Ricky Yates

Rev'd Ken Dimmick, Chaplain of St. Catherine's Anglican Church, Stuttgart © Ricky Yates

When Bishop Geoffrey Rowell visited the Prague Chaplaincy at the beginning of May this year, he mentioned during a Church Council meeting, about how under the ministry of Rev’d Ken Dimmick, the Anglican Church in Stuttgart had grown both numerically and financially. At a more recent Church Council meeting, some members made reference back to Bishop Geoffrey’s remarks and suggested that it might be good for the Prague Chaplaincy to learn from his experience.

Taking note of what had been said by the Church Council, I wrote to Ken in July, asking if I could visit him in Stuttgart and as suggested, ‘learn from his experience’. His reply was both prompt and positive – he would welcome me to visit though in his very modest way he declared that, “I’m not sure that I have any secret answers to church growth or financial success… Perhaps we were just lucky!”

Last Thursday 19^th August, just before 9am, I set out to drive to Stuttgart. It is a journey of just over 300 miles/480 km but, having reached the outskirts of Prague; it is then almost entirely on Czech motorway or German autobahn. I broke the journey with a coffee stop near Amberg in northern Bavaria and then had a sandwich lunch at a Rasthof about 20km north of Stuttgart.

I only had problems with the very last part of my journey as my Google map didn’t indicate that I needed to pass through a road tunnel near the centre of Stuttgart and I therefore avoided the tunnel and ended up several streets away from where I was meant to be. Eventually, I found the name of the street I was in and worked out from my downloaded Google map, how to reach the St. Catherine’s Church Parish Centre where I had agreed to meet Ken at 3pm that afternoon. I finally reached my intended destination with ten minutes to spare.

I spent the following twenty-four hours in Ken’s company, both going with him to a few fixed appointments as well as sharing an enjoyable evening meal together in a Stuttgart beer garden. Ken is an American priest, three years younger than me and a bachelor. He took up the Stuttgart appointment just over four years ago, wanting to do something different rather than remaining in parish ministry in Texas.

When Ken took up his post as Anglican Chaplain in Stuttgart, there were about nine people remaining in the congregation and no real money to pay him. So in advance of his arrival, he successfully raised $US 100,000 from friends and supporters in Texas to help fund the first few years of his ‘Mission to Germany’! This enabled him to rent an apartment in the Stuttgart suburbs and have enough to live on whilst he sought to grow the congregation.

In just over four years, the congregation has grown to between 80-90 on a Sunday and they are now able to pay Ken a modest stipend. He still has some of the US money to fall back on if need be – what he refers to as his ‘Texas slush fund’! Whilst the Church building, (which they share with the German Old Catholics), will hold around 120 people, it has no other facility other than a small meeting room added to the side of the Church over twenty years ago. This began to prove increasingly inadequate as the Anglican congregation grew.

St. Catherine's Church Parish Centre, Stuttgart © Ricky Yates

In November 2008 St. Catherine’s took a lease on a former bakery which has gradually been renovated and transformed into a parish centre and office. The Parish Centre is located only a few minutes walk from St. Catherine’s Church. Initially, Ken gave up his suburban apartment and lived in a couple of rooms at the rear of the bakery. Just under a year ago, a small flat in the complex above the bakery became vacant. Ken now lives in this small flat allowing the Parish Centre to be increased in size. Instead of living ‘behind the shop’ he now lives ‘above the shop’!

The Parish Centre is used for after service refreshments on Sunday morning together with Sunday School. During the week there are a variety of events including services of Morning and Evening Prayer, Bible Studies and a Mums and Toddlers Group. Ken has his office in the front of the building which in turn, becomes the shop window for the Church, both figuratively and literally! On the Thursday afternoon whilst I was sitting there talking to Ken, three German youths dropped by wanting to know more about the Anglican Church!

However, being located in an old bakery does attract interesting requests. As can be seen in the photo below, there is still sign protruding from the building with the picture of a pretzel on it. More than two years after the bakery closed down, people still call in wanting to buy bread or cakes. Ken’s response is to say to all who enquire that he offers ‘The bread of life’!

More than anything, it was this Parish Centre with Ken being based there, that most impressed me. Whilst Sybille and I live in a very nice flat, it is out in the suburbs and not in the city centre of Prague. And we have nowhere which is a ‘shop window’ for St. Clement’s during the week. In other respects, what Ken has done to build up the Church in Stuttgart both numerically and financially, is very similar to what I have been doing since arriving in Prague nearly two years ago. In that respect, my conversations with Ken were very reassuring.

