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The Church of St. John & St. Philip The Hague, The Netherlands

Church Profile

Wider Community

The Church of St. John & St. Philip is of the

evangelical tradition and has as its Patron the

Intercontinental Church Society. The Church is

within the Church of England in the Diocese in

Europe. The Bishop is the Rt. Rev’d Geoffrey

Rowell and his Suffragan is the Rt. Rev’d David

Hamid.

This Anglican church is situated in an attractive,

residential part of The Hague, near the Peace Palace

and close to many foreign Embassy Residences. It

is well served by public transport and is on a very

functional site.

Within the area from which our congregation derives, estimated 500 sq miles, there is another

Anglican Church, St. James, which was planted by St. John & St. Philip in 1979. St. James’

Church became independent in 1996. In addition, there are a few other churches seeking to

serve the English-speaking community, e.g., the American Protestant Church, the International

Roman Catholic Church, Trinity Baptist Church and ‘Crossroads’ (a Free Church).

Constituency

The Church congregation is a very mobile one where a significant number of people leave and

arrive each year. On an average Sunday between 300-350 people (including children) attend

Services, out of a wider congregation of 500. The congregation includes all ages and there are

a significant number of children and young people.

The church has a long history going back

to 1586; the present church of St John & St

Philip was consecrated in 1952. The

congregation is English-speaking and

international. Between 30-40 nationalities are present every Sunday. At least 30% of

the congregation is Dutch. Some members

of the congregation work for large multi-

national corporations, various Embassies,

and the U.N. institutions and international

organisations that are in The Hague (e.g.,

the International Criminal Court, European

Patent Office etc.), while others are

students at The Royal Conservatory of Music or the Institute of Social Studies, which attracts

students from developing countries. Others still come from more ordinary walks of life.

The current Chaplain is an honorary member of the diplomatic staff of the British Embassy in

The Hague and works closely with the Embassy as its honorary chaplain. The present

Ambassador is H.E. Lyn Parker. The Chaplain works closely with the military attaché in

preparing for and conducting the annual Commonwealth Remembrance Sunday Service at the

Westduin cemetery.

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Church Life

Worship at St John & St Philip reflects the diverse spirituality within the church. We are

committed both to traditional Anglican worship and more contemporary worship and this is

reflected in the choice of a wide range of services. We are also committed to full-life

discipleship and strive to equip the members of our congregation to carry this into every aspect

of their life. There are a growing number of dedicated house-groups meeting each week in

support of this.

We aim for high standards and maximum participation in worship. There are many in the

congregation with singing/musical gifts, including students of the Royal Conservatory, and we

want to encourage the development of those gifts in the service of Christ and His church. We

are also blessed by the high level of lay participation of worship leadership.

The church building is bright and attractive and has a very fine organ as well as a grand piano.

There is a spacious church hall recently refurbished to a high quality with adjoining rooms,

office and kitchen.

The last six years have been a time of growth, both spiritually and in congregational size. A lot

of energy has been put into carefully identifying our target groups and designing our publicity

accordingly.

The Jubilee Development Plan, which involved significant refurbishment of the Hall, has

greatly helped in making the Church more generally known to the English-speaking

community, as more and more people use the Hall for wedding receptions, children’s parties,

etc.

In looking to the future, it is important to realise

that this is very much a ‘flow-through’ church with

many people only staying for a few years, if that.

Because of this, any long-term planning is subject

to the availability of the right people with the right

talents at the right time. It is, however, a

wonderful opportunity to nourish and nurture

people along their Christian walk, so they can take

the benefits of their time in The Hague into their

future church life. Many people have expressed

how very important their personal experience at St.

John and St. Philip has been, where they have

encountered Jesus through clear Biblical teaching,

the palpable presence of his Holy Spirit among the

congregation and the seriousness of the prayer life.

There is also a loyal core of English-speaking

Dutch members of the congregation who provide

continuity and additional contact with the local

community. As some of these are becoming

elderly, there are plenty of opportunities for the

congregation to serve one another in love.

