Secularism

France is having identity problems again - these questions arise around election times. Religious expression has always been very difficult in a public setting, although religious freedom is a reality. 

With 5 - 10% of the French population (according to whose figures you use) being considered Muslim and with varying degrees of "practising", the French are confronted with the idea of identity. What is French ? Who are the French ? Sometimes I think the real question behind the commentaries about migrants and people who are French-born but of different origine is : to whom does this country belong ? A very pertinent question because you can be born here, but you don't necessarily have the right to be here in some people's eyes. If this country physically belongs to you, then you have the right (normally) to decide what happens to the land and in this land. That is what is called DEMOCRACY.  But many French are very possessive of their land and cultural inheritance and find it hard to share the responsibility of decision-making.

I'm still coming to an understanding of the mentality of people living here in our country area of Ardèche. I mix with people who have been here and whose families own land for generations and for centuries. They are very independant-minded and self-sufficient. I get the feeling that they were pretty much left to themselves for centuries (albeit under the control of local lords and ladies and often the Catholic Church), but in this last century, with the advent of modernisation, they can no longer stay 'hidden' in the hills. The outside world has caught up with them. People here are very slow to change, because they really need to be convinced of the benefit of the change and because their rhythm of life is so in tune with the seasons. 

I will probably never ask for French citizenship because of this idea of belonging to the land and the land belonging to my family. Pascal's family hasn't owned any land or property for a couple of generations. Do I feel more connected with Australian land ? Yes, even though I have no chance of owning any. But my family has been physically connected with the land since my great-great-grandfather John emigrated to Australia in 1850s. 

I won't enter into a discussion about Aboriginal Land Rights - I'm not up to date with any of it.

Sometimes I wonder where we should retire to ? Pascal would be willing to move to Australia, but doesn't it usually depend on where your children end up ???

It just brings home to me ('scuse the pun!) how much we Christians should have more of an eternal perspective on things. We are just pilgrims on this Earth for the time allotted to us. I often feel the lack of real roots in a country (although I do feel a link with Scotland through my Findlay family history) and I often admire the deep sense of belonging many Europeans have about their home land. I console myself with the image of a place being prepared for me in my Father's House. Yet in the here and now, my identity is rooted in that of Christ my Lord and Saviour. That's where I belong. That's where I am best.

In limbo

Three of my appointments with women were cancelled this week and I suddenly find myself in limbo. I get psyched up for each encounter, I prepare the material, I organise my family life and then anticipate the moment when we launch into the Word of God and get fed ! I love it when we explore what the Scriptures show of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. And I love it when we find some relevance to our lives today. Some of the most precious moments are when we pray together.

We often use the telephone for these meetings, but last Tuesday I took the bike to ride to Catherine's 18 km away. It's part of my "getting fit for the Ardèchoise" campaign. Nearly killed me ! Plus my chain was slipping. Catherine walked out to meet me (thank God for mobile phones, too!) and wheeled the bike to her house. She offered me a shower and a good meal. I recovered and we were able to talk about witnessing to our neighbours and had a great time of prayer outside on the grass in the sun. Spring is blossoming all around us at the moment.

Then back on the bike in fear and trembling, but it was like I had wings and made it back up the hills. Then there was a long down hill ride to Lamastre. Pascal was sending me encouraging SMS s but I didn't want to stop pedaling to read them!!

And here I am in limbo again - so I've caught up on my birthday e-cards, my address lists and now my blog. I am procrastinating a little because I really should get on to our newsletter. Oh well - next time someone cancels ....

ALPHA

The Alpha Course is going strong here in France. It is such an encouragement after years of trying different approaches to evangelism and witnessing in a strongly Catholic-culture country which is also militantly secular.

Yet, did you know that Alpha France was started by and is powered by the Catholic Revival movement ?

Thank God, He knew the best way to bring people back to Him. The Protestants wouldn't have had nearly the same impact and their efforts would have stayed marginal. However, right from the start of Alpha in France, more than half of the groups being created were in Protestant and Evangelical churches.

Alpha has now adapted the Marriage Course and the Youth Course to French context.  Apparently there were around 600 Alpha Courses operating during the year.

