swiss church news summer 2014

Swiss Church in LondonEglise suisse de LondresSchweizerkirche in LondonChiesa Svizzera a LondraBaselgia svizra a LondraSummer 2014

On the 18th of May, the citizens of the Canton of Zurich voted against abolishing the church tax on companies. In most of Switzerland, individuals who are registered as church members pay a direct tax on their income for the upkeep of the Protestant and Roman-Catholic churches, and so do businesses in twenty cantons. But the state support for churches triggers debate and only the future will show what role the state will play in the financing of Christian churches. The debate about church-state relationship goes far back in history. Early Christians challenged the authority of the Roman Emperor, and ever since the Emperor Constantin introduced Christianity as state religion in 380, politicians and church leaders tried to extend their influence in the public sphere. In Europe, each country has its

own model of state-church relationship. The Enlightenment led to a growing influence of humanist and atheist world views which required a strict separation between the religious and political spheres.

In this edition

From the Glass Box - - - - - - - - - - 2-4New Faces - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5 Spiritual Life at the Church - - - - - - 6THEOlogical - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7People from our community - - - - - - 8 Announcements - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9Music @ The Swiss Church - - - - - -10Summer Events - - - - - - - - - - - - - -11

Dear Reader,Dear brothers and sisters,

One year has already passed since I joined the Swiss Church. It has been a great year and I am delighted to see how relationships grow within the congregation and with the wider community in Covent Garden. Human relationships are at the very heart of every flourishing community and enable us to make a real difference in people’s life.

To grow as a community we need to take care of our own soul and emotions in order to better understand others. Our personal spiritual growth gives us the confidence to engage with others and to stand up for social justice. To this aim, we will introduce ‘Pop Up Monastery’ days where you will be given the opportunity to sit in silence, reconnect with your faith and beliefs, reflect our role in the world and unite with others in thought, prayer and action. Details will be announced on the webpage.

In September, the Cultural Programme of the Swiss Church will start again. There will be a few changes. The concerts every last Thursday of the month will now start at 7pm and cost £5 for everyone. The programming has been led with the great expertise of Dr Ursula Jones who has found some outstanding talents. Please come and join us for this varied and high standard programme!

Blessings,

Rev. Carla Maurer

Editorial

Swiss Church News

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THEOlogical: Like two alienated siblings who grew up in the same household...

Swiss National Day lanterns

The Frauenverein and La Causerie marked their 90th anniversary on 13 May 2014, by celebrating together with the Mother’s Group, the Swiss

Church team and Mrs Hayam Furgler and Mrs Margrit Ledermann-Prestofelippo from the Embassy. The cheerful and memorable lunchtime celebration with about sixty women attending was a great success. The women worked hard to create a tasty meal and a festive atmosphere that was appreciated by all. The groups of the Swiss Church are a vital part of our community and have been a home away from home for many Swiss women over the past decades. It is great to see the friendship and mutual support that is at the very heart of the Swiss community in London. May the Frauenverein and La Causerie be blessed with many more years of friendship and hospitality!

The Frauenverein, La Causerie and the Mother’s Group also raised £358 in donations for the Swiss Church at the anniversary event which we are very grateful for.

With Matt Stone and Anina Smith, the Swiss Church team is now complete! It is an honour to have such talented and engaged colleagues on board who widen the horizon of the Swiss Church with their experiences. We could not be better equipped to implement the vision of our church to become a community centre built on the heritage of the Swiss Reformation, and to make our premises a place for cultural exchange, spiritual development and friendship, welcoming people from all paths of life. Matt and Anina both went through their baptism of fire at the Easter Vigil night when we stayed up all night, awaiting the daylight to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. It was a moving experience for all the participants, starting with Bach’s St John Passion under the guidance of our Director of Music, Peter Yardley-Jones. At the family Easter service, we welcomed our new office administrator, Anina Smith and said goodbye to Nicky Bischof who went to learn Italian in the ‘eternal city’ Rome. We equipped her with a pink travel bible and tickets to the museums of the Vatican.

