Crossways July and August 2006 - Christ Church, Viennaccv-web.org/media/crossways-2006-07.pdf · I...

News and views from Christ Church Vienna,

the Anglican/Episcopal Church in Austria

No. 006 ✽

Ju

ly/A

ugust

2006

CROSSWAYS

July+August 2006 longer.pmd 6/19/2006, 5:58 PM1

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Jaurèsgasse 17/19, 1030 ViennaChrist Church Vienna

Postal address: Jaurèsgasse 12, 1030 ViennaChurch office: Salesianergasse 24, 1030 Vienna ❁ Tel. and Fax: 714 8900

www.christchurchvienna.org ❁ [email protected] serves Bratislava, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Ljubljana and Zagreb

406 6354064 672 0107

714 8900

714 6006

942 7664

328 5460713 3786

718 5922

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of theauthors and should not necessarily be considered as carryingthe endorsement of Christ Church or its officers.

600 3083

The Revd. Paul Kennedy, Kirschentalg. 12/49, 6020 Innsbruck, tel. 0512/293321 islicensed by our Bishop and Bishop Heitz of the Old Catholic Church in Austria toofficiate in the Chaplaincy of Christ Church, Vienna

718 5902VestryChaplain of Christ Churchand Archdeacon ofthe Eastern Archdeaconry

Curate

Priests with permissionto officiate

Chaplaincy Secretary

Secretary

Verger

Choir DirectorOrganist

The Venerable Patrick CurranReisnerstraße 42/71030 Vienna

The Revd. Aileen HacklHardtmuthgasse 28/3/201100 Vienna

The Revd. Sally WellsThe Revd. Clair Filbert-Ullmann

Ms. Miranda KopetzkyWed. 13.00-18.00Thur. 09.30-17.00

Dr. Alan Patzak, FRGS

Ms. Ann Wanzenböck

Mr. Christoph WutscherMr. Emanuel Schmelzer-Ziringer

For information on services in Ljubljana, Zagreb and Klagenfurt, please contact:

Ljubljana: Ms. Barbara RyderZagreb: Licensed Reader: Mr. Todd BeckerKlagenfurt: Ms. Helen Taupe

00 386 4572 301500 385 1 309 6620

04223 3028


Claus

Rectangle

In this issueEditorial

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The Chaplain’s messagepppppaaaaage 4ge 4ge 4ge 4ge 4

Christ Church and moreIntroducing the Sunday School

page 6

Face-to-faceMeet the Witters

page 10

The Church YearThe Transfiguration of our Lord

page 12

Who’s Who in Christ ChurchGetting to know each other

page 14

Austrian politics made simpleThe first of a three-part exposé of

Austrian politics by Claus Voglpage 16

Church noticespage 22

The Christ Church Retreatpage 24

Reaching OutFaith Schultze’s story of a book

page 27

Glasses raised to QueenElizabeth II on her birthday

page 28

The long night of churchesOne family’s experiences

page 29

World Church Focus: Germanypage 30

Social Eventspage 28

Talking Shoppage 29

The deadline for the next issueof CROSSWAYS is 20 August.Kindly email contributions to:[email protected],copy to: [email protected] orhand them in to the Office.

This will be the last CROSSWAYS until September.The focus this month is on children, and as parents andgrandparents well know, the long summer holidays area time when children place a particularly strain on ourtime, patience, energy and resources! Even those with-out children of their own will be aware of the greaterconcentration of children in the Strassenbahn, on thebanks of the Danube and indeed in all public places.When we look back on our own halycon childhood days,we think of long, hot summers full of excitement andopportunities. Let’s make sure that our children—andindeed all children we encounter in our daily lives—have a wonderful summer break.

The interview this month is with the Revd. Tania Witterand Nick Witter, who are currently in Vienna for a cou-ple of weeks. When I arrived at their rented apartmentfor the interview, my timing could not have been worse.Tania had just had her handbag stolen from a restau-rant, where she had been sitting in the garden, enjoy-ing the warm sun and a relaxing lunch. In her handbagshe carried, like most women, her most important pos-sessions: passport, driver’s license, credit cards etc. Theopera tickets they had purchased for that very eveningwere also in the bag. Rather than asking me to comeback another time, they graciously invited me in andwe had a good talk. Despite the obvious anxiety theymust have been feeling, they were able to put it aside.Anyone whose personal space has been invaded by athief—and what could be more personal than oneshandbag—knows the feeling of helplessness and indig-nation. And yet Tania and Nick, who have suffered theirown setbacks in life, were able to put things into per-spective. This shows a healthy set of values that couldserve as a lesson to many. Is this what Jesus meantwhen he preached: “Love your enemies; do good to thosewho hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those whotreat you spitefully. When a man hits you on the cheek, offerhim the other cheek too; when a man takes your coat, let himhave your shirt as well.” (Luke 6:28-31).

I wish all CROSSWAYS readers a healthy, invigor-ating and happy summer. Ed.


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From

the D

esk

of

the C

hapla

inThe Venerable Patrick Curran

Dear Friends of Christ Church, Vienna

This year’s retreat at the Heiligenkreuz monastery was entitled‘Voices and visions – Listening to the Poets.’ The poems weconsidered were written by a number of 20th century Britishpoets. The retreat was led by the Dean of Gloucester (see p.24).The Dean through the voices of the poets not only gave expres-

sion to what many think and feel today, but also challenged and encour-aged us. I want to pick up the Dean’s challenges and present them to youfor your consideration.

The first challenge was based on the premise that there are many peoplewho want to believe in a loving God. They long to believe that ‘God islove’, but in all honesty they find it difficult or even impossible. In thissituation, where a deep longing remains, communities like Christ Church,Vienna are called to be beacons of hope and candles in the darkness. Weare not only called to be beacons of hope for the world, but also for oneanother.

The second challenge was the call to be people of joy. The mark of thechurch and of the Christian ought to be joy. The ‘joy and laughter’ ofwhich the Dean spoke was not a ‘joy and laughter’ that in anyway deniesthe reality of Good Friday. Christian joy is based on having gone throughGood Friday and being steadied by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Joyshould be the mark of the Christian.

The third challenge, which is connected to the second one, was that thechurch must not cease from or sell short the ministry of forgiveness en-trusted to her. “Forgiveness must be got somewhere...” Forgiveness ispossible even though it is often difficult to feel forgiven. The Dean read apiece entitled Forgiveness by Joolz. She writes, “But the words didn’t mat-ter to her, it was the sound of another voice she wanted, any voice thatrang with that blessed medicine, forgiveness. She wanted to be forgiven,..,I was her priest, her absolution, her necessary stranger.”

The fourth challenge was not to tire of prayer. “The work of prayer mustgo on, even though it isn’t easy.” For the prayer life of the Christian tocontinue unabated we need to structure our prayer life, but we also needeach other. We need to encourage and support each other in prayer.


