Baking Bredele and enjoying the authentic Christmas taste of Alsace

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Christmas in Alsace is unthinkable without Bredele (literally “little breads” in Alsatian), those melt-in-your-mouth, savour-the-flavour little biscuits that make pre-Christmas weight-watching so difficult to keep up.  They are made to an infinite variety of different recipes, often handed down from generation to generation of baking mothers and daughters, and consist mainly of ground nuts and coconut, eggs, spices, chocolate,  flour and sugar.   We are fortunate indeed to have in our Church a proven mistress of the art of Bredele baking, Anny Samuels.  And she will be happy to share the secret of perfect Bredele baking with all those interested  – for a good cause, bien entendu.  The Bredele then baked by afficionados on three Saturdays in November and December will be on sale after church in the coffee room on Sundays 11th and 18th December.  The proceeds will go to help the  charitable projects our Church supports.

All are welcome to join in !  Baking Bredele is a wonderful way to be creative and see the results of one’s labours, enjoy good company and  have a good laugh.

The Grand Bredele Countdown:

Saturday 19 November             Introduction to Bredele baking    chez Anny Samuels, 13 rue de Landsberg, 67100 Strasbourg

Saturday 26 November             Baking Bredele                                chez Irène Neuschwander, 17 rue Ste. Marguerite, 67201 Eckbolsheim

Saturday 3 December                Baking Bredele                                chez Rev. Christine Bloomfield, 28 rue Principale, 67270 Kienheim

Saturday 10 December              Baking Bredele                                chez Anny Samuels, 13 rue de Landsberg, 67100 Strasbourg

Sale of Bredele:

Sundays 11 and 18 December           after church in coffee room after Sunday Eucharist, Église des Dominicains,

 

 

Women’s Bible Study

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The next women’s bible study will take place on Friday 21 October at 18.45h, at no. 15 rue d’Austerlitz, Strasbourg – doorbell Chaplaincy house. (Tram A and D, Porte de l’hôpital). The Rev. Christine Bloomfield will lead the study.

Also save the date: Friday 18 November at 18.45h.

16 October Sunday Hamper – Panier du dimanche

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Sunday morning is often a stressful time for parents: not only do they have the kids (and themselves)  to get out of bed and to church on time, but there’s also the Sunday lunch to think about.  At least the Sunday lunch on 16 October shouldn’t be a problem if you take advantage of our offer of the Sunday hamper, the Panier du dimanche.  It’s all there: entrée, main course and pudding. Samusas, spicy chicken wings and the most delicious meat balls you will ever taste (courtesy of Victoria and Voahangy), Chicken Biryani or a variety of quiches (courtesy of Victoria, Christine,  Johanna and Cecilia), Tiramisu, Swiss Roll or Panna Cotta (courtesy of Fida Marie, Emmanuel Mente and Johanna)  All you have to do is to order it.  And that you can do by placing  your order by email to maryline.neuschwander@orange.de by Thursday 13 October at the latest. You can find more details and the prices on the attachment below  “bon de commande ACAS”

The money you give for your Sunday Hamper/Panier du dimanche goes to people in need in France, Madagascar and Pakistan, to suport causes that the charitable association of our church ACAS has adopted in our name.  The more you give, the more we can do, for instance to alleviate the need of the Anglican church and people in Foulpointe, Madagascar, whose town was recently ravaged  by a fire.

And should you want to order a Sunday Hamper/Panier du dimanche for another date, you can contact Victoria, Cecilia, Christine Bloomfield and Emmanuel Mente and arrange for them to provide their dish when you need it.   Maryline Neuschwander can provide their contact details.

bon-de-commande-acas

16 October Harvest Festival – Fête des Récoltes

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On 16 October St. Alban’s celebrates its Harvest Festival, when we give thanks for all that God’s creation provides for us.  Traditionally we bring gifts of food to church to symbolise the fruits of the harvest. However, rather than piling pumkins up in front of the altar we try to think in more practical terms about the food that the homeless in the city of Strasbourg need.  For many years now we have supported the Breakfast Programme of the Salvation Army: several times a week they serve breakfast to those who have no roof over their head or no opportunity to buy or prepare food for themselves.  Generally about 70 people come to these breakfasts and  have at least one decent meal a day.  So at Harvest Festival all of us are asked to bring something suitable for breakfast to church: cereal, coffee, tea, UHT milk, sugar, jam, bread, apples, oranges (nothing too perishable).  These gifts will be blessed and then taken to the Salvation Army, who very much appreciate  St. Alban’s harvest donations.

Baptism of Louis Chinedum Alexandre Baron

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Ozichi and Alex Baron invite all members of St. Alban’s to attend the baptism of their son Louis Chinedum Alexandre on Saturday 23 July at 4 pm at the Eglise des Dominicains, 41 bld de la Victoire, and welcome with them this new member of our Anglican church.

Ozichi Baron et Alex Baron sont heureux de vous inviter tous au baptême de leur fils Louis Chinedum Alexandre à notre Eglise Anglicane, “Eglise des Dominicains”, Boulevard de la Victoire, le samedi 23 juillet 2016 à 16h00.

