This month we are very happy to share news of new appointments within our diocese. Bishop Robert wrote to all clergy to share the good news: 

“Canon Ulla Monberg stood down from her role as Diocesan Director of Ministerial Development in July. Her departure marks a second significant retirement. Ulla was one of the pioneers of ordained women’s ministry – as a 1990s front page photo of herself from the New York Times which she showed to some of us, proudly proclaimed. Ulla had nurtured many cohorts of new curates in our diocese. We wish her good health and much happiness in a well-earned retirement.   

 To succeed Ulla, we are making several interim appointments. The Reverend Jenni Pridmore, chaplain of St. Mary’s Rotterdam, will be our new interim head of IME2. Jenni will have responsibility for the formation of curates in our diocese. She will be supported by several newly appointed individual year group tutors. The Reverend Geoff Read, chaplain of All Saints   Luxembourg and formerly Basel, will be interim head of Continuing Ministerial Formation. Geoff held a similar role in the Diocese of Chelmsford. Geoff will be responsible for overseeing and developing our system of ministerial development reviews. These are both part‐time appointments, reporting to our Interim Ministry Team Chair, Archdeacon Sam Van Leer. I am delighted with these appointments and looking forward to the new ideas that these experienced clergy will bring to our formation of clergy.     

Thirdly, my personal Chaplain, Canon Alan Strange retired at the end of July. He had been in post for three years, but had a career of ministry in Diocese going back to the 1990s. In his place, I have appointed The Reverend Evelyn Sweerts‐Vermeulen, formerly of Luxembourg. Evelyn is already making a fine contribution to the running of the Bishop’s Office. 

Work with children and young people is vital for the present and future of our church. For the national Church of England, this has emerged as ‘the priority of priorities’. I am therefore very pleased that we have been able to appoint The Reverend Iain Bendrey, assistant chaplain in Lisbon, as interim head of young people and children’s ministry development for the diocese. One of Iain’s first tasks is to oversee a survey of the condition and extent of children and youth ministry across the diocese, to be carried out by the charity Youthscape – please do respond to it when it reaches you! Iain wants to help every chaplaincy to feel confident in engaging with this area of ministry, so expect him to be in touch even if (or especially if) you have few children or young people. “