17th February 2020
Netherlands
A Dot Painter’s View of Life’s Journey
ACCOMPLISHING: The Dutch title is ‘voltooiing’, accomplishing instead of accomplished, finishing instead of finished. The picture shows the life of a person, the dark circle (starting at the bottom, right), going through various communities, situations in life, relationships, the red circles (love). The red lines are the children who are going their own way, who have their own interests. The thin black line going round … Read more
The Netherlands: Church Closures Trigger Further Disaffection
“The fact that every neighborhood in the Netherlands used to have its own church is an exception worldwide. The closing of churches is a logical consequence of the fact that the church no longer is a binding factor in Dutch society,” he said. According to religious sociologist Theo Schepens, people in the Netherlands have been “spoiled” with so many churches close by. “That cannot be … Read more
The Netherlands: Portuguese Speaking Community in Christmas Play
Nossa encenação do nascimento de Jesus. A vulnerabilidade do nené fica bem claro. A Christmas play at the end of mass. Jac.Hetsen mhm Francis of Assisi would have delighted in this!! Pope Francis writes: But let us go back to the origins of the Christmas crèche so familiar to us. We need to imagine ourselves in the little Italian town of Greccio, near Rieti. Saint … Read more
Mbikko, Uganda: The Transformative Power of Music
“50 years ago in 1969, as a young missionary, full of enthusiasm, I boarded the plane clutching a guitar on my way to the land of my childhood dreams: Uganda. For years that guitar was my faithful companion in the city, in the interior, in schools and in the small Christian communities. “The Good News.” That is the key word that has inspired, fascinated and … Read more
Brother Leo Melchers MHM RIP
It is with regret that we inform you of the death at 02.30 am on Wednesday morning, 11th December 2019, in Missiehuis Vrijland, Oosterbeek, The Netherlands, aged 87, of Brother Leo Melchers Mill Hill Missionary May he rest in peace Leo was born on the 31st of October, 1932 in the city of Utrecht, Holland. His father, Jan, was an expert vegetable grower married to Afke … Read more
The Netherlands: What Effect Does the Closure of a Church have on a Village?
The search for a new owner for the church in Afferden was not an easy one. After a long period of waiting, the parish board eventually received a bid from a party that was interested in taking over the church: the Buddhist Dhammikaya movement from Thailand. “That was a tricky one,” admitted Perlo. “Church guidelines do not allow non-believers to buy a church.” He is … Read more
The Future of Religious Life in the Highly Secularised Low Countries: Is the Glass Half Full?
Over the past two years Mr Paul Wennekes conducted extensive research into future oriented religious life in The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. He shared some of his findings at the recent annual meeting of the Conference of Dutch Religious (KNR) called ‘Colourful Religious Life’ (KRL). The theme of the meeting was ‘Salt of the Earth, the role of religious communities in a secularised society’. Salt … Read more
Oosterbeek, The Netherlands: Presentation Mission-Art Calendar Featuring Works by Mill Hill Missionary Artist Kees Breed
Another event in the developing story of the exciting artistic legacy of Fr Kees Breed, a Mill Hill missionary active in The Philippines, who died in December 2017. Today, Wednesday 13th November, the Dutch Master Painters together with the Mill Hill Missionaries in The Netherlands marked the start of the Brederoc Year with the presentation of a magnificent Mission-Art Calendar. A sizeable gathering of resident … Read more
