It was a great privilege to receive the phone call from Bishop Robert (our Bishop in the Diocese in Europe) to offer me the position of Chaplain of St George’s Memorial Church. This was the morning after my interview by him and a number of others in Ieper/Ypres at the end of November. I accepted the post immediately, but this seems a long time ago now and much water has flowed under the bridge since then, not least because of the number of administrative hurdles which have had to be negotiated to get me officially here with permission to live and work. However, I am now in possession of my Belgium UK visa and my Belgium ID card, and am well on my way to getting other admin issues sorted out!

I moved to Ieper to begin work as chaplain of St George’s on 1st April and was licensed in a very moving service and celebration on 21st April. There were a lot of commitments booked in the calendar around that time, including my participation in the ANZAC Day ceremonies on 24th and 25th April (which was a real privilege), and the visit of the Household Cavalry in early May, coinciding with the Friends of St George’s Pilgrimage. It was a wonderful and very poignant weekend, with some very interesting and moving events, including a special Last Post ceremony and an ecumenical Matins service in St Martin’s Cathedral, led by the Household Cavalry’s Padre, but also involving the Dean of the Cathedral and the Protestant Pastor here in Ypres as well as me. We have established very good relations and were out together for Sunday lunch very recently after another ecumenical service in the Cathedral.

I am very much enjoying meeting some of the visitors to St George’s, who come as individuals, couples, small groups and large groups (including many school groups) from many different countries. We have a regular Sunday Holy Communion service in the church at 10.30am (in English from Common Worship), and next Sunday I will be leading a Sung Eucharist from the Book of Common Prayer, something that I plan to offer from time to time. If you are visiting Ieper, please do come to join us on a Sunday for our morning (or occasional evening) service.

I am getting involved in work with the British Army recruits who come over here on a very regular basis, including leading a service at the Tyne Cot Cemetery later this week. We have already had a baptism of one of the recruits in St George’s and there are others coming up soon! We are also busy improving the St George’s garden, expanding the flower beds with new planting going in as well as other improvements and sorting out of areas that have not been touched for many years! The churchwardens and I are keen to encourage more use of the church hall, especially by the local community, as well as encouraging events in the church and particularly concerts. Not only is it good to have live music in the church and to welcome local people in, but the acoustics in St George’s are wonderful thanks to the architect, Sir Reginald Blomfield, who also designed the Menin Gate.

We have a wonderful peal of bells at St George’s, which were installed in 2017 and are rung in the traditional English full-circle method of ringing, which enables each bell to be controlled and rung in call changes or traditional ‘methods’. I have a particular interest in these as I am myself a bellringer, and I’ve been able to encourage the very small team of ringers at St George’s as well as welcoming (with our Tower Captain) some visiting ringers. I was able to ring with a group of very experienced ringers just recently, which was the first time I had participated in ringing all 8 bells, and it was a great joy for me to do so!

I am enjoying living in my apartment in Ieper, which is a modern 3rd floor apartment, and I am discovering there is a lot going on here including open-air concerts (of various types) and art festivals. I live quite close to the train station which is handy for visiting other places in Belgium, with Brussels less than 2 hours away on the train. Indeed, I am visiting the Anglican Pro-Cathedral and the Anglican Central Committee members next week, which will be my first time in Brussels although I have already been to Ghent and Kortrijk since moving here.

I shall finish this article as I began, by saying that it is a great privilege to serve here as the chaplain of St George’s Memorial Church. It is a beautiful and very special place, which many people visit and for some, it is a place of pilgrimage or simply a quiet space for contemplation of the horrors and of the huge numbers who died in the First World War. We pledge never to forget those who sacrificed their lives for the sake of freedom and the liberties we still enjoy- We will remember them.

The Reverend Richard Clement