5

The fifth and final challenge in my mind was therenewed call to humility which we encounteredtwice during the retreat: first in a poem by GeoffreyStuddert Kennedy and later in the words of theWelsh poet R.S Thomas. Geoffrey StuddertKennedy wrote in the poem entitled Tragedy, “So iflife is his school I trow he means to teach humil-ity.” The word trow means to think or believe. TheDean summed this up by saying that the only at-titude for a wise person is humility or were thesewords of R.S. Thomas? Humility as already ex-pressed most powerfully in the Book of Job (chap-ters 38-42).

The Cistercian monastery of Heiligenkreuz always provides an idealsetting to consider our lives before God and one another. The greatCistercian saint is Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), which I trans-late for myself as ‘Bernard the clear-sighted one’. Bernard’s clearsightedness inspired Christian men and women so that within theshortest period of time four hundred monasteries were foundedthroughout Latin Europe. As the Dean said, “We can punch aboveour weight!”

I invite you to consider the above challenges through both prayerand meditation over the summer months. Please remember that ifyou can’t make the 10 a.m. service one Sunday morning there is aservice at 8 a.m. Finally, I wish you and yours a summer that ismarked by sightings of beacons of hope and that is accompanied byprayer, the knowledge of divine forgiveness, a sense of Christian joyand a desire for that humility which has the Psalmist write:

Statue of St. Bernard

Inside the Cistercian chapel

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, ¨the moon and the stars that you have ordained,What are mortals, that you should be mindful of them; ¨mere human beings, that you should seek them out?

(Psalm 8.4f.)

photo: Claus V

oglphoto: C

laus Michalek


6

Ch

rist

Ch

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h a

nd

Mor

eThe Sunday School

Juli Krejci took over as Sunday School Coordinatornearly two years ago. An elementary schoolteacher, with experience in both American andAustrian schools, she will be taking up a full-timepost at the Danube International School at the startof the next school year.

As coordinator of the Sunday School, one of herprincipal—and hardest—jobs, is to keep in touchwith parents. “Sometimes kids come for a whilethen we don’t see them again”, she told me, “andI feel I need to check up that everything is all right”.

She likes to involve parents as much as possible in activities and will beorganising an Open Day on 15 October to let them experience first handwhat the Sunday School is all about. The church year naturally dictatessome of the activities and Christmas, Easter, Mothering Sunday and Har-vest Festival are the occasion for special events. During the summer (2July-27 August), lessons will be suspended but any children who wouldlike to meet are welcome in the crypt where they can work on a Nativitymobile to be hung in the church at Christmas. Last summer, children madethe “153 fish” mobile that is currently decorating the church. Highlights ofthe year included a trip to Vienna’s Art History Museum where childrenviewed the Egyptian exhibit and learned the story of Joseph and his dreamsas well as the picnic (see overleaf). The Nativity play is always a favouriteand is organized by Alexandra Schmidt who is a ballet teacher as well asSunday School assistant.

Children are divided into three groups: the Pebbles group includes childrenup to school age and Miranda Kopetzky is group coordinator. The Rocksgroup, coordinated by Joan Dantinger comprises children from 6-9, whilethe Boulders (9+) have Lucille Curran as their coordinator assisted by ClausVogl. The latter two groups meet in the Church Centre. Lucille (sic) ‘theparty person’ plays the piano for all the children to sing, while Claus (sic)‘the sit down and learn’ type conducts the lessons. The smaller children,including Julie’s two daughters Natascha and Danielle, meet in the crypt.

Now that the number of Family Eucharists is being reduced to four a year(see p.20), Julie is anxious to make those occasions more interactive, withincreased participation in the service by children. It will mean a greatereffort on the part of Julie and her helpers and any extra assistance they canget from new volunteers would be much appreciated. Thank you, Julie, forall your hard work!

Julie Krejci


7

l


Glorious weather, a peaceful af-ternoon, a scrumptious buffetwith boys and girls from Sundayschool playing football in the park:what could be more enjoyable?What more could one want? Well,for starters you could includePatrick in a Panama hat abandon-ing all constraints as he joined in the fun together withthe other fathers whilst mothers relaxed in the sun. Eventhe dogs became tired and all agreed that a good, no, agreat day was had by all. It is hoped that in future yearsall members of the congregation will feel free to join in,not just only those involved with the Sunday school.

Sunday School Picnic,11 June 2006

8


IkennaJessica Cassandra Suzanne James

Kate

Milena

Chuks

AlexandraLaraLydia

Christ Church’s Sunday School was started in 1961 by Margaret Muyls(née Nuttell), at the request of the Revd. Dunant. Margaret had firstcome to Vienna in 1959 when her father was posted to the BritishEmbassy. Newly married, she had prior experience of helping out inSunday School while living in the UK and Singapore and willingly tookon the task for an impressive ten years until she and husband Marcelreturned to his native Belgium. Initially there was only one child, aBritish boy of four, but word travelled and the Sunday School soonbegan to grow. Most of the children had parents in the internationalbusiness community of Vienna and families seemed to be larger inthose days. Betty Gruber was one of the first helpers at the premisesin the British Embassy. They then moved to the Vestry (see Crosswaysno. 005) until the crypt was repainted by Margaret’s husband, theRevd. Peter Spink and other helpers. By this time, there were manychildren in the group, ranging in age from 3-12. Margaret organizedthe Nativity Play at Christmas and a summer picnic in the Viennawoods that was also attended by children home for the summer holi-days from school in England. She put on a “grown-up” play at Easterand still chuckles to herself when she recalls teaching her wards theEaster story and checking afterwards to see how much they remem-bered. When she asked one little boy to tell her who Pontius Pilatewas, he replied without any hesitation “My Daddy”. She also hosted aChristmas party each year in her flat, wrapping up gifts until the earlyhours the evening before; the Chaplain was encouraged to be FatherChristmas. Margaret’s two daughters Marie-France and Jacqueline,who attended Sunday School, were the godchildren, respectively, ofPeter Spink and Charles Dunant.

In the beginning ...

9

Enid Jo


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Interview with the WittersFace-to-Face

Nick and Tania, you left Vienna15 years ago, yet you are stillpart of the fabric of ChristChurch. For the sake of newreaders, tell us something aboutyour involvement with ourchurch.

Nick: Although we came to Viennain 1966 when I was offered a job asinterpreter at the IAEA, we did notjoin Christ Church until 1974. Wehad just lost a baby girl to cot deathand this made us realise that life ismore than simply pursuing a ca-reer or enjoying oneself. My in-volvement was of course second-ary to Tania’s, but I discovered mynewly found association with ChristChurch to be a nourishing and re-warding one. During my last fouryears in Vienna, I served as churchwarden, and was of course involvedin lesson reading, as a sidespersonand in other support functions.