It's reviving the Catholic parishes and providing a much needed boost to many churches.

Recently there have been a number of calls to improve on the Christian concept of leadership (servant leadership) and to work on training and mentoring. Alpha France has started courses on that aspect also - a vital aspect of any church life and one that has been neglected in general in French churches.

Pascal and I have the desire to work on a Church council member information and training session to use within our Union (and our region). We lack the time to develop it, but Pascal has already worked on it for one of his churches. We have the blessing of our Regional Group, but we need time .... May God lead us in this also.

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.

Help, I'm drowning!! But it's all for a good cause!

Too many things going on ; too many threads to unravel ; too many things to organise.

You are now reading the blog of the new Vice-President of the Femmes 2000 South-East group and we have an event to plan in October at Avignonfor around 150 women, and another big event planned for June 2012 at Montélimar for 500-700 women.

The World Day of Prayer is beginning March and we have a team organising a range of activities for that. A Catholic lady and I rewrote the celebration to allow the children and teens to participate and in order to prepare their contribution we are holding an afternoon of activities on the preceding Wednesday. It's an exciting time to be working as 3 churches. The aim for the last 2 years has been to reach younger age groups in order to assure the continuity of the event. We are thrilled to see the traditional denominational barriers melting away as we get to know each other and respect the other person's way of serving God.

Look out for the World Day of Prayer near you. Friday 4th March. Celebration written by the women from Chili.

God's Spirit is visibly working and we are really encouraged at the moment. George Verwer, founder of Operation Mobilisation, wrote these words in 1972, and it sums up wonderfully what Pascal and I hope to lead our churches towards:

"There are many ways to witness, and though some ways may be better than others, the teaching of Scripture is that we primarily witness through life and through word. Far more than a crusade, a special project, or outreach program, true witnessing is a spontaneous outflowing of the indwelling Christ.

Let's stop clutching our weaknesses, shyness, lack of training, fear, or any other excuse and start believing the God of the impossible who specializes in using weak vessels. There is not a single Christian who cannot become an effective, revolutionary witness for Jesus Christ if he really wants to." pp. 95, 96 Hunger for Reality.

He urges us to take 6 steps to Revolution (ch 8): a revolution in our prayer life; in our Bible study (by actually putting into practice what we read!); a revolution in discipline (not a popular word today!); a revolution of love; of honesty (many Christians are used to self-deception, wearing masks, acting in their own strength); a revolution of witness.

There's nothing new under the sun. But isn't a shame that for each generation we have to repeat the same message!

However, encouraging signs are appearing. Several people remarked recently how much of the teaching in our different groups, and in our church services is on the same theme and reinforcing their understanding. They are putting into practice what they have understood. 

Prayers are being answered and situations improving. People are growing spiritually and sharing what they have learned. People are praying more together. Some have started praying aloud. Family life is more peaceful and people are making better choices. The Gospel is being shared and non-Christians and Christians alike are being challenged to see things differently. Their understanding of God and Jesus is opening up and real grace is discovered.

And yet with all this positive side, more shadowy, evil things are being revealed. Corruption, power-mongering, wrong sexual practices, disdainfulness, incest, suicide, drug-taking, alcohol abuse, isolation and insulation, are all things we have been confronted with in the last 2 weeks, as well as waking up in the middle of the night sensing a malevolent presence.

It's got me riled and we are going to stand up to this. Fighting spirit is fired up!

We know God. We are one in Christ. We are filled with the Holy Spirit. No excuses - we must bring light into this darkness.

Speaking of races ...

It's a bit crazy, but I've decided to ride in a bike race which has 30 odd routes around our region of Ardèche. The race is called the Ardèchoise and is held in mid-June. There have been up to 15,000 participants over 3 days and all the villages on the routes get decked out in colours, decorations, themes, costumes ...

Why am I doing this ? Because I'm turning 50 this June and I need to have a challenge. I figured that a physical challenge would improve my long term health, set me up for the next 10 years, and in the short term help me to work better and to de-stress. (See previous posting!)

