St Ursula's Church Berne, Switzerland A Church of the Anglican Communion, welcoming all who seek the Lord Jesus Christ
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Current Events

Being Church at All Times – Messages from Helen

To keep in touch during and following the pandemic, Helen has been sending emails to all church members - the most recent are 228, 227, 226.

James Morgan's Ordination
James was ordained deacon by Bishop Robert at Holy Trinity, Brussels on Sunday 30th June. We were very happy to welcome him officially as our Curate the following Sunday, 7 July. Welcome James! We had a small reception after the service, when James was presented with a card and gift from the congregation to use towards robes or a stole.

Please pray for him as he continues in his ministry as a curate at St Ursula's, for Helen in her rôle as training incumbent, for Lilian and all the family, and for all involved in this new phase of church life.

Congratulations to Helen too!

March 2024 marked the 30th anniversary of Helen's ordination in Bristol Cathedral in England - one of the first women to be ordained to priestly ministry in the Church of England.

David has written a short news item conveying our congratulations, love and good wishes.

(A plaque in Bristol Cathedral commemorates the historic occasion.)

And James' ordination in Brussels provided an opportunity for Helen to be formally installed in her "stall" – her special seat in the pro-Cathedral in Brussels – on the same day. We celebrated with flowers on her return.

Songs and Sonnets
When David and Helen were away for their summer break, Canon Maggie Guite took the services at St Ursula's. Her husband Malcolm accompanied her. Malcolm is also an Anglican priest, and he and Maggie are good friends of Helen and David.
During their time here, Malcolm read some of his poems and sang some of his songs at St Ursula's – see the flyer. Many of you will be familiar with Malcolm's poems as Helen often includes one at the end of weekly email message.

Our 2024 Annual Church Meeting

In April we held our yearly meeting to hear reports on the church's work (you can read these in our AGM Reports Booklet), to receive our accounts for last year and to hear our budget for this year, and to elect churchwardens and council members.

Sue Higson was re-elected as churchwarden, along with Pieter Perrett, who replaces Martin Browne, who has faithfuly served the five-year maximum term as churchwarden. Adiza Babatunde, Tricia Carrick, Vinitha Jacob, Emanuel Peter, Chris Sager and Susan Spälti were elected as representatives of the laity to the Chaplaincy Church Council.

House Groups

You should already know that new housegroups have started. There are two groups in Berne: one meeting on Tuesday evenings and one on Thursday evenings. There will also be a group meeting (monthly) in Thun. Please speak to Helen if you would like to join one of these groups.

Farewell to Bishop David

Our Diocese, the Anglican Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe, has two bishops. Robert Innes, our "Diocesan Bishop" is the lead bishop. At the end of February, Bishop David our "Suffragan Bishop" retired, along with his chaplain, Revd Canon Deacon Frances Hiller after 22 years of service.

After the Pandemic

The Covid pandemic is over, although we need to continue to take care, and to go on following the instructions of the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG/OFSP) and the cantonal authorities. We pray for all who have been, or are still, affected by the epidemic.

Up-to-the-minute information is on the federal, cantonal and Church of England websites.

Money, money, money

Many of our members pledge to give a regular sum to support the church. We receive no state support, and have to finance the ministry here ourselves. There is still time to add to the growing number of people who pledge to the church. You may fill in a form (there are several in the church hall) and give or send it to the Treasurer. Trying to move with the times, we are also introducing the possibility of pledging "on-line" - the pledge page on our website has details. We hope that paying on line will come later (paying by Twint is already possible). In any case, every rappen is appreciated!

Photographs and Privacy

Several people take photographs of church events, and these may be uploaded to the church's website. We do not normally publish photos of individuals, nor include names. If you are happy for your picture to appear in a group photo please ensure you have completed a (blue) photo consent form. You can find blank forms in the church hall.

A general privacy notice can be found here.