 

Pastoral Letter from Bishop Robert

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The Bishop in Europe, the Right Reverend Dr.Robert Innes, has written a Pastoral Letter to everyone in the Diocese in Europe concerning the implications of the UK vote to leave the EU in the recent Referendum.
He writes:
“The UK’s Referendum on EU membership is one of the most significant political events of our time, for British people and for Europeans more generally. For some it is seen as an opportunity, for many others of us it has generated profound feelings of sadness, grief and shock. These feelings may exist within the membership of our chaplaincies and if so need to be recognised. We encourage you to talk to your clergy about what has happened, and to seek mutual support andunderstanding.”
You can read the entire letter on the Diocesan website by following this link:

British EU Referendum – A prayer for reconciliation.

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The Church of England has circulated this prayer for reconciliation after the EU Referendum:

“Eternal God, Light of the nations,

in Christ you make all things new:

guide our nation in the coming days through the inspiration of your Spirit,

that understanding may put an end to discord and all bitterness.

Give us grace to rebuild bonds of trust

that together we may work for the dignity and flourishing of all;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

On the website of the  Diocese in Europe, of which our church is a part, there are a number of responses from our Bishops, Robert and David, and from the Archbishops in England which you may find worth reading:

http://europe.anglican.org/

 

 

Women’s Bible Study Friday 24 June

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The next women’s bible study will take place on Friday 24 June at 18.45h, at the home of Diana and David Cowley, 5 rue de Londres, Esplanade – tram D, stop Esplanade.

Andra Fedder will lead the study on “an introduction into Christian contemplative meditation.” It promises to be a an interesting time together !

 

26 June: Bring & Share Lunch / Déjeuner de type « auberge espagnole »

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This coming Sunday, 26th June, Maryline and Frederick William-Smith invite everyone at St. Alban’s to come and have lunch after church in their shady garden in Cronenbourg, 7 rue des Ducs, tram stop Ducs d’Alsace.  Please bring something to share – salads, vegetables and desserts and drinks; meat for grilling will be provided and Naveed Jacob and his sons will yet again demonstrate their prowess at the grill.  These laid-back summer lunches in Cronenbourg are really enjoyable and a great opportunity to get to know members of our congregation better.

If you need any information please contact Maryline under: maryline.neuschwander@orange.fr.  And if you need directions, just ask the churchwardens, Pauline and Anny, after church.

 

ACAS Management report 2015

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ACAS is the association which implements the philanthropic work of the Church. It is the tangible expression in the city and the world of our church’s love and care for those in need. The association organizes a series of activities throughout the year to raise funds, which it then distributes across several projects both in Strasbourg and in the world. The association depends on Church members’ involvement and contributions to be able to offer help to those who are in need of support.

Projects supported by ACAS

In 2015 we were able to finance tuition fees for students in Pakistan, which is a project which started some years ago and has good results. In Madagascar, we continued the support to the Church in Foulpointe as we had committed to do last year, and we also supported this year the Tananarive School. ACAS sends money each year for the Bishop’s Appeal; last year we were able to contribute both to the Lent and the Advent Appeals. The Lent Appeal focused on assisting migrants in Athens, while the Advent Appeal focused on the Apostoli and Lighthouse refugee relief projects in Greece on the islands of Lesvos, Chios, Samos and Kos.

Locally we supported both CASAS and the CIMADE, which are organizations which help migrants and asylum seekers here in Strasbourg. We exceptionally supported a Haitian medical student, who was facing huge difficulties in financing his studies. He managed to pass his exams and is now continuing his studies. We also raised funds to support the work organized by the Fédération d’Entraide Protestante (FEP) to help Syrian refugees cope with the trauma of war and exile via psychological support. Unfortunately, so far very few refugees have arrived in Strasbourg and the psychologist the FEP intended to hire was not needed, so this money has not yet been allocated. In case the needs for Syrian refugee support in Strasbourg do not increase in 2016 we will donate the funds to an organisation supporting Syrian refugees elsewhere.

Contributions to ACAS

Everyone can contribute to the charitable work of the Church by:

*             volunteering for activities organised by ACAS, such as collecting items for the Dorlisheim flea market, bringing items from Strasbourg to Dorlisheim, manning the stand at the flea market, tidying, bringing unsold material to Emmaus,       joining the bredele cooking task force, joining the ACAS Burns’ Night team which operates the bar at this yearly event of the English speaking community, initiating a new fundraising activity or organising an activity to support or bring comfort to vulnerable people.

*             buying items sold by the charity, e.g. products from the Sunday Hampers, Christmas cookies, Christmas cards, raffle tickets, calendars or, in the coming year, also bookmarks

*             contributing in kind and donating items for the Dorlisheim flea market or the raffle, preparing food for the Sunday Hampers, sending pictures for the calendar

*             donating funds to the ACAS association.  ACAS being a “organisation à but non lucratif” it can receive donations and issue tax receipts. An official registering procedure with the Préfecture called “procédure de rescrit fiscal” will be finalised soon in order to make doubly sure that members never have any problems with the tax authorities.