Tania: Shortly after joining ChristChurch, I too was asked to be achurch warden by the Revd. BruceDuncan whom I had met at the Eng-lish School [forerunner of the ViennaInternational School] Parents’ Asso-ciation. I eventually became a li-censed lay assistant and went on tostudy by distance learning to be-come a lay reader. At that time theChaplain had to cover Budapest andPrague and during his absence Istepped in to take the service andpreach. I well remember the firsttime I conducted a full service. It wasa freezing day and I was shiveringas I waited on the pavement to greetthe congregation. The Verger, FredSmith, who had very firm views onthe role of women in the church,fetched me the Chaplain’s long,black cloak from the vestry andplaced it on my shoulders. I wasprofoundly touched and am con-vinced that he sensed my calling.From then on, I always thought of itas the Cloak of Elijah.

Did you have any difficulty set-tling down in England after yourextended stay in Austria?

Nick: With a Russian mother andEnglish father and a childhood spentin a number of different countries, Ihave always considered myself an‘international’. Our three childrenhad settled in England and duringtheir school and university days wevisited them frequently.

Nic

k an

d Ta

nia

Witt

er


11

�

Tania: We were both used to livingin different countries and indeed ourmarriage started out with a two-year honeymoon in Greece! I my-self was brought up in Sri Lankawhere my father worked as a teaplanter and I spent the war yearsin South Africa. When, years later,we returned to England from Vi-enna, we found it a much moresecular place that when we had left.I still feel offended and often out-raged at some of the more taste-less liberties taken by so-called art-ists who try to make a mockery ofChristianity.

Was there any early indicationthat Tania would one day be or-dained as a priest?

Nick: None at all, until she becamea lay assistant during the 1980s. Atthat time, she thought seriouslyabout the ministry but there was noquestion of applying to be ordainedbecause of the strong opposition ofthe Bishop in Europe, JohnSatterthwaite, to the ordination ofwomen. As she was often called onto preach at Christ Church, she re-ceived encouragement from variousmembers of the congregation.

Tania: When I was about eleven, Idesperately wanted to become apriest, although in those days it wasabout as realistic as wishing to beQueen of England! My parents werenot particularly religious, but in Sri

Lanka I had a Roman Catholicnanny, Maud, who was to becomea strong Christian influence in mylife. I was sent to the Good Shep-herd Convent in Nuwara Eliya, andas a punishment for my generalnaughtiness was forced to attendearly morning mass, although it washardly a punishment! It gave me anopportunity to admire the beautifulstatues in the Church and asked myparents to send me money to buy astatue of St. Anthony. My mother’sresponse, once we returned to Eng-land in 1946, was to pack me off toa Quaker boarding school in Som-erset.

I kept in contact with Maud, whoeventually joined a convent of Span-ish nuns in London. She continuedto play an important role in my lifeand that of my children for manyyears. Once she confided that sheprayed for me every single day. Icontinued to be a passionate Chris-tian throughout my teens, lapsingsomewhat in my college days, onlyto regain my early faith once I joinedChrist Church.

When we came to Vienna with twosmall children, for the next fewyears I was a full-time mother, wifeand housewife. Our youngest, Dan-iel was born in Vienna. I started tolearn German, and was involved inthe United Nations Women’s Guild,particularly in the annual bazaar. Ithen joined UNIDO as an editor for

(continued on p.13)


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The C

hurc

h C

ale

nd

ar The Feast of the Transfiguration of

Our Lord is celebrated each year on6 August. The feast commemoratesthe transfiguration or metamorpho-sis of Christ on Mount Tabor, whenhe appeared in his divine glory be-fore the Apostles Peter, James, andJohn. The feast became widespreadin the western world during the 11thcentury and was introduced into theRoman calendar in 1457 to com-memorate the victory over Islam inBelgrade. Before that, the Transfigu-ration of Our Lord was celebratedin the Syrian, Byzantine and Copticrites.

The event of the Transfiguration isrecorded in three of the four Gos-pels: Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8,and Luke 9:28-36. Jesus took theApostles Peter, James and John withhim up a mountain, and while theywere there Jesus was transfigured.His face shone like the sun and hisgarments turned a glistening white.Moses and Elijah appeared withChrist and spoke to him. Mosesrepresented the Law, Elijah theprophecies that had been madethrough the centuries, foretellingthe redemption of man. What wasJesus speaking about with thesetwo personages of the Old Testa-ment? Certainly not about humanand worldly opinions, nor aboutthe enjoyment of this transient life,but about the fulfillment of the pur-pose of God’s infinite goodness, inaccordance with which the Son of

Feast of the Transfiguration

God made man was about to suf-fer and die on the Cross in order tosave mankind. Peter declared howgood it was for them to be there andexpressed the desire to build threebooths for Moses, Elijah and Christ.The reference to the booths couldimply that this occurred during thetime of the Feast of Tabernacles

when the Jews would be campingout in the fields for the grape har-vest. Indeed, this Feast had acquiredother associations in the course ofits history, including the memory ofthe wanderings in the wildernessrecorded in the Old Testament bookof Exodus.

While Peter was speaking, a brightcloud overshadowed them. A voicecame from the cloud saying, “Thisis my beloved Son, with whom I amwell pleased; listen to Him.” Whenthe disciples heard this they fell ontheir knees and were filled with awe.

(conti


13

Jesus came to them and told themto not be afraid. When the three dis-ciples looked up they saw only Je-sus. As Jesus and his disciples camedown the mountain, he told themnot to speak of what they had seenuntil he had risen from the dead.

incidentally our local church is alsocalled Christ Church—and this iswhere Tania worked until her ownretirement.

Tania: When we returned to the UKI was deaconed in 1995 and priestedin 1996. I retired from full-time sti-pendiary work in 2003 but did notstop working entirely. I took on alocum chaplaincy in the summer of2004 in Heidelberg and will returnagain this year. I have also preachedat Christ Church since my ordina-tion and was, I believe, the firstwoman to celebrate the Eucharistin Austria (concelebrating withJeremy Peake). I also help out in mylocal parish and I assist in runninga retreat house in Lindisfarne. Wecome back to Vienna from time totime and It is wonderful to meet oldfriends and make new ones.

Although Christ Church changeswith each new Chaplain, it seemsto be thriving and the fellowship andfriendship remain the same. Welook forward to our next visit. �

a while, but turned down a longercontract because I wanted to devotemore time to the church.

After busy careers and the nu-merous demands that theyplaced on you both, how do youspend your retirement?

Nick: I continue to work as an in-terpreter from time to time and havedone quite a bit of writing, althoughI consider myself an unsucessfulwriter. I enjoyed translating a bookfrom Russian into English, writtenby one of my relatives, and entitledMemoires of a Survivor that describes,among other things, my mother’sinteresting life growing up in Rus-sia. I have also written my own au-tobiography for my children andgrandchildren. We are fortunatethat two of our three children livenear us and we see our sevengrandchildren fairly regularly.When we returned to England fromVienna in 1991, we made our homein Highbury, in north London be-cause we found a parish we liked—

�

(continued from page 11)


14

Who’s who in Christ Church ?

Mystery

no. 1

CROSSWAYS presents the next two mystery people inits ‘Who’s Who’ series, both of them relative newcomers toChrist Church and Vienna. Photos and names of the peoplefeatured can be found on p.37.