In May, Beatrice Voellmy and Alexander Seidel, together with Peter Yardley-Jones, presented us with a beautiful recital programme from Baroque and Renaissance compositions. In April, pianist Edward Rushton and baritone Richard Burkhard presented highlights from their musical friendship. Symeon Kyriakopoulos created a site specific dance piece ‘Exodus’ with his dance company ‘The Crossword Ballet’ which was performed on 28 and 29 March.

Together with the Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women (EFECW), the Swiss Church organised a ‘Pop Up Monastery Day’ on 10 May. Participants could drop in and out throughout the day

for a moment of reflection, contemplation and common prayer. Women and men came together from Methodist, Anglican, Roman Catholic and United Reformed churches, the Church of Scotland as well as the Swiss Church. Prayers were said for the missing Nigerian Schoolgirls, migrants and refugees who have died on their way to seek a life of human dignity in Europe and victims of human trafficking. We are planning to hold further ‘Pop Up Monastery Days’ in 2014/2015 in cooperation with new monastic communities from London and other parts of the country in order to provide a space for spiritual development and reconnection with the Christian tradition. The flowers and trees at the vicarage are in full blossom, and Julian and I look forward to welcoming many of you in our wonderful garden on Crouch Hill!

Rev. Carla Maurer

From the Glass BoxNews from the Consistoire

2 Swiss Church News

News from the Minister

ImprintPublisherThe Swiss Church in London79 Endell StreetLondon WC2H 9DYA company limited by Guarantee registered in England & Wales, no 4454591. A registered Charity no 1094992.

Editors Carla Maurer & Philip Maillardet

ContactPhone 020 7836 [email protected]

Websitewww.swisschurchlondon.org.ukYou can download the latest Swiss Church News on our website.

Deadline for the nextSwiss Church News 15 July 2014

The spring months have passed quickly and I look forward to summer, my favourite season with the long warm and light days. The

Consistoire have witnessed a busy period following the submission of the final version of the Business Concept Plan to the Commission of the Swiss Churches Abroad (CHKiA) on 31 January. We were all happy to hear that it had been well received and accepted. Rev. Ursula Stocker has assured us that as the conditions have been fulfilled there should be no problem for the budgeted target sums of financial support for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017 to receive approval by the SEK Assembly.

With this pleasing result we have lost no time to start on the implementation of the Business Concept Plan. As a first step we have appointed Matt Stone as our new Community Worker and welcomed him to the Swiss Church team at our Sunday service on 16 March. As you will read in his report, he has already started with some projects to make the Church known to the local community. Our minister Carla has laid the ground for building up valuable relationships not only with churches in London but also with parishes in Switzerland which is a very important factor of our vision. Before we can start on the grant aid applications the Consistoire needs to do some housekeeping work and bring all our policies, regulations and guidelines up-to-date. This is at present receiving our urgent attention and action.

Our spring parish outing was a trip by rail to Sherborne Girls School in Dorset

to see our old Hunter organ in its new setting in the school hall on Saturday 15 March. It had been beautifully restored thanks to a grant which the school had received. We were regaled with a wonderful organ recital performed by Simon Clarkson, a renowned organist. It was good to hear the Hunter’s familiar warm tone once again. Peter Yardley-Jones, who accompanied us, was greatly impressed, as we were, and pleased that our old organ has received a perfect home in this famous school. The historical town of Sherborne, with its medieval buildings, superb abbey and castle, was a delight to explore in the afternoon.

The following day, Sunday 16 March, Suzanne Egloff and Carla Maurer gave an excellent presentation of our Business Concept Plan to the congregation. It is not only finance which has an impact on changes, but an appraisal of our vision and mission was an important factor also to be considered for the future development of the Swiss Church in London. Changes are necessary but we will ensure that none of our core values and beliefs will be lost. Suzanne and Carla are always prepared to talk to readers and answer any questions they may have.

For the Easter celebrations Carla introduced a new event, namely the Easter Vigil on Saturday 19 April, to which she, together with Peter Yardley-Jones and many volunteers, had dedicated a great amount of time and work. On Easter Sunday we said farewell to Nicky Bischof our much liked office administrator, and at the same time welcomed Anina Smith as her successor.

