PRAY FOR FRANCE !!

JUST A REMINDER THAT THE "PRAY FOR FRANCE" CAMPAIGN HAS STARTED.


CHECK OUT www.prayforfrance.org

Hi, darling. How was your weekend ?

This is Pascal ! We are having morning coffee together with a croissant (note how we are nearly eating off the table ! That's very french!!) He's been helping out at his other church in the Lyon area and I picked him up from the station. We don't have that much sharing time together with all our comings and goings, but we try to have coffee once a week if we can to catch up uninterrupted (ie no children!), to coordinate our diaries and to discuss family.

Are we preparing others to replace us ?

Another long day - but I decided I would try and sort through all the emails that have banked up. I have quite a bit of reading material that comes through from SIM offices - International, Australian and French. Came across this link to a talk by Gbile Akanni, who is from Nigeria. If you can get past his strong accent, it's worthwhile listening - skip over the first 5 minutes or so and settle back for an hour. 

http://no8-wire.blogspot.com/2010/05/making-disciples.html
Nigel Webb
Director
SIM NZ
nz.director@gmail.com

Hear how God expects us to raise up others in the next generation to continue the work He set us to do. One word for it is DISCIPLING; another is MENTORING or ACCOMPANYING. In fact, Gbile Akanni says that Evangelising and discipling are part of the same order given by Jesus in The Great Commission ! He refers to Joshua 1: 1-4 and chapters 11 - 13.

It struck a deep chord with me. I try to put it into practice in my own situation - that's why I worked so hard to have missionary status and then recognition for my work in the local church by our Church Union. In our French context, these things seemed to be very important in order to have credibility. And it has worked ! Praise the Lord !

Gbile Akanni ends his talk by reminding us that people need to see us first, need to share our lives first, in order to see Jesus. I think we have forgotten that aspect of our commitment to follow Jesus. It's not easy to open up and share ourselves with others. But it is vital if they are to catch on to who Jesus is.  Think about how many Christians influenced your life, helping you to meet Jesus, to commit to Him and to follow His path ?? What are you doing to replace yourself in the work God has called you to ?

Local elections

Last week and next Sunday half of France is voting in local elections ; not Town Hall municipal elections, but "les cantonales" - local regional ones. As a European, I can vote in Municipal elections and in the European ones, but not the Cantonales or National ones. (Just a reminder that I have British and Australian nationalities).

I must admit I'm glad not to have to choose and vote - call me indecisive or slack ! But it brings home to me each election time how much we don't know about what goes on behind the scenes, how much our understanding of things can be clouded by our perspective and our preconceived notions. And who to believe these days ?

I actually know 3 of the different candidates : 3 women with whom I have spent time. One was on the High School Council with me, is in the Greens Party and practises Reiki. Another is the mother of my daughter's friend at school and on the Socialist ticket. The third does folk dancing with us, attends and teaches Sunday School at the Reformed Church (French equivalent of Uniting Church in many ways) and is standing with the United Left group which is predominantly Communist ! The outgoing candidate is standing for re-election, is on the political right, wins the majority of votes because he is a local whose parents worked for the Resistance during the war, and happens to be gay. None of the other candidates have any really defined projects, but there has been a distinct lack of debate of ideas since in the previous election the vote was such a majority that there was no real opposition. So what do you base your choice on ? Words, words, words ...Appearances ? Impression of the person's lifestyle and social class ? Past record ? Manner of treating people ? Which values do you admire in someone if religion is not allowed to be discussed or used ? How would you choose ??

In talking to others around town I hear contradictory opinions and feedback.

It is SO important to keep perspective and to pray for discernment. I know we all have to make choices and be responsibly involved, but sometimes, when I'm just a bit tired, I would really like Jesus to return and to take over control.

Beware of false friends ....

Talking about language traps, actually!

In the previous blog I mentioned the French word for 'church service' is 'un culte' which English-speakers could confuse with a cult or sect.

Here's another tricky one : In English we use preservatives to keep foodstuffs longer. In French the same word means "a condom"! They use the word "conservateur" for conserving the food!

Learning to live in another culture takes a long time, patience, openness, a willingness to change and adapt, yet the capacity to be at ease with one's own identity. First, be sure you know who you are in Christ! You need to be able to laugh at yourself, ask questions, put up with feeling isolated, discernment, the ability to observe and to keep quiet.

Togetherness

I'm going back 2 months - never seem to have time to write all the things that come to mind.