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Pattern of Sunday Worship

8.30 am – Service of Holy Communion – Attendance: 10-20

This is a quiet spoken Service, with hymns only at major festivals. On the first Sunday of the

month it is celebrated according to the Book of Common Prayer and on other Sundays

according to Common Worship.

9.30 am – Family Worship in the Church Hall (except the 4th Sunday) – Attendance: 30-60

This is a Service primarily for families with young children, with an informal liturgy and

mainly contemporary, child-focused music.

9.45 am Matins (4th Sunday of the month) – Attendance: 25-30 plus choir

This is a sung, choral Service with a choir anthem and follows the Prayer Book order.

11.00 am Morning Service (1st, 3

rd & 5

th Sundays: Holy Communion, 2

nd Sunday: Morning

Prayer, 4th Sunday: All-Age Worship) – Attendance with children: 170-250

This service has broad appeal and, with the exception of the All-Age Worship service, uses the

Book of Common Worship. Music is both traditional and contemporary and occasionally other

instrumentalists are involved. There is a choir anthem, which at All-Age Worship is sung by the

Junior Choir. Except at All-Age Worship when everyone stays in church, the children and young

people are present at the first part of the Service, then leave for their own groups. An active and

growing Junior Church programme runs concurrently in the Church Hall, along with groups for

younger and older teen-agers. After the Service, refreshments are served in the church hall.

5.00 pm Choral Evensong (3rd

Sunday) – Attendance: 40–50 plus choir

This Service has been recently introduced to encourage music lovers into the life of the church.

The choir sings an anthem and settings of the Responses, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis. After

the Service there is wine and cheese in the church hall and an opportunity to mingle.

6.30 pm Evening Service (1st, 3

rd & 5

th Sundays: Praise and Prayer, 2

nd & 4

th Sundays: Holy

Communion) – Attendance: 30-50

This Service is very informal. The clergy do not wear robes, and music is contemporary, led by

different musicians, e.g., piano/keyboard/drums/bass/guitar etc. One of the aims of this Service

is to make the Gospel accessible to people with little or no church background, thus offering

opportunities for evangelism and outreach, especially among the 20s and 30s age group. Every

two months there is an ecumenical ‘LIFT’ Service at the American Protestant Church which

brings together the young people of The Hague for a youth-oriented Service.

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Weekday Services

Monday to Friday 8.00 am: Morning Prayer. Wednesday 12.30 pm: Holy Communion

(Common Worship). A light lunch is offered after this service.

In addition to the above we have the following Services:

• Services of Holy Communion for the Catholic Apostolic Church: 4.00 p. m. on the first

Sunday of the month and at 10.00 am on the day after Christmas, Easter and Pentecost.

• Occasional Diocesan Services, e.g. Ordination of Deacons.

• Weddings (5-10 per year) and Funerals (5-10 per year).

• Baptisms normally take place at the 11.00 am Service or, occasionally, Family Worship.

• Confirmations: there is an annual Confirmation Service

Music

The church uses Hymns for Today’s Church as its main hymnbook. It has been the practice of

the church to produce a Service sheet for each Service when there is a choir, and this means

other music can easily be incorporated for use by the congregation. At the 6.30 pm Service and

at All-Age Worship an OHP/beamer is used to project the words of music onto a screen above

the pulpit. The adult choir of four voices (SATB) comprises some 35 members, some of whom

are associated with the Royal Conservatory of Music, and maintains a high calibre of music in

both congregational leadership and anthems.

Young People’s groups

In recent years, we have been blessed with a growing number of children and teenagers joining

the church. Responsible lay members of the congregation lead Junior Church and youth

groups. The staff Youth Worker focuses on the teenage members of the church throughout the

week, working alongside the volunteer leaders for Sunday activities.

The Edge -. Older teenagers (aged 14–18 yrs) meet during

the 11.00 am Service, except on 4th Sundays, when they join

the All-age Worship Service in church. In the past, the

pattern was to meet for lunch after the 11 am Service.