My time with the Consistoire is now coming to an end. My involvement in

the Church administration and activities has given me much satisfaction, strengthened my faith and afforded me an opportunity to gain new skills and experiences. Looking back on the ten years as a Trustee, there have been a number of challenges and changes, as well as many memorable occasions which made my commitment greatly rewarding. I am thankful for the support and encouragement I have been receiving from my fellow members on the Consistoire, our committed staff, the many volunteers and members of our Church community. I hope the Swiss Church will always keep an important place in the Swiss Community, not only as a spiritual home, but also as a place to meet, foster friendship and participate in various activities, and at the same time be welcoming to visitors and local people.

Good leadership is vital as there is much scope for further development. The Church needs to recruit more Trustees with a range of skills to take on various tasks and responsibilities. Please make this possible with your help.

Rose-Marie BreitensteinVice-President

3 Swiss Church News

From the Glass BoxNews from the Consistoire

5 Swiss Church News 4 Swiss Church News

From the Glass BoxNews from the Community

It has been a busy first month. I have been working towards seeing more new people pass through this beautiful, historic building in meaningful ways, building relationships as they come and go. I would love to see the church make an impact on the lives of local vulnerable people and also become a place of peace and sanctuary for those dealing with busy working lives. I have introduced new events and activities as ways of meeting people and assessing the needs of the

community.

At ‘Breakfast on the Steps’ we serve croissants, coffee and tea from the steps of the church on Tuesday mornings between 8 and 10 am. This has proved a good way to meet people and to demonstrate that the church is open to the community. We have repeat visitors who have come to see us each week, we are building relationships and making friends. A similar weekly event is ‘Holy Soup!’ which is served on Fridays from 12 to 1pm. This is served from the steps for people to take away and we also have space prepared in the foyer for people to sit in if they prefer. We are experimenting with offering live music and the live creation of visual arts to attract people into these events.

Working with local police officers I have organised a weekly Crime Prevention Community Drop-in. This is vital community service. It is an opportunity for members of the community (residents, workers and business people) to meet

with police representatives to discuss issues and ask questions. These sessions will run weekly 5-6pm on Thursdays. They are due to begin early May. I have also become a Foodbank Referrer, I am a registered referee for the food banks in Holborn and Chalk Farm and have the authority to issue food bank vouchers to people in need.

It is always great to see familiar faces at Prayer and Pub on Thursdays and coming up in June, we are looking forward to the Switzerland World Cup matches. We are working together with the City Swiss Club and St Moritz restaurant to host all of the group games. The games on the 15th and 25th will be at St Moritz and here at the Swiss Church we have the big game against France on Friday 20th at 8pm. There will be Swiss food and beer and naturally we look forward to watching Switzerland beat their opponents!

Matt Stone


Matt Stone

New Faces in the Office

My first visit to London was ten years ago during my gap year. I worked with the local church and a youth organisation called XLP in the borough of Greenwich. During this time I also met my husband and moved over for good in September 2007 after completing my studies at the Swiss School of Tourism in Switzerland.

Shortly after moving to London I started working with the Swiss family owned restaurant business tibits and helped them to open their first branch outside of Switzerland. My role covered many areas including recruiting and training the team, surveying the building site, translating documents, marketing and PR strategy and planning the opening event. Once the restaurant was up and running I was back in the office as Marketing, PR, Catering and Events Manager. In this capacity I was also involved with the opening event

of the renovated Swiss Church building.

After being with tibits both in Switzerland and London for a total of eight years, I decided to leave the company to be able to get involved with the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Having a passion for events and loving all types of sports it was an opportunity I did not want to miss. I joined LOCOG for six months as a Media Client Services Coordinator and particularly enjoyed the international work climate and fast paced environment.

Last year I held a seasonal position at a local National Trust property as a Visitor Experience Assistant but am now very happy to be back in a full-time position. The lovely welcome I have received by Carla, Matt, Nicky and Peter in the office and the Consistoire and congregation at

the Easter service has been overwhelming. I am very excited to be joining this team and look forward to many great days together.

I was born in London and have lived here most of my life. In the last few years I have been all over the world and the country,

staying in Burma, Vietnam, and Australia, and living in Bristol, Leamington Spa and most recently in North Yorkshire on the Scargill Movement community. I have worked with faith and community groups in many different contexts and seen lives transformed and relationships developed in remarkable ways.

