Thoughts on ministry on Freiburg

Now that we have returned to England after our six weeks in Freiburg, I thought I would reflect on some aspects of our time there and especially in on some of the opportunities we are given by our spells as locum chaplain in Europe.

I have not offered my services to local churches as many retired priests do, partly because I think there is a danger of merely propping up the status quo, when the drop in clergy numbers may be part of a challenge by the Lord to Christians to explore new ways of being the church in rural areas. For example, I understand why people want to be able to worship in their local church; but that worship does not need to be at 10.00 on Sunday morning.

Moreover, the freedom from local commitments gives us the opportunity to spend up to two months with a congregation in Europe, which we find really rewarding. There is time to get to know people at some depth, and (one hopes!) to make some contribution to their worship and understanding of the Gospel.  In Freiburg we were able to visit and take communion to a number of people who had not been able to get into the church for some time. We led some Bible studies, offered some prayer ministry – and were privileged to celebrate one baptism, and a funeral for a woman originally from Tonga, whose mother and family spoke no German.

We also experience in these chaplaincies in the Diocese in Europe something of the universality of the Christian church and the world-wide scope of the Anglican Communion. In the church in Freiburg, there are members from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Jamaica, Canada and the USA, Brazil and Colombia. The African group organises a number of activities and support among its members – and they contributed to some joyful worship in our last service. There are also a surprising number of Germans who attend, having found something in the Anglican style that had been lacking in their original catholic or protestant churches. Indeed, expatriate Britons seemed very much the minority!

Which makes one ask (as one seldom does in much depth in England) – what is distinctively Anglican?  Sometimes what attracts people is primarily the desire to worship and pray in English; but non-English speakers are obviously attracted by something else. Perhaps it is the mixture of the liturgical and the evangelical; perhaps the sense of openness, welcome and fellowship (the coffee and cakes after the service continued for some time!) It would have been good to have had time to explore among the German members what drew them to a church originally set up in the 19^th century for retired Britons.

In Freiburg we met some remarkable and challenging people, whose faith, despite in some cases experiences of loss and illness, was impressive. We think of an older man, widowed for many years and now struggling against a major stroke, who had a radiant trust in God and a remarkable sense of joy. Or an 80 year-old woman, living in Catholic sheltered accommodation, who regularly attended the chapel there, and met with others for prayer; she was well-informed and insightful about current affairs and church matters, and took prayer very seriously.

So Jo and I feel very blessed that we are able to continue to exercise our ministry in this special way.