Pathfinders - For 11–14-year-olds. This group also meets

during the 11.00 am service, except on 4th Sundays, when

they join the All-age Worship Service in church. Both

Pathfinders and The Edge are encouraged to contribute to

the All-Age Worship Services, and they meet from time to

time for social and recreational activities and outings,

including youth retreats and trips away.

Junior Church – various groups arranged by age

provide teaching and encouragement to children from

ages 3-11 during the 11.00 am Service, except on 4th

Sundays when they join the All-age Worship Service.

Crèche – During the Sunday service at 11.00 am, a

crèche is provided for the youngest children and babies.

Junior Choir - For children aged 6-12 years. Draws

children together from both Family Worship and Junior

Church. Attendance ±10. Junior Choir has sung at All-

age Services, as well as the traditional Advent Carol

Service.

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General Church Information

The Staff team currently comprises:

Rev'd Michael Sanders (Chaplain),

Rev'd Dr. Rosie Dymond (Assistant Chaplain),

Rev'd Dr. Roland Price (N.S.M.),

Astrid Tiesema (Reader)

Kate Pellereau (Youth Worker from July 2007),

Emma Coffey (Administrator)

There is also a retired, elderly Priest (Rev'd Dr. Robert de Muralt). Our part-time Caretaker is

Huib Wijntje and the Child Protection Officer is Camille Maddox.

Church Administrator

A part-time administrator provides some administrative support to the clergy, but the main

tasks are to function as Church receptionist, organise hall bookings, coordinate the flow of

information, and produce some of the weekly and monthly publications available. A number of

volunteers help with the administration on a weekly basis.

Organist

Our organist is Christina Edelen who is a professional musician. In addition we have the

assistance of choir member Patrick Hopper, a professional pianist/organist.

Current Directory

Lists ± 430 adults and over 150 children. These do not all attend church weekly, but the list

represents the size of the pool of interested families. The Electoral Roll in 2007 comprises 325

people. This number is more indicative of the core level of commitment within the church.

Funding

The Church of St John and St Philip is entirely self-supporting and receives no outside sources

of financial support. As the church relies on the financial contributions of its membership for

financing, a planned giving programme is in place to encourage members to make a financial

commitment for the year, in order to allow budget decisions to be made.

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Our Aims as a Church

• Worship and Prayer, to meet with God.

• Preaching and Pastoral Care, to build one another up in Christ.

• Teaching and Training, to equip each other for ministry.

• Service and Evangelism, to reach out to the broader community.

• Welcome and Fellowship, to show God's love.

From time to time, the chaplaincy council have held an away day to reflect on these aims and

set a vision for the future. In the recent past, the five focuses for action have been: the prayer

life of the church, the ministry of welcome and hospitality, discipleship and home groups, the

Evening service, and the work among children and young people.

In 2007, there are two specific additional initiatives: to support and enable a camp in August in

The Netherlands for Christian Israeli and Palestinian youth; and to invite members of the

church to take on an environmentally responsible action each month for the preservation of

God’s creation.

Activities and Ministry

Alpha, Study, and House Groups

In each of the past five years we have run highly

successful and meaningful Alpha Groups with

about 30 participants each time, through which

many people have been led to Baptism and

Confirmation. In the past a small group has

undertaken distance-learning study modules

together on the NT, OT & Church History

involving essay-writing and continuous

assessment by an outside examiner.

A rich part of our congregational life is the

number of House Groups which meet across

the various neighbourhoods of The Hague

and its surrounding communities for prayer

and/or Bible study.

Prayer Ministry

As part of the church’s Ministry of Healing, the Prayer Ministry team is available after 11.00

am and 6.30 pm services, as well as during Healing Services which take place on 5th Sundays.

Our Ministry of Prayer includes an active prayer chain, as well as monthly prayer meetings in

church. The church also supports various Mission partners in prayer and finance.

Pastoral Care Team

The Chaplain has a supervisory role of a Pastoral Care Team who come alongside members of

the church and community in their various areas and times of need. The team regularly visits

elderly, housebound and bereaved parishioners.