St. Catherine's Church Parish Centre, Stuttgart. Note the protruding sign with a picture of a pretzil © Ricky Yates

So is there somewhere in Prague, not too far from St. Clement’s Church, which could become our ‘Parish Centre’ and office? Even better, somewhere with accommodation above where we could live? Am I dreaming or have I caught a vision for what under God, we might possibly be able to do?

Bishop Geoffrey Rowell outside St. Clement's Anglican Episcopal Church, Prague © Sybille Yates

Sincere apologies to everyone who follows my blog that I haven’t posted anything for more than three weeks. It has been a very busy time with preparations for our Annual Church Meeting held on Sunday 25^th April and the following weekend having an Episcopal visit from The Rt. Rev’d Dr. Geoffrey Rowell. Although his visit gave me an extremely busy two days, the timing of it allowed him to help the newly elected Church Council begin addressing issues arising out of the Annual Meeting and helping us plot a way forward through the financial problems we are currently facing.

Such is the size of the Anglican Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe that this was the first visit Bishop Geoffrey had made to the Prague Chaplaincy since March 2005. He was meant to stay on for an Episcopal visit after attending the annual meeting between Anglican and Old Catholic Bishops which took place at Karlik, just outside Prague, at the end of January 2009 which I wrote about in an article entitled ‘Episcopal Taxi Service’, my first ever blog post. But plans changed when it was announced that the newly elected Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church was to be enthroned in Moscow on Sunday 1^st February 2009 and Bishop Geoffrey had instead to be in attendance there, representing the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Volcanic ash having finally cleared, Bishop Geoffrey flew into Prague from London Gatwick, late on the evening of Friday 30^th April. I met him at the airport and drove him to the Chaplaincy Flat where he stayed in our guest bedroom for two nights. Oscar immediately made friends with him but was a little put out at being banished from a room that he regards as his bedroom!

On Saturday morning, we had a long talk updating Bishop Geoffrey about the various issues facing the Chaplaincy which would be the main subjects for discussion at the first meeting of the newly elected Church Council later that afternoon. Then the Churchwardens took him out for lunch for their own private conversations with him, before bringing him on to the Council meeting. In the evening, we took him for a short walking tour of the Old Town before he treated us to supper at Krcma, one of our favourite eating places that specialises in Czech cuisine.

With Bishop Geoffrey outside St. Clement's Anglican Episcopal Church, Prague © Sybille Yates

On Sunday morning, Bishop Geoffrey was the celebrant and preacher at our Sunday Eucharist. During the service, the newly elected Churchwardens took their oaths of office. Normally each year, they do this before me and I admit them to office on behalf of the Bishop. With the Bishop being present, he was able to do it for himself! Following the service, Bishop Geoffrey met with many of the congregation at Coffee Hour in nearby Klimentská 18.

Sunday afternoon and early evening were taken up with Episcopal meetings. Whenever Bishop Geoffrey makes a Chaplaincy visit, he likes to meet the leader of the majority Church of the country where the Chaplaincy is situated which in our case is the Roman Catholic Church. Bishop Geoffrey knew Cardinal Vlk, the previous Roman Catholic Archbishop of Prague, very well. However, Cardinal Vlk was finally allowed by the Pope to retire earlier this year and has been succeeded by Archbishop Dominik Duka. Archbishop Duka is very newly in post having only been enthroned in St. Vitus Cathedral on 10^th April.

Our meeting took place in the Archbishop’s Palace which overlooks Hradcanské namestí at the western end of Prague Castle. We (Bishop Geoffrey, Churchwarden Gerry Turner & I) were greeted warmly by Father Tomáš Roule, who was secretary to Cardinal Vlk and has retained that role with Archbishop Duka. Fortunately, he trained for the priesthood in Ireland and therefore has good English. It was through my contacts with Father Tomáš that I had been able to organise this meeting.

Archbishop Duka also greeted us very warmly telling Bishop Geoffrey how pleased he was to welcome his first ecumenical guest! There discussions ranged over a wide range of issues including the forthcoming visit by Pope Benedict to the UK. Although Gerry was there to translate, we soon discovered that Archbishop Duka could speak quite good English which he insisted on using and only occasionally turned to Gerry for help with some more difficult phrases. My only regret is that I accidentally left my camera in the car and therefore did not get a photographic record of the meeting.