In France in January there are 2 official occasions for Christians of various communities to get together for prayer and worship. We call them "célébrations" in French in order to avoid confusion between a protestant service (called "un culte" : be careful of what we teachers call 'false friends' in words that are the same in the 2 languages, but which have different meanings ! I'll give you another example in another posting !) and the Catholic mass.

The first is called "la Semaine de prière pour l'Unité chrétienne" (The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity) and is held from 18th to 25th January each year. Apparently, it was started in Lyon (France!) in 1933 by a Catholic Abbot Paul Couturier. It is now an International event held in January for the Northern Hemisphere and at Pentecost for the Southern Hemisphere.

So in little ol' Lamastre, we had a celebration with the Catholic and Reformed Churches based on a theme written by the churches of Jerusalem. The local priest here has been to Israel several times and will take a group from here on a pilgrimage next month. He used his own photos to show all the different churches in Jerusalem. Then ended the slide show with this beautiful image and text.

JUST AS THIS OLD OLIVE TREE IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANIE, THE ANCIENT CHURCH OF JERUSALEM, MOTHER OF ALL THE CHURCHES IN THE WORLD, HAS PRODUCED NUMEROUS BRANCHES. HOWEVER, ITS ROOTS PLUNGE DOWN INTO THE ONLY WORTHY NOURISHING SOIL, THAT OF THE LOVE OF GOD.

The second week takes place from 9th to 16th January and is organised by the French Evangelical Alliance. It was created in 1847. This year we didn't do anything mainly because the Evangelical Alliance has been absorbed into a new group called The National Council of French Evangelicals. Our Union of churches has not yet voted on whether to join this federation or not. This will be done in June at our Synod.

Our second big event was the World Day of Prayer, 4th March. Our mixed group of women from the 3 main churches of Lamastre shared their enthusiasm and gifts to organise a children's and youth afternoon on Wednesday, then a Round Table discussion on the text from Mark 6: 30-44 with the 3 clergy on Friday morning, followed by a Chilian meal at lunch time. There were 38 people at the more traditional celebration Friday afternoon and a wonderful turnout of 120 people, including 40 children, for the evening celebration which was mainly led by the young people. My role was to organise and delegate for the evening celebration and to coordinate the celebration. It was a lot of work, but so exciting to see so many people worshipping together, so many people mobilised to participate, and seeing the younger generations learn how to worship together.

 Preparing the World Day of Prayer

The children hearing about Chili,
and the World Day of Prayer

This is a wood-burning oven outside the Manse of the Reformed church. Geneviève lit it and baked 15 loaves of bread to distribute during the celebration in the evening. A symbolic moment which reinforced the teaching of Jesus' miracle in multiplying the 5 loaves and 2 fishes in order to feed the crowd.

Some of the women taking part
in the afternoon celebration

The children distributing the bread in
12 baskets representing what remained
after Jesus provided food for the crowd.

Gasland - drilling for natural gas

Ardèche is a beautiful area of France and, although evidence of man's ability to "tame" the land is seen all over, it is a relatively natural area. Local regional politics have decreed National Parks and environmental protection laws. Many people choose to live in this area because it is closer to Nature.

Apparently, foragers have found natural gas shoal in large areas here and are heading towards exploiting these reserves as the price of the petrol barrel continues to rise and as the world is faced with the end of the supply in 40 years.

A growing environmental protection movement is sending out information through web links and emails in order to inform the public of the dangers and the need for strict and HONEST dealings. I leave you this documentary made in USA about the same natural gas wells. It's a series of 7 fifteen minute blocks on Daily Motion. 

What should our stand be as Christians and how militant should we become ? 

When I look at my busy timetable, I wonder where my priorities should be. Bible studies, evangelism, personal counselling ..... all good stuff and helping people grow closer to their Maker and their Saviour. But I'm very concerned about our way of taking advantage of what our Creator God has provided for our well-being.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xg7g0q_danger-gaz-de-schiste-1-7-doc-choc_webcam

Tout va bien

All is well, just very busy.

Had 2 friends of two of my children with us for 5 days and everyone was gainfully employed!! Probably too much screen time, but they got out into the fresh air and sunshine (at last some sun - it's been a long, grey winter!).

The JMP went really well - full of uncertainties, as events often are when a multitude of people are involved in the organisation. However, that's one of the things that makes this World Day of Prayer so interesting - an oecumenical combined effort : each person serving our Lord with his/her gifts and aware of each one's role. Thank you LORD for such a blessing in this corner of France.

Now we are off to see friends in the Alps for 3 days and then another 2 days holiday, before attacking a super busy weekend and preparing for the return to school 14th March.

Blessings to you all.