. Her book is still in print.

May 25th: The Venerable Bede

Bede was born in Northumbria around the year 670. When still a child, his family sent him to the monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul in Wearmouth. From there he moved to Jarrow where he lived as a monk for the rest of his life. His monastery became a centre of learning and Bede studied extensively. He wrote a most complete history of Christianity in England up to the year 729, as well as commentaries on the Bible. He was a great teacher, much loved by his pupils. He died in 735 and is now buried in Durham Cathedral. His book “The Ecclesiastical History of the English People” is still in print.

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Lent Discussion Group 2016

‘The Mystery of Everything’ was the latest Lent course book written

by Hilary Brand. It was based on the award-winning film about the

life of Stephen Hawking: the famous Cambridge professor and

cosmologist. The course book covered themes such as the wonder

and mysteries of the universe, everyday life, relationships, weakness

and hope. It provided opportunities for group discussion and

meditation as well as individual readings for each day of the week

during Lent. In total there were nine participants who attended one

or more sessions. There were inspiring and thought-provoking

interactive exchanges thanks to Gert Dammer and Jaap Theunisz

who led the sessions in turn.

A highlight was the guided tour at Space Expo (ESA in Noordwijk)

with the opportunity to experience both past and recent space

exploration, which included entering a life size model of the space

station. The exhibition left us in awe of the immense vastness of the

galaxies and unknown universe yet to be discovered. The wonder of

God’s creation!

See our web-site: http://www.anglican-church-haarlem.nl/photo-

album

Diana Dammer

Whitsun 15 May

Please note that there will be an ecumentical service at 10.00 in

the Grote of St.Bavo Kerk, and Choral Eucharist in our Church

as normal at 14.30.

"Watch for opportunities to help someone else”

- from "Small straws in a soft wind", a daily devotional on the internet,

named as these devotions are short: http://ft111.com/smallstraws.htm

“I speak to nations of people who have become self-focused and

concerned about their own needs and desires. I would have you

deliberately rise above selfishness to develop kindness and

generosity. Remember that reward always exceeds sacrifice, says

the Lord. You will not regret becoming a giver. Luke 6:38 ‘Give,

and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken

together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the

same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.’"

[submitted by Prayer Group member, Catharina Schroor]

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From Ms Miscellaneous

Cinnamon

The bullet is through the church, I’m over the next hill: mid-April I reached the birthday milestone of 50. Half a century, five decades. I don’t know; it somehow is a magical number.

In Dutch tradition I should know now where Abraham and Sarah get the mustard, meaning that the 50-year old person at last has accomplished wisdom. But it turns out that Abraham had nothing to do with mustard! Where the expression comes from is a bit of a mystery, but one of the possible explanations is that it comes from the word ‘mutsaard’ meaning a bundle of firewood, which Abraham needed to sacrifice his son Isaac. Luckily in the end he did not have to do this, but found a ram trapped in a bush to offer up to God. Is it a coincidence that I am Aries (ram) by horoscope?

Anyway, I am glad this 50 year mustard thing is rubbish, because – let’s be frank – mustard is not very nice to eat. It’s sour and bitter and only tolerable with a bit of honey added or underneath a bitterbal. Some would maybe draw the parallel with life, which also is sour and bitter with only the occasional highlight.

But I would like to turn it around. Looking back at my 50 years of life, I must conclude that it compares better to a typical Oosterhout (the town I grew up in) sweet, a kaneelstok (the dictionary gave me ‘cinnamon flavoured Edinburgh rock’ as a translation for that). It is long and soft and spicy and sweet, with the occasional hard bitty or a tiny air bubble.

Thanks to the love of God, my family and so many dear, dear friends, my life has been and is good. It’s as simple as that. And even though the hard bits can be really hard and the empty bits really lonely, I have love all around me – no matter what. That is the wisdom I have accomplished.

Veronique Ruiz

☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

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Our Church Choir

The next choir member to sit in the interview chair is Francis Gordon, another long-serving and regular member:

Experience: From an early age singing 3 services a day with the school

choir. Joined the Anglican Singers Amsterdam in January 1990 and the Haarlem church choir after Easter of that year.

Sings: Bass

Favourite music To listen to Bach, Handel, Mozart operas, birdsong and Dolly Parton

To sing Psalms

Daily life: Used to work in Organ building and here in Holland Organ

pipe making (see photo). Have worked for the last 18 years with the Homeless in Amsterdam for The Salvation Army

Hobbies: Gardening, bird keeping and breeding, and quite a lot of

singing

Enjoys: Friends, holidays to Italy, and trips home to both England and

Scotland. Occasionally a few pints of Guinness in good company

Wishes: I have a strong desire for peace in my daily life. To have good

health enough to create a beautiful garden in my retirement years.