This young man has only been in Vienna for a year, but is already afamiliar sight in Christ Church. He serves at the altar once a month, as hehad done in his previous parish, and is an active member of the YouthGroup. He was anxious to point out that he comes to Christ Church as amatter of personal choice, rather than at the insistence of his parents.

He shares his birthdate of 4 December 1990 with his brother, and has an11-year old sister. Born in Singapore, he moved back and forth betweenWashington D.C. and Singapore, Indonesia and the Republic of Koreawith his State Department parents, before coming to Vienna in 2005 wherehe attends the American International School. He does not have muchrecollection of his time in Singapore and Indonesia, but remembers wellthe attention he and his brother attracted in Seoul as identical twins.Although he plays baseball and volley ball and is on his school’s baseballteam, his main passion is sitting at his computer writing programs for aschool gaming community. He describes himself as less creative than hisbrother (“Whenever we need an excuse for something, my brother’s al-

ways the one to think up a good one”), but admits he has superiorcomputer skills! When he is not in front of his computer, like mostteenagers, he enjoys going to the movies and meeting up with friends.He is learning German, and if he has inherited his parents’ lan-guage skills—his father speaks Japanese, Korean and Indonesianas well as German—he will soon be a fluent speaker.

Although very much an individual, life with a twin brother obvi-ously has its pros and cons. “Sometimes we’re very close, but othertimes we’re not the best of friends though we’re always there tohelp each other”, was his diplomatic comment! Needless to say,the fact that outwardly they are difficult to distinguish from eachother has had its advantages (“sometimes teachers don’t know which

of us to tell off”) but on the whole he and his brother have tried not toabuse other people’s confusion. A tall, straight-backed, handsome youngman, his quiet and somewhat serious demeanour (at least outside hishome!) is a refreshing change from the traditional teenage stereotype.


15

(Nam

es and

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otos on p

. 37

)�

Mystery

no. 2

This Englishwoman was born and brought up in London and for thefirst part of her life, travelling was limited to summer holidays in Scotlandand one trip to Brittany. This changed dramatically when she marriedher military husband and found herself on route to Brunei a few weekslater. In common with most army families, the young couple were con-stantly on the move—averaging one different home each year—and theirfour daughters were born, chronologically, in Brunei, Hong Kong, Londonand Hong Kong. Other postings, before they finally ended up in Vienna atthe end of 2003, included Berlin and Düsseldorf, several Far Eastern lo-cations and Moscow. The latter city was to be one of her favourite homes.The culture, the history, the music were all factors that warmed ourmystery lady to the country, and she was thrilled when her husbandreceived a second two-year assignment there some years after thefirst stay. As an army wife and mother of four, there was little oppor-tunity for her to pursue a career of her own, although, as she em-phasizes, there were always languages to learn and cultures to ap-preciate. Returning to England, she qualified as a language teacher,teaching English to foreign children at the school her own childrenattended in East Sussex.

Her husband eventually left the army but his new job involves a simi-lar amount of travelling and the family only spends part of the yearin Vienna. Nonetheless, it is in this city that they have put down theirroots. Arriving in Austria shortly before Christmas 2003, she and the girlslooked up a list of English-speaking churches in Vienna and selectedChrist Church, since it was nearest their new home, where they attendedmidnight mass. Their search for a church was over before it had begun,and whenever she is in Vienna our mystery lady is a committed andinvolved member of the congregation, who serves on the Church Counciland chairs the Social and Fund-raising committee. Raised as a Non-Con-formist, Christ Church is the first Anglican church she has attended on aregular basis and she enjoys its lively, stimulating and uplifting environ-ment. She and her husband, both enthusiastic walkers, come to churchon foot through the Belvedere, savouring the beauty of Vienna on theirway. When they venture outside the city, it is on two wheels: their BMW1100 is an exciting substitute for a car. She assures me, however, thatthey are not fanatical members of the biking fraternity (I enquired abouttattoos, but received a negative answer), but consider biking an enjoy-able way of getting from A to B. Doubtless their 18-month old grand-daughter will have something to say about that eventually!


16

After the 1848 revolution, the 18 yearold Franz Josef became emperor. Atfirst, his rule was absolute, restingon the high nobility, the army,and theRoman Catholic church. TheConcordat (1855) established the in-fluence of the Roman Catholic churchin the state, especially with respectto education and law. After a seriesof political and militaryfailures, Franz Josef had tosurrender part of hispower and a constitutionwas established. Votingrights were given towealthy men.

The first influential politi-cal party was the GermanLiberals (Deutschliberale).Most of its followers were successfulearly capitalists, among them manyJews. They opposed the high aristoc-racy at the court and the associatedCatholic high clergy and the federal-istic tendencies of the differentethnicities: Czechs, Slovaks, Poles,Ukrainians, Hungarians, Romanians,Serbs, Croats and Sloveniens. Their

A Short History of Austrian Politics

centralistic and arrogant policiescontributed to the radicalization ofnationalistic tendencies. Under theliberal party’s influence, educationbecame independent of confession in1869 and subjects such as biologyand physical education entered thecurriculum. Otherwise the partyachieved little.

In Austria, racism alwayshad at least two facets thatcan be labelled “ordinary”racism and anti-semitism,respectively. Austria hasbeen a very hierarchicalsociety; the love of titlesstill reflects that! “Ordi-nary” racism was then(and has been until now)

directed towards people to be on a“lower” level, i.e., it is the arro gantattitude and behavior of the well-to-do majority indulging in their per-ceived cultural, economic, and politi-cal superiority towards people con-sidered to be outsiders and less well-to-do. Anti-semitism, on the otherhand, is directed towards the wealthy

In the Sunday morning Bible study group, I have often explained aparticular Austrian attitude by referring to Austrian politics. From thisevolved the idea of writing an article in CROSSWAYS on the historyof Austrian politics, with special reference to the policies and attitudestowards foreigners and religion (the topics I consider most relevant formembers of Christ Church). My main reference was “GeschichteÖsterreichs: Kultur -Gesellschaft - Politik.” by Karl Vocelka ( Heyne2002). I wish to thank Morkor Korley and Philip Reading for readingthe manuscript with a critical eye. Any remaining errors are due to myown neglect. The article would best serve its purpose if it stimulated alively discussion on the topic. This is the first in a three-part series.

Claus Vogl

Emperor Franz Josef


17

Part I: T

he M

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m th

e 1

848 R

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the E

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War I

and educated, i.e., to those “above”.At the heart of anti-semitism lies afear of a conspiracy of wealthy Jewsand their allies to rule the world (andAustria). As such it is also directedagainst education, learning, and “en-lightenment”. Hence, followers of theGerman liberal party intro-duced in the previous para-graph might have been rac-ist but not anti-semitic (ac-cording to this definition).

At that time, none of thepoor could vote and theireconomic situation was of-ten horrible. The wages did not evencover food and decent housing. Therich, on the other hand, were gettingricher. Speculation drove up the Aus-trian stock exchange until the bub-ble burst in 1873 amidst charges ofcorruption. People made the German-Liberals responsible for the stock ex-change bust. A first wave of anti-semitism swept through the country.After six more years the German-Lib-eral party imploded.