It has been such a pleasure to return to London as a family with my wife Kate and son Reuben. The Swiss Church felt right straight away, and after staying here all night for the Easter Vigil, it feels like home. I’ve been made to feel so welcome by the congregation, the Consistoire, and the staff, Nicky and Carla. It’s a huge shame to see Nicky leave but I’m also really excited to be working with Anina, she’s great!

I’m excited about sharing the traditions of the Swiss Church with the wider community of Covent Garden, contributing to the cultural mixing pot that is so exciting, varied and vibrant in this part of London.

I look forward to using all my experiences and skills in this role from event management and working on the artistic programme for Greenbelt Festival, studying International Human Rights at Masters level and grass roots community development work in deprived areas. I have lots of ideas and plan to get involved in the music and arts committees and I look forward to learning from Carla and working with her as the Minister of the Church.

Anina Smith


Easter VigilTime for contemplation

On Saturday 19th April we held an Easter Vigil at the Swiss Church. The evening started at 8pm with a full-length performance of Bach’s St John Passion, conducted by our Director of Music, Peter Yardley-Jones, with over fifty people in attendance. The concert was very well received and most of the audience stayed to enjoy a buffet afterwards. The performance was described as ‘tremendous’, ‘rich’ and ‘deeply moving’ by those who came along. Then at

midnight we marked the beginning of the vigil in a service, led by out Minister Rev. Carla Maurer and Rev. Sebastian Baer-Henney, followed by an introduction to silent meditation by Dharmachari Sanghasiha. Between 1-5.30am people were invited to pray and meditate in the Church Hall in anticipation of the events on Easter Sunday morning when Mary Magdalene discovered the empty grave where Jesus had been buried. The vigil was accompanied by hymns, readings

and periods of silence in a regular rhythm and candles created a quiet atmosphere in the Church Hall. At 6am in the morning, the Easter fire was lit in the front yard of our neighbouring church St Giles-in-the-Fields. It was followed by breakfast and an organ recital by Peter Yardley-Jones at the Swiss Church. Finally the traditional Easter service took place at the Swiss Church at 10.30am.

Joseph Campbell (comparative religion writer and mythologist) suggested that we should joyfully participate in the sorrows of the world. But in a digital age where illusion is turned into reality and sorrows are neglected, how is the contemporary individual supposed to contain personal or collective sorrows? Can religion help? What can the Christian community learn from Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection? Did Jesus joyfully participate in the sorrows of the world?

Joyful participation suggests an active involvement rather than a passive

endeavour. It is this active involvement that can transform the religious tradition into a soulful transformation and the Easter Vigil at the Swiss Church has done just that.

It was initiated and hosted by Rev. Carla Maurer and the Swiss Church and it provided us with a vessel to bear the crucifixion of Christ and the opportunity to actively participate and celebrate His resurrection. Music, readings, meditation, hymns, vigil, darkness, prayer and candle light were all part of a deep spiritual experience that accompanied Jesus’ death

of Crucifixion. The break of day and a bold Easter fire followed to announce His resurrection and at the Sunday service the community gathered in joy.

As with every ritual and every deep spiritual engagement, words cannot fully communicate the experience. We are indebted to Carla for leading us so artfully into and through the Mysteries of Easter and for giving us back our individual right to joyfully participate and not passively follow.

Symeon Kyriakopoulos

Reflections on the Easter Vigil

Peter Yardley-Jones conducting Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion

7 Swiss Church News 6 Swiss Church News 7 Swiss Church News

In his Easter message David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said: “The UK is a Christian country.” This sparked outrage among humanists and atheists. The Archbishop of Canterbury put more oil in the fire by publicly backing Mr Cameron’s position, saying that he finds critical remarks made by “atheist protesters baffling”. Not enough, various non-Christian religious communities acknowledged the views of both leaders. Instead of entering into a dialogue on eye level with humanist representatives, the leadership of the Established Church and the state leadership stood together as if to prove a point - but to prove what?