Episcopal meeting in Restaurace Století. From l to r; Bishop Geoffrey, Gerry Turner, Bishop Dušan, Petr Jan Vinš © Ricky Yates

In the early evening, our second Episcopal meeting took place, this time with Bishop Dušan of the Old Catholic Church in the Czech Republic under whose joint jurisdiction, along with that of Bishop Geoffrey, I come. This was a very convivial affair over a meal in Restaurace Století which is opposite the Rotunda of the Holy Cross where Bishop Dušan had just conducted a Sunday Evening Eucharist. As well as Gerry, we were also joined by Rev’d Petr Jan Vinš and between them, they translated from English to Czech and Czech to English as neither Bishop speaks the other’s native tongue! This time I did remember my camera.

Finally, it was back to the airport so that Bishop Geoffrey could catch his return flight to London Gatwick. The end of a very busy, exhausting but worthwhile weekend.

Kardinal Schulte Haus - note the scaffolding! © Ricky Yates

I must apologise once more that, despite returning safely to Prague last Friday evening, other than approving a couple of nice comments (and deleting a host of spammers!!), I’ve taken far longer than originally intended to write a new post about last week’s conference.

As I explained in my previous post, the theme of the conference was ‘Entertaining Angels – Hospitality as Mission’. The title is based on a verse from the New Testament where the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews tells his readers, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for so by doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it” Hebrews 13 v2. But who are the hosts who give the hospitality and who are the guests that receive it?

One speaker, Professor Musa Dube from Botswana, pointed out that we are all guests on this earth. Basing her Bible Study on the creation narrative in Genesis 1, she rightly pointed out that that it is God’s earth, for he created it, and we are his guests, invited to live in it and care for it. However, in the context of being clergy serving in the Church of England’s Diocese in Europe, we are nearly all guests, living and working within host countries. I say ‘nearly all’ because, as a result of the Porvoo Agreement between the Anglican Churches of Great Britain and Ireland and the Lutheran Churches of the Nordic and Baltic countries, a number of Lutheran priests from the Nordic and Baltic countries work in Anglican chaplaincies in their own native countries and were present at the conference.

Not only are we guests in our host countries, many Anglican Chaplaincies in Europe, including mine here in Prague, are guests of another Christian Church or denomination using buildings that do not belong to us. Only in some of the long established chaplaincies in major capital cities or in resort areas where ‘Brits’ first settled in the nineteenth century, do Anglicans worship in their own Church buildings. But whilst we are guests in host countries and of host Churches, we in turn seek to be hosts and provide hospitality to expat English-speakers who find themselves well away from their normal support mechanisms. How we do that – how we fulfil that important mission, was a constant theme of both our speakers and of our resulting discussions.

As is so often the case at conferences such as this one, some of the most valuable and profitable learning and discussion took place over meals or in convivial late night sessions in the bar. Not too late I might add as we all had to be washed, dressed and in the Chapel for worship at 07.30 each morning! It was a privilege to meet up with five other clergy who all trained with me at Wycliffe Hall Theological College. 1987/8 was clearly a very good year!

It was also good to get to know many people who, up until now, were purely names in a directory or on a prayer list. It was valuable to listen to their experiences, some in similar major city locations like mine, as well as to others who work in more rural or coastal areas of France and Spain where so many English-speakers have moved for a ‘better life’ or to retire.

The Suffragen Bishop in Europe, The Rt. Rev’d David Hamid is also a blogger and you can read his take on the conference in his post appropriately entitled, ‘Entertaining Angels – Hospitality as Mission’. It also includes a link to a number of photos of the conference though I don’t appear in any of them.

One thing about the conference for me was a certain case of déjà vu. Our flat in Prague was built as part of the first stage of a major development of flats on the site of a former brewery. Ever since we moved in just over a year ago, we have had to live with the builders working on the fourth and final stage of the development directly in front and to the side of our balconies. The noise and dust can at times be quite irritating. What do I find when I arrive at Kardinal Schulte Haus? The building is under repair and there are workmen repairing the roof, directly outside my third floor bedroom window! At least the noise ensured I wasn’t late for Morning Prayer!

The Anglican Episcopal Congregation who meet in St. Clement’s Church in the centre of Prague, is part of the rather unusual 44^th Diocese of the Church of England with the unwieldy title of ‘The Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe’. Fortunately, it is usually shortened to ‘Diocese in Europe’. It covers the whole of the European continent, together with Turkey, Morocco, Mongolia and all of the former Soviet Union in Asia. Within that area, (which is roughly one sixth of the world’s landmass), there are about 250 congregations. You can find out more about it at Diocese in Europe website.

As well as being part of the Anglican Diocese in Europe, we also function as the English-speaking parish of the Old Catholic Church in the Czech Republic or Starokatolická církev v Ceské republice if you would like it in Czech. The Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht were formed in the late 19^th century by Roman Catholics who could not accept the doctrine of papal infallibility and other teachings that came out of the First Vatican Council of 1870. The Church in the Netherlands has a slightly earlier history. As well as the Netherlands, there are Old Catholic Churches in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland and the Czech Republic, together with a scattering of outposts elsewhere. More information can be found in this Wikipedia article and their own website .

The Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion have been in full communion with the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht since the Bonn Agreement of 1931. For both ecumenical and practical reasons, a Covenant was signed in September 2000 between the Czech Old Catholics and the Diocese in Europe, whereby the Anglican Episcopal Congregation is deemed to be part of both Churches. Amongst other things, it gives the Congregation the right to have a legal bank account and allows me to conduct a wedding without the couple needing a civil ceremony as well. But it also means that I am responsible not to one Bishop but to two; Bishop Dušan Hejbal of the Old Catholic Church and Bishop Geoffrey Rowell, the Anglican Bishop of the Diocese in Europe, together with his sidekick, Bishop David Hamid, the Suffragan Bishop in Europe.

Once a year, the Old Catholic Bishops get together for a few days for their International Bishops Conference (IBK). The IBK used to be held in each different country by rotation. However, a couple of years ago, they realised that it costs half the price to hold it in the Czech Republic than it does in Austria, Switzerland, Germany or the Netherlands. So now they give the money to the Czech Church and ask them to get on and organise it. So, from the afternoon of Sunday 25^th to the afternoon of Thursday 29^th January, the 2009 IBK took place in a small hotel at Karlick, a little village about 25km south-west of Prague.

As well as the IBK, there has also been an annual meeting between the Old Catholic Bishops and those Anglican Bishops working in Europe. This not only means Bishops Geoffrey & David, but also the American Bishop based in Paris who looks after a scattering of Episcopalian congregations in Europe, many but not all, associated with US military establishments. Then there are two small Anglican Churches in the Iberian peninsular, the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church & the Lusitanian Church in Portugal. Each has their own Bishop. Sensibly, it was agreed last year to have the meeting between Old Catholic & Anglican Bishops in Europe, tacked on to the end of the IBK in the same location. Thus it took place from the evening of Thursday 29^th – the morning of Saturday 31^st January.

One of the joys of living in Prague is the city’s wonderful integrated public transport system. Although I brought my British right-hand drive car to Prague and am nearly through all the hoops of getting it registered here, (another story in itself), I now only use it to get bulk supplies from the supermarket and for the occasional trip out into the countryside. But as part of our (my wife Sybille & me) efforts to strengthen the Anglican-Old Catholic Church relationship, we volunteered to help with meeting some of the Bishops flying in to attend the two conferences, and transporting them onto Karlik.

Our first customer was Bishop Mike Klusmeyer from West Virginia who is the Episcopal Church in the USA liaison Bishop to the IBK. He flew in on Saturday afternoon in order to have 24 hours to get over jetlag. We delivered him to his Prague hotel and agreed to pick him up on Sunday morning so he could worship with us at St. Clement’s. This we duly did, and thus, for only the second time since we’ve been in Prague, we went to Church by car. Soon after we got to Church with Bishop Mike, a second Bishop appeared, Bishop Jonathan Gledhill, the Anglican Bishop of Lichfield. He is the Church of England’s liaison Bishop to the IBK but, according to my instructions, wasn’t arriving until a couple of days later. But, he and his wife Jane, wanted to have a few days leave together in Prague before the conference so they came earlier.

I was prepared to have one Bishop in the congregation on Sunday 25^th January but now I had to preach to two! Certainly this was something I had not been trained for at Theological College 20 years before. However, both Bishop Mike and Bishop Jonathan were very kind and spent a lot of time talking with various members of the congregation at Coffee Hour following the service. After lunch with Bishop Mike, we delivered him safely on to Karlik.

During the week we collected the Spanish Bishop who arrived three days earlier than he should have done; delivered Bishop Jonathan from Prague city centre to Karlik: and on Thursday afternoon, picked up Bishop Geoffrey & Bishop David, who helpfully arrived on the same flight, and took them to Karlik too. Then it was a mad dash back to the airport for the Portuguese Bishop arriving an hour later. But he didn’t arrive! After Sybille had held a piece of paper with ‘+Fernando’ on it for more than half an hour, a phone call came through to say he wasn’t coming after all. We’d had an email earlier in the week entitled ‘bisschen chaotiosch’. It certainly was!

In the end I drove nearly 300 miles/480 km, more than I’d done in the two previous months put together, and thought seriously about re-spraying my car purple! But all our Episcopal passengers expressed their appreciation for our taxi service & the general view seems to be that both meetings had been very worthwhile.