Three political parties rose from theashes of the German Liberals inaround 1890: the “Christlich-soziale”, the “Deutsch-nationale”,and the Socialists. With the excep-tion of the recent phenomenon of theGreens, these three groups still de-fine the political spectrum in Austria;corresponding to today’s “Volks-partei”, “Freiheitliche” (with “BZV”),and Social Democrats, respectively.Thus, the Austrian political systemhas been remarkably stable.

Of the three political parties then,only the Socialists were notopenlyanti-semitic. The “Christlich-soziale” motivated their anti-semitism religiously, to the point ofaccusing the Jews of ritual murder ofChristians. The “Deutsch-nationale”

followed the rather anti-re-ligious course of the liber-als; they defined Jews not byreligion but by race. Luegerbecame the leader of theformer party; Schönerer ofthe latter. Then the votingrights were extended to theless wealthy, while the poor

were still excluded from politics.These Kleinbürger tried to distancethemselves from the really poor andsaw the wealthier previous followersof the German-Liberal party as theirenemies and, hence, were often anti-semitic. Conservative people espe-cially tried to contrast a “good” anti-semitism of Lueger with a “bad” anti-semitism of Schönerer. But, tellingly,Hitler later named both as his rolemodels. While there were some anti-semitic undercurrents in the Social-ist Party, it was the only party thatJews could actually join, aside fromthe remnants of the Liberal Party.

Around the turn of the century, na-tionalistic problems turned Austriainto a fuse waiting to be lit. With theassassination of the heir to thethrone, the first World War started.During the war, political rights werevery limited. Afterwards, Austria wasto emerge as a tiny, almost exclu-sively German speaking nation.

by Claus Voglics

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Church Notices

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Over the past few years, Tuesday evenings at Christ Church, Vienna havebeen a time of exploration and discovery. In the first three years we exploredtogether the basics of the Christian faith. Another year we viewed and dis-cussed a modern Southern African production of a cycle of medieval mysteryplays. More recently we have been using the Emmaus material. In all thistime I have been looking for a name that might more accurately describewhat the basic tenor of these Tuesday evenings should be. I have decided onthe name ‘Soundings’. The name of these Tuesdays evenings is taken froma volume of essays that were published in 1962 entitled Soundings. The editorof Soundings wrote, “It is a time for ploughing, not reaping; or, to use themetaphor we have chosen for our title, it is a time for making soundings, notcharts or maps”. He also writes, “..., we are not altogether of one mind. Uponsome of us one range of questions presses hardest, upon others anotherrange of questions. Some of us are moved to pursue novel investigations,others to re-examine old themes.” Looking at the contents of another bookentitled The thoughtful guide to faith there are numerous topics that we couldand ought to sound out. The first eight Soundings evenings will begin inOctober. They will resume in the New Year taking us up to Lent, when theTuesday evening sessions of Soundings will turn into the annual Lentgroup. The proposed book is by Timothy Radcliffe and is entitled What is thepoint of being a Christian? We will once again provide soup from 18.30. onwards. Formal sessions be-gin soon after 19.00. We aim to finish by 20.30. Participants take turns mak-ing soup and providing bread and fresh fruit. It would be good if 10-12 peo-ple could commit to this venture. I hope to be able to welcome you to ‘Sound-ings’ in the autumn. PSC

It has been decided to try out a new format with regard to Family Eucharistsafter the summer, initially for one year. The major change is the reduction fromnine or ten Family Eucharists down to four. The reason is that simply notenough families chose to attend Family Eucharist. The first two family serv-ices will be Harvest Thanksgiving (15 October) and the Children’s NativityPlay (17 December). I would ask you to mark these dates in your diary. Thepurpose of a more frequent Family Eucharist had been to allow parents andchildren to worship God together with the rest of the church. As we are re-ducing the number of Family Eucharist at Christ Church after a six year run,we will need adults to volunteer to help cover our church’s commitment toproviding a regular Sunday school. Please approach Julie Krejci in the firstinstance if interested. Julie is the Sunday School co-ordinator.

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There will be a talk on Wednesday, 12 July at 19.00 in the Church Centreentitled “The Afterlife of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula”. The speaker will bethe Revd. Dr. Thomas H Curran, Senior Fellow, University of King’s College,Halifax, NS, Canada. The Dracula legend raises a number of interesting anddifficult questions that continue to have currency today: the character of evil,superstition, the Gothic, the idea of Europe and the end of the Victorian Age,to name a few. Dr Curran’s talk will concentrate on questions to do witheverlasting life in Stoker’s novel and the tradition to which it gives rise.

The Reading Group resumes its activities after the summer on Thursday 14September at 18.30. We intend to read between five and six books a year. The book for discussion in September will be The Poisonwood Bible by BarbaraKingsolver. Definitely a summer read! All of us who participate in the Read-ing Group find our discussions enriching as we uncover together new layersof meaning. Go on! Give it a try! PSC

At 19.00 on Friday, 14 July there will be a talk in the Church Centre by operacritic Tom Sutcliffe on “The various challenges of performing Don Giovanni”.Tom Sutcliffe was an opera critic for Vogue, The Guardian and the EveningStandard for 30 years and sang as a counter-tenor, inter alia, in the choir ofWestminster Cathedral. He has published a book entitled Believing in Opera(ISBN: 0691015635). He is currently engaged as dramaturg with the Englishteam at the Theater an der Wien for the productions of Mozart’s Don Giovanniand Schulhof’s Flamme. He travels extensively, and we are very fortunatethat he has agreed to talk to us and answer our questions.

There will be a get together in Prein a. d. Rax, Lower Austria, on Saturday, 19August. Our host in Prein will be Patrick Knox-Peebles. One of the events onthe day will be a hike rather than a walk. People should bring along their ownprovisions. Please sign the list in the porch of the church if you and/or yourfamilies would like to join.

Following the success of the Sunday School picnic (see p.8), we are organiz-ing a ‘bring and share picnic’ on Sunday, 20 August after the 10.00 service. Bring yourselves, some food and drink. If you have any games you might liketo play, bring the equipment with you.

There are still some places available for the parish outing on August 26 tripwith Sally and Andrew Wells to the Neusiedlersee. If you are interested injoining, please contact Nikki Hertford on 02235/84906.


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Christ Church Retreat

Nick Bury, Dean of Gloucester Cathedral, led this year’s annual retreatat Stift Heiligenkreuz. this thriving 60 person Cistercian communitycontinues an in its unbroken 873rd year of spiritual and cultural life atthe site.