Unfortunately for me the shortest circuit that will be available this year is 80 km long and in Ardèche it's not flat!!! However, friends from our church are regular participants in this event and have assured me of their support. They said they would ride with me - but they will have to drop their standards to stay with me! I'm already feeling very inadequate and embarassed but if I want to achieve my goal (of finishing!!!) I have to swallow all pride, drum up extra self-discipline, and get training. "No pain, no gain" as my ballet teachers used to say. Pastor Charles Lazaro, who baptised me in Hamilton, used to say it also, probably talking on spiritual growth at the time.

My dear husband found a second-hand home fitness bike for my Christmas present.

Luc trying out my training equipment

 I have been working up my speed and number of kms per hour, trying for around 4 times/week.

 I cannot do this alone, inspite of it being a personal effort. I need your support and prayers; I need constant encouragement and the company of friends; I need a long-term training programme to be ready in time; I need personal discipline and perseverance; I need the right basic equipment - a suitable bike and comfortable clothing (it's really hard on one's backside!!)

So what better image could I find for "running the good race and finishing in order to win the prize that God has prepared for each of us." This is what Pascal and I have been called to do in our Christian service context. Not only have we benefitted from others' ministries, we are aware of how we can accompany and encourage others to develop their spiritual muscles.

It's all about perseverance, and self-discipline, and courage, and conviction, and understanding the value of this race, and the joy of participating, of finishing,

The sun is shining ...

finally! We have had a lot of grey and fog and no snow since November. I had hoped it would help me get motivated, but I'm still waiting for the adrenalin buzz !!!

How are you all ?

I'm supposed to be finishing the text for the young people's version of the World Day of Prayer (Chili, this year), organising the afternoon activities programme in preparation for the Day ; translating my prayer points into French; ordering some books; reading minutes from our committee meetings in readiness for our AGM on Wednesday; contacting another lady who needs spiritual encouragement ...

Am listening to the sound track of the Chilian ladies singing for the WDP.

Need a coffee ...

Floor needs a vacuum; phoned my son who wanted to come home for the day from his High School since he has no more classes for the day - suggested he go and find out about driving lessons so we can get started on him learning to drive with us ...We can't afford the time to go and get him then take him back to school tomorrow. (He boards during the week).

There is a teachers' strike on Thursday - so have at least one child home then.

Still have to sort out my Christmas decorations to put them away properly - but have left our cards and letters up on the wall because I think of you.

In short, I have a number of things to attend to and no real will to get them done. Yet I know I will be stressed and hard-pressed very shortly if I don't get going !! The fruits of the Spirit I have always struggled most with are self-discipline and patience!

I had a number of studies and articles to prepare in the last 2 weeks; a fair bit of driving; a couple of counselling sessions with people; and I received the good news that our Church Union has recognised my ministry through the local church and in the general French scene. I now am an Associated Christian worker with them. Sometimes after working towards something that really motivates you, you have a slump when you reach your goal. So it's not surprising I feel tired...

Reminds me of : "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy  set before him endured the cross ..." The Bible - book of Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1 and 2

There, I feel better already having written to you and being reminded to fix my eyes on Jesus.

A French prayer to see us through 2011

Seigneur,

tu m'offres cette année nouvelle

comme un vitrail à rassembler

avec les trois cent soixante-cinq

morceaux de toutes les couleurs

qui représentent les jours de ma vie.

J'y mettrai le rouge de mon amour

et de mon enthousiasme,

le mauve de mes peines et de mes deuils.

Le vert de mes espoirs et le rose de mes rêves,

le bleu ou le gris de mes engagements ou de mes luttes,

le jaune et l'or de mes moissons....

Je réserverai le blanc pour les jours ordinaires..

et le noir pour ceux où tu me sembleras absent !

Je cimenterai tout par la prière de ma foi

et par ma confiance sereine en toi.

Seigneur, je te demande simplement

d'illuminer de l'intérieur ce vitrail de ma vie,

par la lumière de ta présence

et par le feu de ton Esprit de Vie.