The UK is a country with a Christian past, and historically speaking, the societal order remains strongly influenced by its Christian heritage, with the House of Bishops representing the Church of England in government and the Queen is the head of this Church, just to mention the most obvious. Not even atheists and humanists would reasonably doubt this. (Whether they are content with it, is another matter.) As churches, we have a choice of how to position ourselves: we can choose to be polemic and self-defensive. Or we can chose the way of dialogue and acknowledge the constructive influence of non-religious world views on the course of society - by far our most challenging and closest dialogue partner! Atheism and Christianity are like two alienated siblings who grew up in the same household before the younger sibling went into opposition with the older. Those who grew up with siblings will be familiar with the feeling. Atheism is a recognised subject in Christian theology. In its modern form, Atheism developed in opposition to a predominately Christian Europe where the churches had an often traumatising influence on people’s life - in the name

of God. Having been something between an agnostic and an atheist myself until my mid-twenties (and still acknowledging my past as part of my Christian faith), my reflections derive from personal experience and struggle. Fortunately, I do not feel the need to go into opposition with people holding non-religious world views anymore.

I was not surprised that non-Christian religious communities reacted positively to Mr Cameron’s remarks. Religions share the vision of a society based on morals. Undoubtedly, churches all over the world have been major contributors in easing the conflicts between different religions, and after an awfully violent and intolerant past, many countries in Europe achieved some sort of peaceful coexistence, some even a friendly cooperation and the granting of religious freedom. The UK is one of the most progressive nations in this respect and the churches deserve credit for this incredible journey. (Whether it has always happened out of theological conviction or to a great deal also out of political convenience remains a topic for critical reflection.)

In its ‘White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue’ from 2008, the Council of Europe (not to be mistaken for the Council of the European Union) says: “Those holding non-religious world views have an equal right to contribute, alongside religious representatives, to the debates on the moral foundations of society and to be engaged in forms of intercultural dialogue.” (p.23). When I was working for the Conference of European Churches with the Council of Europe, I helped organising dialogue seminars with representatives from religious communities as well as humanist societies. These experiences made me

realise the extent of the prejudice that still exists in the dialogue between religious communities and the secular world. The ‘Christian country’ rhetoric rightly points out that every culture has a religious dimension. But it is also true the other way around: there is always a cultural dimension to religion too, and secularism undoubtedly influences (former) Christian societies.

In an interview with The Telegraph, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Williams, makes a much needed distinction. No, we are not a Christian country as a nation of believers, he says. But yes, we are still much shaped by this vision of the world. He also says: “We have a younger generation now who know less about this legacy. People can rediscover Christianity with a certain freshness, because it’s not the ‘boring old stuff that we learnt at school’. There is a curiosity about Christianity.” This point illustrates my daily experience in my ministry in Covent Garden. However, we need to differentiate between the curiosity for the factual content of our Christian heritage and the curiosity to get spiritually involved. One does not necessarily lead to the other, and both approaches deserve to be equally respected. We do not need to panic or to feel threatened. We are part of a wonderfully diversified world which we should explore in a non-judgemental manner, knowing that as churches we have a lot to offer too. Self-defensiveness has never opened the door to dialogue. So let us leave it behind, pick up the phone and speak to the alienated sibling.

Rev. Carla Maurer

THEOlogicalLike two alienated siblings who grew up in the same household...

8 Swiss Church News

People from our communityHanna Salomon: Konfirmationsreise nach LondonIn this section we want to give people who are associated with our church a voice. Hanna Salomon visited the Swiss Church together with her confirmation class in April and decided to get baptised during this week. Her brother Luca (pictured below with Hanna and Rev. Carla Maurer) was baptised at the Swiss Church in 2011.

Wir, die Konfirmandengruppe der Kirche Halden aus St. Gallen, haben uns entschieden, dass die Konfirmationsreise in den Frühlingsferien nach London gehen soll. Sie soll unter dem Motto „Weltreligionen in einer Grossstadt erleben“ stehen und uns verschiedene Religionen näher bringen. Nachdem auch alle Eltern der Reise zugestimmt hatten, hiess es also: „Auf nach London!“. Durch Kuchen- und Guetzliverkäufe der Konfirmationsgruppe wurde Geld gesammelt, um diese Reise zu ermöglichen.

Die Vorfreude war riesig und als es in den Frühlingsferien endlich losging, konnten wir es kaum erwarten, London und die verschiedenen Religionen zu entdecken.