This year’s theme was Voices and Visions, Listening to the Poets. Thesubjects were big: war and peace, sorrow and joy; despair and hope.The challenge was how the voices of insightful poets experiencing andobserving these subjects could illuminate their readers’ prayer, faithand spiritual lives. Nick took us through a fine collection of works fromthe 20th century poets Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Geoffrey StuddertKennedy, Philip Larkin, John Betjeman, Thomas Hardy, R.S. Thomas

and JoolZ. Each saw, wrote and spoke of things as they are, not as theyappear to be, and in doing so, often exposed deeper truths. They droppedpebbles into our soul-ponds, then departed, leaving waves and ripples be-hind them to move and shape as they would.

The war and peace session looked at how war has often destroyed the faithof some and rendered them unable to pray, while others, despite going throughwar, maintained faith in a loving creator. Owen’s The Last Laugh, a searingSassoon poem about war waste and Studdert Kennedy’s Tragedy were thecurtain raisers for the barrage that followed. They still resonate within. Theytouched the same inner spots that the first two paragraphs of the Arch-bishop of Canterbury’s sermon at the 80th birthday thanksgiving service forthe Queen had touched a day earlier (see the Archbishop of Canterbury’swebsite http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/sermons_speeches).

Everyone experiences sorrow and joy. In thissession, we explored among others Larkin’sHome is So Sad, Betjman’s On Hearing the FullPeal of Ten Bells from Christ Church, Swindon,Wilts plus Sunday Afternoon Service in St. EnedocChurch, Cornwall and five Thomas poems APeasant, Marriage, The Bright Field, Kneelingand The Country Clergy. In the process, wefound ourselves reflecting on sorrow drivingjoy into a deeper prayer or on insights like“You have to go through Good Friday beforeyou can get to Easter Sunday”; “Happinesswrites white”; “Deprivation is for me whatdaffodils were to Wordsworth”; and “In theend, the only attitude of a wise person is hu-

Nick Bury

Heiligenkreuz Monastery

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mility”. There was often great humour embedded in the ‘sorrow’ poems.Squarely facing down Psalm 88 was one of the tasks for the despair andhope session with some relief and lightening from Betjeman’s In a Bath Teashopand Before the Anaesthetic, R.S. Thomas’s Going Back (“Oh please, oh please,can’t I start it all again?”). There were treasures inside poems from Jools’Pride of Man poems, like “….the blessed medicine of forgiveness”.

The final session grappled with issues of our present uneasy age, in whichmany people long for belief and hope but feel they cannot find it. We lookedat huge issues like living with doubt in, for example, Bentjeman’s The Alder-shot Crematorium, Michael Rosen’s The Last Night Together and Next Door Neigh-bour. Nick also reminded us of the importance of being available to one otherand to others we come across in our daily lives, as listeners and as a channelof ministry. More importantly, he reminded us that it is God alone, workingin us through the Holy Spirit, who does the actual ministry work of trans-forming, reconciling, healing and making whole.

On a personal note, I would like to share with you an epiphany from the XIthstation of the cross at Heiligenkreuz unexpectedly yesterday afternoon. Iwas standing alone in front of the XIth station with the Owen and Sassoonpoems still raw from the night before. Iwas taking in the three-dimensional me-diaeval portrayal before me of our Lordbeing nailed to that cross. The right armsof two of the three soldiers were raisedabove their shoulders beginning a down-ward hammer smash at those cruel Ro-man nails. Vivid images resurfaced ofthe appalling violence in the MelGibson’s film The Passion. Unbearable.Then from beyond the station the mostmagnificent animal I have ever seen qui-etly strode into my peripheral sight andstopped a few metres away from me: a full grown stag, spotlit in the dappledafternoon sunlight, huge, powerful, glorious, with pale green antlers the softtexture and colour of early almonds. He looked straight at me unflinchingand fearless. Then he moved closer, still moving, still looking directly at meand passed behind the station. A little later, soft movement again. I movedfrom behind cover to see him disappearing from sight, almost dissolving butstill spotlit in that incredible dappled light. And somehow, in ways I cannotyet describe, that epiphany came together with the XIII station depic-

Stift Heiligenkreuz, 16-18 June 2006by A

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tions and those poems. It was the same thing Studderd Kennedy wasgrasping for in his Tragedy poem:

“I know. It is not easy to explain Why should there be such agony to bear? Why should the whole, wide world be full of pain? But then, why should her hair Be like a sudden sunshine after rain?

At another level, the stag in that stupendous context was like Elijah’s awe-some glimpse of the Lord passing by.

If you still need encouragement to come to Christ Church retreats, they arehugely worthwhile. I am certain you will be blessed greatly, if not at thetime, always later. Language may be an issue if the retreat language is notyour mother tongue. Yet even with that, great blessings somehow seem tocome from participating.

Finally, special thanks to Nick Bury who quietly and faithfully thought outthe programme, wrestled with the material and steered the course for us all.A special thanks also to Andrew Rooke, who yet again had the tough job oforganizing the retreat, anticipating and fixing problems and ensuring thatthe retreat began, continued and ended seamlessly and efficiently.

Affectionately, in Christ,Andrew Wells17 June 2006

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Towards the end of last year, browsing aroundfor something to read in the Shop, I cameacross a book on the biography shelf that in-directly influenced my life and enhanced thatof a blind friend of mine living in Totnes,Devon [south-east England]. The book is en-titled True to Both My Selves by KatrinFitzHerbert. It is the story of a family tornbetween Germany and England in two WorldWars, a story of three generations of spiritedwomen who each had to spend part of theirlives as Germans and part as English. KatrinFitzHerbert, born Katrin Thiele, tells her storywith great sensitivity. The writer Mary Wesleycommented at the time the book was pub-lished that “It is a brave book, profoundlymoving, it should be read by all generations!, while Lord Callaghan foundit “An intensely moving account, told with an honesty and integrity thatinspires respect and understanding!.

You are probably wondering why I am going into such detail: firstly, be-cause I agree with the comment that “it should be read by all generations”and secondly, because from the wrap I saw that Katrin Fitzherbert lives inTotnes, Devon, the home of my blind friend Sheila Stobart. Sheila and Icorrespond by audiotape and she often tells me how she longs for some-one with whom she can have in-depth conversations. To cut a long storyshort, I managed to get Mrs. FitzHerbert’s telephone number in Totnes,called her, said how much I appreciated her book, especially as I hadgrown up in the war years and had experienced firsthand the fate of refu-gees during my time at FRE (Radio Free Europe). I told her about Sheilaand how, at times, she yearned to talk to someone who would not onlyappreciate the fact of her blindness, but who would contribute to her gen-eral well-being by talking about mutual experiences. That very same day,Katrin got in touch with Sheila, even went down to see her and continuesto visit when she can. Katrin is married, has two daughters and commutesbetween her home in Totnes and London.

All this came about from taking a book at random from the ‘BiographyShelf’ in the Church Shop. Do try and read this tale, you won’t regret it!The book, published in 1998, is available as a paperback (ISBN1860493467)from Amazon.com as well as other bookshops,

Reaching Out:The Story of a second-hand book

by Fa

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A special choral evensongwas held at Christ Church on8 June to mark the 80thbirthday of Her MajestyQueen Elizabeth II. A packedchurch featured an impres-sive sprinkling of colourfulhats. The readings for theservice, the first of which was

delivered by the UK Ambassador,Mr. John MacGregor, were thoseused at the Queen’s coronation on

Long May She Reign!

