This week, the Diocesan Synod is meeting for the annual in-person gathering in Cologne, Germany. To hold a Synod means ‘to walk together’, which matches the Diocese in Europe strapline of  'walking together in faith.’ It is a time to work together on our governance and strategic thinking as well as a chance to gather in worship and fellowship.  

In his opening (president's) address, Bishop Robert acknowledged that we meet together in a time of great difficulty and great change across Europe, within the Church of England and in our own diocese. He spoke of the need and opportunity for us as the church to build resilience, emphasise our inter-dependence on each other across the body of Christ, and to sustain hope.  

This message of resilience and hope came too from Christina Laschenko, churchwarden in our chaplaincy in Kyiv, Ukraine who joined us via Zoom. She spoke of how important it has been to keep meeting and praying together; 

“Celebrations of major church feasts and minor festivals allows to cheer up people after night shellings and relieve stress of depressive news from the theatre of war; that also allows to pray for our friends and relatives who perish and suffer from the war…. 

We do not know what the future holds: the whole country lives in uncertainty in terms of shellings, in terms of power and heating supplies, in terms of economic wellbeing, and in terms of our overall existence. And yet, the Gospel is a source of cheerful support for us, like this lesson from St. Paul read on the First Sunday after Trinity: 

2 Corinthians 4.5-12: 

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ."

In this spirit of hope, please continue to hold Christina and all the congregation in your prayers. 

Please also pray for us at Synod this week as we continue our meetings, looking at topics such as Carbon Net Zero, Youth work and the governance of our diocese. 

Another update will follow shortly.