♫ ♫ ♫

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Even the gods

Often we are inspired by that which has inspired others before us. Since 2014 Mieke van Opheusden has been working for Peace Brigades International (PBI) in Guatemala, helping human rights advocates when they are threatened. Years ago she was inspired by the following quote from David Whyte’s ‘Self Portrait’ in “Fire in the Earth” (1992), which quote she fixed to the wall next to her bed:

“I want to know if you know how to melt into that fierce heat of living falling toward the center of your longing. If you are willing to live day by day with the consequence of love and the bitter unwanted passion of your sure defeat. I have heard in that fierce embrace even the gods speak of God”.

Mieke did not really understand why these words struck a chord, but she noticed that there were only “big” words. Nothing was put in perspective and reduced to something small. Life is magical and overwhelming. She had been raised with the idea that it is always good to look at things from more than one point of view, to always look for an “however”. She did not disagree with that approach, but noticed that she had problems with disinhibition, with just letting herself go. In this text there was no “however”, and that was liberating. Whyte’s poem is an urgent call to live, and to live fully.

At some point in her life Mieke met the Quakers, and through them discovered that having a calling was essential for her. To live according to what is being asked of us. In order to practise this, Quakers use the opposite of disinhibition: silence. Questions as to what to do are laid down in the middle and then they will wait until the answer presents itself. That’s not always easy. Often enough she found herself standing in the way of the answer, because of her own thoughts, her pride and hurry. In order to live fully, restraining yourself is as important as letting yourself go.

Often it would also mean waiting until you are needed, or until you are ready for something. She had never expected that so often the answer would just be to do ‘nothing’. That is the beauty of “being

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called to live”: we are inclined to think that a calling always involves doing something, that it is about a large or important task. But that is not its essence. We are called to life itself. It is not the destination, but the road to which we are called. It is good to be reminded of this. Thus life remains something magical. Even the gods speak of God.

From: “Geroepen om te leven” – jaarthema doopsgezinden 2015-2016. Translated, edited and introduced by Jaap Theunisz

☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

A quiz for our bright readers

These are not trick questions, they are all straight questions with

straight answers:

1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the

participants know the score or the leader until the contest

ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving

backward?

3 Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for

several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be

replanted every year. What are these only two perennial

vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real

pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the

bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the

pear get inside the bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters '

dw' and they are all common words. Name two of them.

7. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen,

canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

8. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet

beginning with the letter 'S’.'

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Should you require further information about a service or event

please contact our secretary Rob Uittenbosch (020 6457103)

Sunday 1 May

6th Sunday of Easter

14.30 Choral Eucharist

Thursday 5 May

Ascension Day

10.00 Old Catholic Eucharist (in Dutch)

Sunday 8 May

7th Sunday of Easter

14.30 Sung Eucharist with hymns

Tuesday 10 May 10.00 Coffee morning at the home of

Joan Parfitt

Wednesday 11 May

19.30 Compline and Prayers for healing

20.15 Leadership Team Meeting

Saturday 14 May 10.00-

12.00

Training session for those who do

intercessions in church during the

services.

Sunday 15 May

Pentecost

10.00

Ecumenical service in St. Bavo

Church, Grote Markt, Haarlem,

all welcome

14.30 Choral Eucharist on Whit Sunday

Sunday 22 May

Trinity Sunday

14.30 Family Eucharist

Tuesday 24 May 20.00 Prayer and Discussion group

Sunday 29 May

Trinity 1

14.30 Choral Evensong

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Saturday 4 June all day Archdeaconry Choral Festival in Gent,

Belgium. Choral Evensong

Sunday 5 June

Trinity 2

14.30 Choral Eucharist with Baptism and

Confirmation

The Rt. Revd. Dr. Robert Innes

Wednesday 8 June 19.30 Compline and Prayers for Healing

Sunday 12 June

Trinity 3

14.30 Sung Eucharist with hymns

Tuesday 14 June 10.00 Coffee morning at the home of

Ann van Egmond

Sunday 19 June

Trinity 4

14.30 Morning Prayer and Eucharist

Sunday 26 June

Trinity 5

14.30 Family Eucharist

Sunday 3 July

Trinity 6

14.30 Choral Eucharist

As Gentle as Silence

The Love of God is the essence Of all that I love here on earth:

All the beauty I see God has given to me, And God's giving is as gentle as silence.

Every day, every hour, every moment have I been blessed by the strength of God's love.

At the turn of each tide is God by my side, And God's touch is as gentle as silence.

There were times when I turned from God's love And walked other paths, other ways,

But I've called on God's name in the dark, And God's grace is as gentle as silence.

(after Estelle White)

LIFELINE

MAGAZINE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH HAARLEM

afzender: Schaapskamp 7, 3849 PS HIERDEN

(ISSN 0920 – 6914)