2 June 1953. Patrick Curran’s hom-ily skilfully illustrated how theQueen’s life is in many ways simi-lar, and yet so different, from ours,while the choir put in its usual spir-ited and polished performance. Fol-lowing the service, we trooped outto the inspiring strains of WilliamByrd’s Fantasia in C to raise a glassin the Church Centre in Her Majes-ty’s honour.

The Chaplain, flanked by Ambassador JohnMacGregor and former Ambassador RobinO’Brian, raises the toast to the Queen

Summer QuizThere will be another attractive prize for the person who isable to name the greatest number of people whose photosappear in this issue of CROSSWAYS. Included are ALL pho-tos, so sometimes you may need a magnifying glass to makeout the people standing at the back. If you don’t know a familyname, a first name will suffice. It will be a good opportunity toget to know people, so carry your copy of the magazine withyou to church and approach people after the service or duringcoffee to find out their names! Email your answers to:[email protected] or hand them in to the Office.


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Friday, 9 June marked the second “Lange Nacht der Kirchen” in whichVienna’s churches open their doors to the public until the early hours. Asformer residents of the city, we wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

The handbook for the evening described a dazzling array of events acrossVienna from classical concerts to gospel singing to readings, guided toursand free rides in the Karlskirche ‘Panoramalift’. Hats off to the organizersfor creativity ... but how to see all this in the space of a few hours? Obvi-

ously some priority setting was in order sowe drew up a ‘mini-programme’ which fo-cused on the first district with, of course, aside trip to Christ Church. The evening’sdelights started in the Hofburgkapelle, witha combination of organ music andGregorian chants. This normally wouldhave been enough of a treat for a wholeevening. Then on to the beautiful Greek-Orthodox Cathedral in the Fleischmarktwhere a mixed discussion amd music pro-gramme was under way, stopping off at theLutheran Church en route. Next, on to theStephansdom where astunning light show en-

hanced the sparse splendour of this Gothic masterpiece.Truly a moving experience! Following a brief pitstop, wecaught a guided tour in the Peterskirche accompanied byorgan music and popped into the Michaelerkirche, wherea tour was also in progress.

The evening would not have been complete without a visitto our very own Christ Church, where Philip Reading andCo. had put together an excellent and varied programme.We arrived in time to catch a marvellous English organrecital by former Christ Church organist Andrew Cousewith an accompanying explanation that greatly enhancedour enjoyment of the music.

This was a wonderful and enriching evening and we trust it will becomea regular feature of the Viennese summer programme. We will be sure tomark it on our calendar for our next summer visit.

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Wor

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us: Strategically placed in the centre of Europe, Germany’s 357,021 km2 area is

home to 82.4 million people, making it the world’s 14th most populous countryand the most populous in Europe after Russia. Germany is therefore impor-tant in Europe’s economic, political, and defence contexts. The trauma ofpost-war division remains a sensitive element in the country’s collectivemodern-day psyche, and 17 years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Ger-many has yet to come up with the economic key to coping with its after-math. Its affluent and technologically powerful economy—the 5th largest inthe world—has become one of the slowest growing economies in the Eurozone. An aging population, combined with high unemployment, has pushedsocial security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. Un-employment is a chronic problem. Reviving the economy is a key task for thecurrent chancellor.

Angela Merkel, daughter of a Protestant clergyman, was sworn in as Germa-ny’s first female Chancellor in November 2005, taking over from GerhardSchroeder who had held the post since 1998. General elections two monthsearlier produced a very close result. After lengthy talks, agreement was reachedthat Ms Merkel would be Chancellor in a “grand coalition” of the majorparties. However, her plans to cut taxes for high earners were shelved duringcoalition talks. The deal agreed included tax increases, a rise in retirementage, spending cuts to reduce the budget deficit and an investment programmeto tackle unemployment.

Germany enjoys full religious freedom; there is, for instance, close coopera-tion between the government and the churches in religious education, me-dia, etc. Another close link is the church tax, paid by all members of denomi-nations with ‘public law status’. Collected by the Government on their be-half, this is 8-9% of income tax. Jews pay the ‘Jewish culture tax’ instead,but there is no tax for members of other religions. Avoiding the tax has be-come a reason for some to declare that they no longer belong to a church,although some communities refuse marriages or funerals for those who havedone so. Decisions about paying church tax may affect the figures for reli-gious allegiance - 68% are said to be Christian, 3.7% Muslim and 28.3%other or unaffiliated.

Christians are fairly equally divided between Roman Catholic and Protes-tant, although Protestants dominate in most parts whereas the majority insouthern Germany are Roman Catholic. The main Protestant Church is theEvangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD). This is a federation of 23 Lutheran,Reformed and United regional churches. In addition, there is the Old Catho-lic Church. This split from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1870s, and has

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Information compiled in April 2006 from various sources, by the Revd. Mary J. Vickers.Contact her by email at: [email protected]. ‘World Church Focus’ is produced asa resource for local churches, and is partly funded by ‘Christians Aware’. Articles can bereproduced in church magazines, prayer letters, sermons, etc, but wider use needs permis-sion from the Revd. Mary J. Vickers who owns the copyright.

enjoyed full communion with the Anglican Church since 1931. Thereare currently 16 Anglican churches in Germany, with 9 of them belong-ing to the Church of England Diocese in Europe, and 7 to the Convoca-tion of American Episcopal Churches in Europe. Together they form theCouncil of Anglican Episcopal Churches in Germany. Since 1988, theChurch of England and the EKD have developed their relationship on thebasis of the Meissen Agreement which establishes a degree of communionbetween the Churches concerned, although it does not yet allow for a fullinterchange of ministries.

Prayer requests include prayer for: wise leadership for Germany’s politi-cians; new ways for churches to reach young people (more than half ofGerman Christians are over the age of 50) & to make the church seem morerelevant (weekly church attendance is one of the lowest in the world at 5%);and for those working with the many immigrant and refugees who flood intoGermany,

World Cup football fans may appreciate the following prayer:

God of work and play, Lord of all the nations, guide, guard and protect allwho work or play in the World Cup. May all who watch or engage find inthis competition a source of celebration and a recognition of what it meansto be made in the image of the One who played the cosmos into being.

A new section of the Church of England website, launchedin the run-up to the UK release of the film The Da VinciCode, invites people to consider the facts and fiction ofthe book for themselves. The site pits the ‘facts’ of theDan Brown novel with the story of Jesus accepted by theChurch for generations, providing weblinks to organiza-tions such as the Christian Enquiry Agency and theChurch Army Sheffield Centre.

Amen.