Das Programm war sehr vielfältig. Von Besuchen und Führungen bei verschiedenen Religionshäusern, über Sightseeing, einen Ausflug nach Brighton und bis hin zum shoppen war alles dabei.

Wir waren in einer Synagoge, einem Buddhisten Center, einer Moschee, einem Krishna-Tempel und natürlich in der Swiss Church. Wir nahmen viele neue und schöne Eindrücke der verschiedenen Religionen wieder mit nach Hause.

Ein speziell berührender Eindruck von mir ist sicherlich meine Taufe in der Swiss Church. Der Gottesdienst war wundervoll und ich werde meine Taufe mit meinem Bruder, der Konfirmationsgruppe und den zwei Pfarrern Patrick und Maik und der Pfarrerin Carla nie mehr vergessen. Die Worte der drei waren wunderschön und sehr berührend. Ebenso wie die meines Taufgottis, einer guten Freundin unserer Familie, die in London lebt und mir während der Taufe zur Seite stand. Es ist ein tolles Gefühl, in der Swiss Church in London getauft worden zu sein. Dies kann auch mein Bruder bestätigen, der vor 3 Jahren ebenfalls auf seiner Konfirmationsreise in der Swiss Church getauft wurde. Es gibt uns eine spezielle Verbindung zur Kirche und zu London. Meine Eltern finden, wir müssen unbedingt einmal gemeinsam nach London in die Swiss Church, damit sie sehen können, wo wir getauft wurden. Meinen Bruder und mich freut dies natürlich sehr!

9 Swiss Church News

AnnouncementsCongratulations

Member of the Art Committee Annelore Schneider and her partner Cyril Rebetez have become parents of Elliot Alistair Ernest, born in London on 11 April 2014.

We wish them all the best for their future as a family!

Long standing member of the Frauenverein Ruth Luka tied the knot with Farouk Abou-Keer on 25 April 2014 at St James Muswell Hill. We wish the newly-weds a long and healthy life together! May your marriage be blessed

with happiness, love and understanding.

HommageMme Nelly Burri née Rossel (1915 - 2014)

It is with great regret that we report the passing away of Mme Nelly Burri on Saturday 15 March at the great age of 99 years.

Nelly Ellen Burri née Rossel, was born on 6 February 1915 in Tramelan in the Jura Bernois. After she left school she trained to be a domestic science teacher at Porrentruy and then returned to Tramelan to teach. In her early twenties, she became engaged to M. Fernand Burri, who had also been brought up in Tramelan. It was a very long engagement as M. Burri was in England during the war. They married in 1946 and settled in London, where their daughters were born.

I first met Nelly in the mid-Fifties, some 60 years ago, when she came to the Swiss Church with her two daughters

Anne-Marie and Françoise, who attended Sunday School when I was Monitrice. Subsequently Nelly was a member, and then for several years President, of La Couture, cutting pieces of material for the ladies to make into garments to sell at the Church Bazaar. When sewing and knitting went out of fashion, this group became La Causerie. She was also a member of the Conseil de Paroisse, always faithful to the Swiss Church. Nelly was a member of the Swiss Benevolent Society and the New Helvetic Society, and made many lifelong friends through all her Swiss activities. Together with Nelly we had fun at many 1st August celebrations.

Amazingly, Nelly was still attending meetings of La Causerie as recently as two years ago. However, as she grew older she became physically very frail and on

Saturday 15 March she died peacefully at home. Nelly will be sadly missed by all those who knew this elegant and charming lady. We convey our sincere sympathy to Anne-Marie and Françoise and family in their sad loss.

Christ said “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” (John 11:25)

Elena Bertin(with grateful thanks to Anne-Marie for details of her mother’s early life)

We would like to express our sincere thanks for the generous donations which the Swiss Church has received in memory of Mme Burri.

Obituary NoticesRosemary Dixson † 15 May 2014We were sorry to learn of the death of Rosemary Dixson, who passed away on 15th May 2014. Rosemary was a member of La Causerie. She will be dearly missed by her friends and family.

