Our story:

The Anglican Church has some 70 million members in 160 countries. During the Reformation in 16th century Europe the Church of England emerged with a number of distinctive features which remain to this day.


These are:

• adherence to the historic creeds, which ensures orthodox theology
• liturgical worship which provides a flexible structure for many diverse forms of expression
• an episcopal and synodical form of church government, which offers oversight, accountability and support

As the Church of England spread throughout the world, the term ‘Anglican’ was used to describe all those churches which belonged together, although in some places the word Episcopalian is used. The head of the Anglican Communion world wide is the Archbishop of Canterbury, and in each country or region where there are Anglican churches, there is a network of archbishops, bishops and clergy.

The Anglican Church in Freiburg is part of the Diocese in Europe whose bishop is Bishop Geoffrey Rowell. The Diocese in Europe covers churches as far apart as Madeira in the Atlantic and Vladivostok in eastern Russia!

This church is in partnership with the Anglican Church in Basel whose chaplain is Rev. Geoff Read. Together we serve the area known as the Drei-Länder Regio - where Germany, Switzerland and France meet.

There has been an Anglican church in Freiburg since the nineteenth century when many British military personnel retired to this region. The last time there was a full-time chaplain was in the 1920’s and since then the church met together on a monthly basis helped by visiting chaplains from Basel.

A few years ago there were signs that the church was beginning to blossom and gradually the idea took root that Freiburg Anglican Church could once more have its own chaplain. So a project came into being - the Nehemiah Project - to bring a chaplain to Freiburg and to make the church financially self-supporting within five years. To this end grants were provided from three different sources:

• The Anglican Church in Basel
• The Diocese in Europe 
• The Intercontinental Church Society (ICS)

ICS is an Anglican mission agency, which supports and promotes outreach throughout the English-speaking world but particularly in Europe. These grants will be gradually reduced as the church grows and supports itself.

This is an exciting and daunting task, particularly as we receive no ‘Kirchensteuer’ and all our support comes from our own church members. However we believe that God has brought us this far and will continue to be our source of strength. Nowadays the church meets each week at 11.30 using premises owned by the Evangelisch-Methodistiche Kirche in Katharinenstraße.

The Anglican Church in Freiburg has always sought to build good relationships with other churches in the city. We are a member of the ecumenical body known as the ACK (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen) which brings together many of the different denominations in Freiburg.

Our beliefs
The Anglican Church worldwide encompasses a variety of expressions of faith. However, whilst there may be differences on many issues the fundamental theology is based upon the ancient creeds. Here, for example, is the Nicean creed, which is widely used each Sunday in Anglican Churches.

-  We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
-  We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,
   God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with
   the Father; through him all things were made.
-  For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate from the Holy Spirit
   and the Virgin Mary and was made man.
-  For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.
-  On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven
   and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
-  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
-  We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and
   the Son, who with the Father
   and the Son is worshipped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
-  We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
-  We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
-  We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

Our values

As a church community we believe that the way in which we serve God is as important as what we do. We seek to be prayerful disciples of Jesus Christ, aiming to reach out to all with the good news of the gospel in both word and deed. It is our conviction that the fruits of the Holy Spirit, as described in Galatians 5: 22, should characterise all that we do together. Here are those qualities:

• love an acceptance, support and encouragement of one another
• joy the fruit of knowing that we are loved and forgiven by God in Christ
• peace a contentment within ourselves and the desire to seek understanding and reconciliation wherever possible
• patience a willingness to take time and empathise with those who are different or who may be suffering
• kindness a pastoral awareness of the needs of others
• goodness a sensitivity towards others and an attentiveness to small acts of generosity
• faithfulness a confident trust in the goodness of God and a reliability towards others
• gentleness a ‘softness’ in our dealings with others, knowing our own weaknesses
• self-control a desire to make wise choices in word and deed

Useful Information:

Anglican Church in Freiburg:
 

Church Address:	Evangelisch – Methodistische Kirche Katharinenstraße 9, Freiburg
Minister:	Rev. Robin Stockitt
Tel:	07661 904693
e-mail:	stockitt@t-online.de
Anglican Church in Basel:
Team Rector:	Rev. Geoff Read
Church Office:	Anglican Church in Basel. St. Johannesring 92, Basel
Tel:	0041 61 6432003
e-mail:	admin@anglicanbasel.ch
Church Services:	The Adventhaus is used each Sunday morning at 10.30 Rümelinbachweg 60, Basel
	St. Nicholas Chapel is used each Sunday evening at 18.00 Basel Münster
Church Website:	www.anglicanbasel.ch