The Da VThe Da VThe Da VThe Da VThe Da Vinci Code—Making up yinci Code—Making up yinci Code—Making up yinci Code—Making up yinci Code—Making up your mindour mindour mindour mindour mind

http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/davinci


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Social Events

The unseasonal cold weather could have cast a damper—literally andfiguratively—on the annual Barn Dance, but for those determined not tolet the weather spoil their enjoyment, the late afternoon/evening spent inthe large, rambling garden of Nikki and Ted Scheiber was a lot of fun.Protected from the elements by the barn roof and surrounding canapies,members of the congretation tucked in enthusiastically to a delicious buffet,discarded their anoraks to dance the Gay Gordons and Eightsome Reeland chatted companiably around the bonfire. Profits go to the Church, soin addition to having a good time, the evening was for a good cause.Many thanks to Nikki and Ted for their hospitality and hard work!

People who do not have to rush home to prepare lunch for their fami-lies, have been observed making their way to nearby restaurants afterthe 10.00 Sunday service. Last month, a number of people decided togo out together. Without trying to institutionalize this, it has beensuggested that on the last Sunday of each month, members of thecongregation might like to meet after coffee and go out for Sundaylunch together. It can be a spontaneous decision, but obviously num-bers will dictate the choice of eating establishment. See you on Sun-day, 25 June!

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Pentecost was the occasion for aspecial service at Christ Church,with five members of the congre-gation reading relevant passagesfrom the Bible in their native lan-guages: German, Ga, Afrikaans, Iboand English (see photo above). Thisreminded us of the disciples’ sud-den ability to converse in foreigntongues once they had received thepower of the Holy Ghost.

As described in last month’s maga-zine, Pentecost is considered to bethe Church’s birthday. Since it iscustomary to offer gifts on such oc-

casions, so ourown Chaplain hadprepared a veryspecial and per-sonal gift for eachmember of thecongregation: ananthology of some of his best ser-mons. Bound together in a handylittle book entitled Sundry Places, thesermons cover both the Church yearand key events during the first yearsof Patrick’s ministry in Vienna. Onbehalf of the congregation, a heart-felt ‘thank-you’ to our Chaplain fora treasured gift.

Words of Thanks

Diana Dopheide would like tothank all those who worked so hardthroughout the past few months tokeep the Church Shop going. Shewishes them and their families anda happy summer.

The Church Shop The ‘Lange Nacht’

Rosalind Shakespear is grateful toeveryone who provided food for visi-tors to Christ Church on the LangeNacht der Kirchen, and who con-tributed towards the success of theevening.

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Church Register

Ophelia OluebubeEzeuduji wasbaptised on 23April 2006.

Rudolf Halamapassed away on 18May 2006. The fu-neral took place on30 May in Mauer.

The winner of the CROSSWAYSchurch quiz (June issue) was Mr.Robert Biber, an occasional visitorto Christ Church, who cycledaround Vienna identifying the vari-ous churches. CongratulationsRobert!

Colourful A-1 size posters depict-ing the churches– one for each dis-trict, as well as a large photo ofChrist Church–are on sale in theChurch Office for EURO 5.

Mr. Robert Biber receiving his well-deserved prize for naming ALL churchesin the June quiz

The Revd. Aileen Hackl baptising Ophelia


35

Dates for yDates for yDates for yDates for yDates for your Diarour Diarour Diarour Diarour Diaryyyyy

DATE TIME EVENT

July 12 (Wed) 19.00 Talk on “The afterlife of Bram Stoker’sDracula” by Revd. Dr. Thomas Curran

July 30 (Sun) 10.00 Mattins, followed by Said EucharistAugust 19 (Sat) all day Outing to Prein an der RaxAugust 20 (Sun) 12.00 Bring-and-share picnic in the PraterAugust 26 (Sat) 13.00 Parish outing to NeusiedlerseeAugust 27 (Sun) 18.00 Choral Evensong with Blackburn

Cathedral Young People’s ChoirSept.2 (Sat) 18.00 Concert by Kissi Choir (Berlin)Sept.3 (Sun) 10.00 Sung Eucharist; First Communion

classes start18.00 Choral Evensong

Sept. 5 (Tues) 19.00 Revd. Sally Wells talks on “Reflectionson faith and life”

Sept. 6 (Wed) 18.30 Sunday School meetingSept. 13 (Wed) 19.00 Prayer MinistrySept. 14 (Thur) 18.30 Reading Group The Poisonwood Bible

by Barbara KingsolverSept. 17 (Sun) 18.00 Service with anointing and laying

on of handsSept. 20 (Wed) 18.00 Chaplaincy Council MeetingSept. 22 (Fri) 19.00 Farewell bring-and-share for

Sally and Andrew WellsSept. 24 (Sun) The Wells’ last Sunday in ViennaSept. 26-30 Archdeaconry Synod, ViennaOct. 1 (Sun) 10.00 Confirmation with Bishop Geoffrey

18.00 Choral EvensongOct. 3 (Tues) 18.30 Start of Tuesday evening ‘Soundings’Oct. 8 (Sun) 18.00 Animal Blessing ServiceOct. 15 (Sun) 10.00 Harvest Thanksgiving - Family

Eucharist followed byParent Information Open Day


Adv

erti

sem

ent

DANUBE INTERNADANUBE INTERNADANUBE INTERNADANUBE INTERNADANUBE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLTIONAL SCHOOLTIONAL SCHOOLTIONAL SCHOOLTIONAL SCHOOL

THE FTHE FTHE FTHE FTHE FAMILAMILAMILAMILAMILY SCHOOLY SCHOOLY SCHOOLY SCHOOLY SCHOOL

The Early Years Unit

Our English through Mother Tongue Programme is offered inPrimary and Grade One. This enables our German-speakingchildren to begin their reading, writing and mathematics in Germanwhile at the same time building up their spoken English in the oralEnglish lessons. By Grade Two most children can read and write inboth German and English. Of course our English-speaking childrenlearn oral German to equip them for living in Austria.

For further information about the school please contact:

The RegistrarDanube International SchoolA-1020 Wien, Josef Gall- Gasse 2

Tel: 01 720 3110 Fax 01 720 311040Email: [email protected]

Web site: www.danubeschool.at

36


37

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Personal Ads

Need furniture?If anyone needs a computer desk,kitchen table+four chairs, cromiumarm chairs (2), a foldable bed and 3bedside tables. please contact DianaDopheide ([email protected] or tel:513 82 72)

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Myst

ery

Pers

on

No.

1

Solution to Who’s Who quiz on p.14

Nick Jannotta

Myste

ry P

erson N

o. 2

?Rosalind Shakespear

This space is reserved for your ads: those with something to sell,those looking for/offering employment, accommodation etc. Pleaseemail your ads to [email protected].


Bei Unzustellbarkeit an Absender zurück:

Return address if not claimed:

Christ Church Vienna, c/o British Embassy

A-1030 Vienna, Jaurèsgasse 12

www.christchurchvienna.org


Crossways July and August 2006 - Christ Church, Viennaccv-web.org/media/crossways-2006-07.pdf · I...

Documents

Transcript of Crossways July and August 2006 - Christ Church, Viennaccv-web.org/media/crossways-2006-07.pdf · I...