On 16th March, Revd Grant Crowe was officially licensed by the Diocese of Europe to be chaplain (minister) of All Saints Anglican Church here in Amersfoort.
It was a wonderful event. But a little strange on one hand – for Revd Grant had moved to the Netherlands with his family in November 2015. He had previously been a Church of England vicar in Lichfield Diocese, leading two churches in the large town of Telford. Strange because since December he had been leading All Saints on a temporary Bishop’s licence. BUT on 16th March he was officially licensed.
But actually the delay made the service more special for two reasons. Firstly Revd Grant had got to know us and we have got to know him and his family – so the licensing felt like a family celebration. So often when a minister is licensed, the church doesn’t really know them. But in our case, we had got to know Revd Grant quite well. Secondly, it was a licensing but also a celebration of All Saints being born – we had began on December 20th and we saw the licensing also as a chance to celebrate what God had been doing.
The service was a very special one. A large number of local ministers and church leaders attended – not just Anglican chaplains but Reformed, Old Catholic and Roman Catholic. There was the Archbishop of Utrecht for the Old Catholic Church – Archbishop Joris. There was the Diocese Bishop of Europe – Bishop Robert Innes accompanied by his chaplain, the archdeacon for NW Europe, Meurig Williams. And there were many church members, members of Revd Grant and his wife’s family, and friends who had travelled.
There was good food to begin with, a great service which included Holy Communion, and finished with further good conversation, people congratulating Revd Grant, and enjoying further coffee and cake!