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Care for Creation

Our theme for 2007 is “12 Months of Green Living” through which we are aiming to improve

the environmental impact of our church, as well as to promote greater consciousness among our

members of our responsibility in caring for God’s creation. Each month a specific and

practical change towards greener living is adopted and promoted.

Counselling Service

St. John & St. Philip has a successful, well-utilised Counselling Service for members of the

congregation as well as the local English-speaking community. While this service falls under

the general ‘umbrella’ of the church, the unique nature of the ministry of counselling, e. g.

confidentially, necessitates that the service runs in an autonomous way. Over the past 10 years

the service has built up good links with professional bodies within the field of psychology.

Men’s / Women’s Retreats

These successful events are held annually, usually

with guest speaker. Prayer, guided meditation

and worship, as well as social contact are all

featured.

Parish weekend

A parish weekend is held every eighteen months,

at a conference centre with excellent facilities and

at which there is an invited speaker. This event

attracts single people as well as families and aims

to include some 120 people. Separate

programmes for children and youth are offered,

and the times of worship, the talks and focus

groups are interspersed with recreational and

social activities.

Time Out for Mothers of Tots to Teens

This group meets in a relaxed place for those with

children or teenagers to come and explore issues of life

and faith. There is usually a crèche service provided.

Parenting Courses

A member of our congregation, who is a Child

Psychologist and mother, leads these courses.

Mission within and beyond the Chaplaincy

We actively support our Mission Partners in Mozambique, Ireland, Bethlehem and aboard a

Mercy (Christian hospital) Ship . There is a very active link with Luweero Diocese, Uganda, and

members of the church have visited Luweero in addition to raising funds for various projects.

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Vision for the future

The growth in Youth work at our church has set a precedent that we are keen to continue. Not

only is it vital to the ongoing life of the church, but the quality of the children's programme

may be a deciding factor in the choice of a place of worship for new families arriving in The

Hague.

We recognise that all groups and ages have something to offer and believe it is important to

involve both newcomers and existing members in all aspects of church life.

International students are a significant group of young adults in our city. We hope to offer

welcome and hospitality and better integrate them into the life of the church.

We have identified lay ministry as an opportunity and a need. We wish to provide training for

the many gifted members of the congregation to be equipped for ministry.

We seek to identify a project in the local community in which members of the congregation can

participate in a meaningful and sustainable way.

Housing Adjacent to the church, there is a large and very attractive, partly-furnished, and well-planned

five-bedroom vicarage built in the 1950s with garage, parking space and gardens.

Schools The local English-speaking schools are all fee-paying. Fees for The British School in The

Netherlands are from € 5,000 -14,000 per annum, whereas the fees for The International

School of The Hague and the Rijnlands Lyceum (a Dutch school with an English section) are

from €4,500 - 5,500 pa. Dutch schools are free within a good educational system. Help with

school fees may be available.

Stipend/expenses The Chaplain’s stipend and benefits are in line with recommendations of the Church

Commissioners. A car allowance is given, together with normal running expenses of

Chaplaincy work.

For more details contact our website: www. stjohn-stphilip. Org

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Chaplain’s Profile

We are looking for a servant-leader who feels guided by the Holy Spirit, who brings strong

scripture-based preaching skills, and a heart for mission.

We need someone with the ability to relate to people of all ages and minister sensitively to a

diverse congregation from various walks of life, and from a broad range of Christian traditions.

The right person for this position will be able to interact comfortably and confidently within

diplomatic circles and come alongside a broad range of people from ambassadors to asylum-

seekers.

Your task will involve encouraging and supporting the growth of lay leadership and

participation from members of the congregation with gifts to offer to the life and work of the

church.

Our future chaplain will have experience in running a busy church, a collaborative leadership

style, the ability to delegate wisely, and good interpersonal skills.

You will be successful if you have an international orientation and awareness, and are excited

at the prospect of working in a multi-national environment.

Administrative skills, and basic computer literacy (e.g., sending e-mails) are desirable.

If you are enthusiastic about ministering to a very diverse congregation; if you will be

stimulated by life in a mobile, multi-national community; if you bring with you a passion for

living out God’s love for His people, we ask you to prayerfully consider applying for this post.