10 Swiss Church News

Music & Sport @ the Swiss ChurchForthcoming events

Friday 20 June 2014, 7pm for 8pm kick-offFIFA World Cup Switzerland vs. FranceWith the World Cup fast approaching we have been working with the City Swiss Club and St Moritz restaurant to provide you with great venues to enjoy the World Cup. You are warmly invited to all of these events.We are hosting the big game against France on Friday 20 June and will be serving Swiss food and Swiss beer to add to the atmosphere. The other two group games will be shown at St Moritz who have kindly allowed us to use their basement.All proceeds will go towards the work of the Swiss Church.

Football @ St Moritz (161 Wardour St, W1F 8WJ)Sunday 15 June 2014, 4pm for 5pm kick-offFIFA World Cup Switzerland vs. Ecuador

Wednesday 25 June 2014, 8pm for 9pm kick-offFIFA World Cup Switzerland vs. Honduras

Friday 27 June 2014, 12.30pmHeidi HappyThe Swiss singer and multi-instrumentalist HEIDI HAPPY started her career in 2006 and was immediately embraced by the crowd for her warm voice and her unique song writing.She’s looking back at collaborations with big names like Yello, Stephan Eicher or Scott Matthew, various chart placements (Top 10 in the Swiss Album Charts and Top 200 in the CMJ Charts among others) and hundreds of shows both in Switzerland and abroad. When Heidi presents her diverse and touching songs with her playful charms, it’s impossible to resist diving into her beautiful world. .

Saturday 12 July 2014, 5pmRobert J Mingay-SmithRobert Mingay-Smith is Director of Music at St Mary-at-Hill, London, curator of the Square Mile Music Series and Director of the Square Mile Music Series Concert Choir.He will be performing an Organ recital at the Swiss Church.

Music @ the Swiss ChurchThe new and improved programme will resume in September.

Concerts will be on the last Thursday of each month at 7pm and all tickets will be £5.


Summer EventsSwiss National DayThe Swiss National Day will be celebrated on Saturday 19 July 2014 at UCL (University College London) in Gower Street, WC1E 6BT.

Previous years have proven that it is a great day out for the whole family. This year you will be able to enjoy music and food from St Gallen and Appenzell, the Giggle Doctors will be there for the pleasure of the little and not so little ones and you can win great prizes in the raffle including two seasonal tickets for the concert series at the Swiss Church.

The Swiss Church will help with the children’s entertainment.

Youth Camp

Matt Stone will be a leader on this Lee Abbey Camp which is for 16-25 year olds. It is a great place to relax, make friends, improve your English and get closer to God. The camp is made up of people from many different countries and walks of life. There is in fact a rich history of Swiss people going and loving it!

If you are interested get in touch with Matt in the office on 020 7836 1418 or [email protected] or book directly.

Swiss Christmas FairOur popular Christmas Fair will return on 22 November 2014!

There will be traditional food and merchandise stalls selling Swiss goods like chocolates, Swiss wine and cheese, home-made bakery goods and many other specialities. As Christmas is approaching, you will also be able to choose from a variety of different Christmas decorations and Advent wreaths. As always, you can try your luck at the big raffle and win fantastic prizes including a dinner at the vicarage.

Any contribution in goods for the stalls and raffle or of monetary value are greatly appreciated.

We look forward to welcoming you all to this festive event!

HSBC, 117 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 6QJSortcode: 40-03-15 Account Number: 61410512IBAN: GB58MIDL40031561410512BIC: MIDLGB2106M

Swiss Church in LondonEglise suisse de LondresSchweizerkirche in LondonChiesa Svizzera a LondraBaselgia svizra a Londra


Swiss Church in London, 79 Endell Street London WC2H 9DY

Tel: 020 7836 1418, [email protected]

Twitter: @SwissChurchLond & @SwissRevLondonCarla Maurer’s blog http://swissvicarlondon.blogspot.co.uk

Registered charity No. 1094992

We welcome donations by standing order. If you are a UK taxpayer, please fill in a gift aid declaration form.

James 2:8

“You will be doing the right thing if you obey the law of the Kingdom, which is found in the scriptures: Love your neighbour as you love yourself.”

We pray for our brothers and sisters of other faiths, that dark walls of separation may be broken down.

Open all our hearts, great Saviour,and attune us to each other’s hopes,

that we may learn to know and respect each other

swiss church news summer 2014

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