English Mass Utrecht

We tried to find out what further information we could give regarding the accident with the structure of St. Augustine’s church.

It is too early to tell when there will be once again celebrations in St. Augustine’s church. The ceiling needs to be checked by officials. Their advice will be important in the decision to when to use the church again. As for now we think the church will not be ready before Christmas.

In the attached pictures you can see the pieces that came down and spread through the whole church. No one is allowed to enter until further notice because it is not safe.

As announced before, and already happened last Sunday, the English Mass will be held in the St. Catherine’s Cathedral (Lange Nieuwstraat 36) for the time being, at the same time, 12.30.
The Parish center is not damaged and can be used for other church activities such as choir practice, bible studies, prayer meetings and others.

On Sunday morning the choir practice can be held in the chapter room in the Cathedral. After mass there will be confessions in the Cathedral as it was usual in St. Augustine. Coffee and tea can be organized in the “Bonifacius huis” in the Nieuwegracht, around the corner of the Cathedral.

In conclusion, we expect everything to work as it was before, just in a different place.
We’ll be providing updates as the situation progresses and as we have more news.

If you have any questions or concerns feel free to reach us via the email: team@englishmassutrecht.nl

On Saturday, the 22nd of October 2016, the Banneux N.D. Organization for Asian Pilgrims invites you to join us in this pilgrimage.

Mechelen lies on the major urban and industrial axis Brussels – Antwerp, about 25 km from each city. The area of Mechelen was assumedly Christianized by the Irish or Scottish missionary St. Rumbold, which explains the name of one of Flanders’ most important churches : Saint Rumbold’s Cathedral of Mechelen.

City rights were granted by the Duke of Brabant, John II in 1303, and Mechelen was in those days a trading competitor of Antwerp, a few ten kilometers north of the city. In the 15th century, the city was ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy, and it prospered. Charles the Bold moved political bodies to Mechelen, and the city served as the seat of the Superior Court for centuries.

For a short while in the first half of the 16th century, Mechelen was the capital of the Low Countries (present day Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) under Archduchess Margaret of Austria. Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, spent his early years in Mechelen.

Mechelen’s fortunes turned with the rise of Brussels during the later 16th century. It did become a religious center with the establishment of the Archdiocese of Mechelen in 1559. In 1572, the city was sacked by the Spanish. The fortified walls of the city (only one gate is standing now) were destroyed under the rule of Joseph II, the Holy Roman Emperor, in 1781.

The first railway on the European continent was between Brussels and Mechelen (1835).

Program:

Bus leaves from Central Nederland.

7.40: Gerrit Witsehof 6, 3813MP Amersfoort.
8.15: Zeist
8.45 – 9.00: Duivendrecht station. (Euroline bus stop)
13.00 – 13.30: Holy mass in Cathedral
14.30: free time
19.00: Leaving from Mechelen, back to the Netherlands.

Cost for the travelling: 35 EUR
Special price for students: 25 EUR !

Further information:

Coordinator for Asian Pilgrims,
Francis A.X.Pathmarajah,
G. Witsehof 6, 3813 MP, Amersfoort, Netherlands
Tel&Fax: 033-4806902, www.boap.nl,
E-mail: banneuxpilgrimage@yahoo.com

The new season has started and there is a change in our prayer meetings. From this September on wards we will be having a bible study and a prayer on the same evening every third Wednesday of the month.

Exceptionally this month we will have our bible study on the 27th of September from 19.45 at the St. Augustine church’s pastoral center; the entrance is at the backside of Saint Augustinus church (Rozenstraat 1).

We will meditate on John 11:1-11 about the death of Lazarus

We will be blessed to count you among us.
Stay blessed!

We have received information that a piece of St. Augustine church roof fell, and the safety of the parishioners cannot be guaranteed anymore.

Due to this reason there won’t be English mass this Sunday at St. Augustine church, and the celebrations here will be halted until further notice.

In alternative, the English mass will be held in the St. Catharine cathedral (Lange Nieuwstraat 36), at the same time, 12.30.

We are sorry for the inconvenient and will come back to you soon with more information.

The Interdenominational Platform for Students in Utrecht (IPSU) is organizing a welcoming activity for international students on Sunday, the 11th of September, at the building of the EUG, in Oudegracht 33. By this event they also want to offer the students worship and fellowship in English-speaking churches in Utrecht.

The event will start at 13.30 (just after our service in St. Augustine). It will begin with lunch and playing board games.

For more information please contact the secretary of IPSU: Erik Heemskerk – heemskerk.erik@gmail.com

Like in the last few years, we are going to celebrate St. Augustine day again with the Dutch-speaking Parishioners.
The joint Dutch-English mass to celebrate this day will take place on the 28th of August 2016 (on St. Augustine day itself), at 10:30 hrs in the St. Augustine church. And, we are happy to announce that most likely, Fr. Herman will also join us!

We hope you will all join the joyful event after the mass service. Again we are invited to cook or bake something special from our own countries, and the Dutch community will provide drinks and snacks. So, please be creative with your pots and pans – and cook like you never did before! We hope that many of you will come!

For questions, please contact Ellen (ellenvanhaastert@gmail.com).

Some members of our community manifested the interest of starting in Utrecht a regular celebration of the Tridentine Mass – a Roman Rite Mass, following older rituals and celebrated in Liturgical Latin.

Starting on the Wednesday 7th September, from 19h to 20h, there will be a celebration in the St. Rafael church, in Overvecht, Utrecht.
We plan after that to have a celebration regularly, roughly every first Wednesday of the month.

To reach the church, coming from the center, you can take either of the busses: 1, 3 or 6. The address of the church is: Lichtenberchdreef 4, 3562 RD Utrecht

We are also asking for altar servants to help during the service. If you want to help please let us know.

If you are interested please come along! It would be great to have you among us!

For those of you that are interested in participating in the event and still haven’t informed us please do so by filling the form in:

http://bit.ly/assel16

The program for the event will be:

9.00-9.30: Gathering at the carpool place (to be published);
10.00-10:45: Arrival in Assel and coffee time;
10:45-11:30: Meditation session;
11:30-12:30: Walk through the forest;
12:30-14:00: Potluck lunch;
14:00-16:00: Detective game, with a 15 min pause;
16:00-17:00: Closing prayer and farewells;
17:00: Return to Utrecht

We hope that you can be with us: surely it will be a relaxing and enjoyable day and most of all a unique opportunity for being together!

Helena Kowalska was born as the third child of a poor Polish family with ten children. At age fifteen, after only three years of school, she began to work to support the family. At the age of twenty she followed her calling to serve as a nun in the Catholic Church. She moved to Warsaw and visited several monasteries, but was rejected each time.
Eventually she was accepted on April 30, 1926 at the convent of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy with the name Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament.

Where: Coffee room St. Augustine Church, Rozenstraat 1 Utrecht
When: Sunday, June 5, 2:30 pm.
Speaker: Father K. Smits

The movie is in English with Dutch subtitles.

The Banneux N.D. Organization for Asian Pilgrims is organizing the 31st annual pilgrimage to Our Lady of Banneux, which will be held on 28th of May 2016.

The bus leaves at 7:00 from the Winkel centrum in Laan van Vollenhoven, Zeist. It comes then to the Jaarbeursplein (Euroline bus stop), Utrecht, at 7:45-8:00.

The cost for students is just 25€ for travelling.

If you are interested please contact directly the organization:

Francis A. X. Pathmarajah
Tel.: 033-4806902
banneuxpilgrimage@yahoo.com
www.boap.nl