Reading: verses from Hebrews Chapter 11

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth. Yes, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.”

The Diocese in Europe feels like one of the Church of England’s front lines. It is the diocese where we encounter the harsh reality of war. Our communities in the south of Europe face new arrivals from the global South. Our project worker in Calais works amongst refugees stranded on the French coast and caught between the French police and UK immigration rules. We are part of the Church of England, but in the countries we serve we are not the majority, established church as in England. Sometimes we have our own buildings, other times we borrow church buildings or meet in schools. We share with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that sense of being travellers, living in tents, being guests in a foreign land.

I’ve lived for the last 18 years in Brussels in Belgium, and I’m a dual national citizen of Belgium and Britain. With my colleague Bishop David Hamid I look after clergy and congregations scattered across mainland Europe plus Turkey, Morocco and Russia. We are a vibrant diocese with people of all ages. Our congregations are often very diverse, ranging from diplomats and senior officials of international organisations, to refugees and those lacking even a legal identity. We serve local people and English-speaking people who come to Europe from all over the world. Many are British, but increasing numbers have come to Europe from Africa and Asia and want to worship in an Anglican or at least in an English speaking church.

Our diocesan strap-line is ‘walking together in faith’. The Christian life is a journey, from this world to the life of the world to come. As our Bible reading suggests, all Christians have a sense that we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth, travelling in faith towards a heavenly country. Members of our diocese are frequently on a physical journey too. Sometimes they are travelling on fixed term business contracts to an international centre. Sometimes they have come to a warmer European country to retire. And sometimes they have made dangerous and difficult journeys. Earlier this year I had the privilege of confirming a young man in France who told me how he had crossed the Mediterranean in a small boat which had capsized, how frightened he was and how he had very nearly drowned.

For all our people, we try to provide a spiritual home. If you are away from friends and family this church community can be extremely important as a place to give and receive love and care, particularly when trouble, illness or bereavement strike. What’s more we don’t simply want to float in a detached way in the places where we have settled. We intend to belong and contribute. I recall a senior city council official in Leipzig saying to me, ‘Your Anglican church is very important, because your people have learned how to live well in Eastern Germany, so they know how to help others do that too.’ It is indeed a matter of being both guest and host.

One of the biggest issues our continent faces at present is the Ukraine war. We have churches in both Kyiv and Moscow, as well many of the neighbouring states, like Poland, Finland and Romania. In the face of immense suffering and danger, we do what we can. We have regularly brought our diocese together across Europe online to pray for Ukraine. We have raised large sums of money for aid. And many of our churches are involved in caring for refugees from Ukraine either individually or with social projects. You heard earlier about the community feeding project in my home city of Brussels.

A modern Christian worship song, which we will hear shortly sung by the Choir of St Nicholas Church Helsinki, runs:

“We are pilgrims on a journey

Fellow travellers on the road.

We are here to help each other

Walk the mile and bear the load.”

As those often away from our maternal homes, operating with languages that are not our maternal tongue, we have a heightened sense of the spiritual journey. We are perhaps especially open to faith in God and to our need for God’s leading and direction. We know our need of love from God and from our Christian brothers and sisters. And we live as those whose hope is in the city which is to come, the transformed earth where God truly dwells amongst us and there are no more tears.

Whatever your own circumstances, I warmly invite you to join us on that journey. Seek and draw near to God. Become more confident in Christian faith. Be thankful for those you love and who love you. And in what often feels a difficult and dangerous world, be a person of steadfast hope.

+Robert Innes

Bishop of the Diocese in Europe