Ainsi, par la transparence,

ceux que je rencontrerai cette année,

y découvriront peut-être

le visage de ton fils bien-aimé

JESUS-CHRIST, NOTRE SEIGNEUR.

Amen.

(G.Lecleir
trouvé dans : Expressions de la foi de l'Église universelle,édité par le DEFAP)

Confidently stepping out into 2011

IN STEP (used without the permission of the author, but I don't think she'd mind !)
One step at a time
not peering ahead
thinking: "How will I cope with it?
Where will I tread?"

Not looking behind me
unless it's to learn
from things that have happened
then from them to turn.

One step at a time
Only then will I know
His joy and assurance
as with Him I go.

And facing the coming days
peace can be mine
in simple dependence -
one step at a time.

Elspeth Slater 1991
SIM missionary until 2008
Book of poems called "In the Potter's Hands" (contact SIM for info.) 

 

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!

AUSTRALIANS ALL LET US REJOICE, FOR WE ARE YOUNG AND FREE .....

As you can see, we ate pavlova and sang the National Anthem, with the help of a lovely book filled with Australian paintings. Luc knows it well having watched so much sport!

I guess you are wondering if Australia is still the lucky country with all the natural disasters happening. But it is a wide brown land of floods and sweeping plains. Even if modern life seems so complicated and living together not so easy, Australians have a friendly, cooperative spirit, a generous spirit and a courageous perseverance. We miss being there. We miss you.

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY - make the most of your lucky country.

Christmas greetings

We do wish you all a very Merry Christmas. May this be a time where you realise how much the Christ has fulfilled all that was needed in order to reconcile us with our Father God and to open the way for us to be fully what God intended us to be.

 It's not usual for Evangelical churches to hold a service on Christmas Day. Churches here are so small and the members join their often non-Christian families for the Christmas Eve meal. So it's not worth it to organise a service. It's always seemed very strange to me brought up as I was on Christmas Day services followed by drinks and presents while waiting for the final touches to the turkey dinner.
Thank God, the French Reformed Church has kept it's tradition of Christmas Day service. Pascal and I attended it here in Lamastre. We were nearly the youngest there!
The Catholic Church holds a midnight mass, usually at around 9 pm! And families eat their Christmas Eve festive meal around it. The priest told us that in fact Catholics are usually supposed to have Holy Communion while fasting, so don't eat before the service. After Mass, they go home to feast and to open presents.
Anyway, I got my Christmas morning service and was very thankful for it. JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON: and amongst all the preparation and the excitement of having family to share Christmas with us, it was a very necessary part of my day.

Overseas guests

Forgot to mention that my parents arrived safely inbetween snow falls. All our snow melted just before their arrival so we didn't have a White Christmas after all.

Here they are catching up with Marc, our second son, whom they had not seen when we were in Australia in July and August.

Ambiance Noël

"A table!" is the French expression to call everyone to the table

 Claire is our interior decorator now. A very artistic young lady at 10 and 3/4 years old.

 Here is our Christmas tree (we didn't cut it ourselves this year, but we could have - it's all very special for an Aussie to be able to do these things.)

Antilope casserole for Christmas!

A typical French "bûche de Noël" - Christmas cake in the form of a log representing the warmth of the fire at the Winter solstice. Traditionally, a huge log was placed in the fire place and was supposed to burn for 12 hours. The head of the family said prayers over it and the tradition was mixed with superstitions and predictions. Since in the 20th Century, most households lost their open fire places, the tradition was transformed into an edible one, but it is still decorated with an axe, a saw and little gnome woodcutters.

 Another tradition, the Christmas tree, was taken on by Christians to represent the wooden cross that the baby Jesus was destined to die upon. Decorated by real candles even today, the tree represents the light of Christ come into the world.

We kept to the Anglo-Saxon tradition the next day and had home-made Christmas pudding. Thanks to mixed fruits bought in England in February! and to the Australian Women's Weekly recipe books! And to some Napoleon Brandy we flamed to pour over it:

Making music

Cold outside and a remnant of snow.

Philippe, Claire's flute teacher, decided to add to the Christmas spirit by having "his girls" play in the cafés of Lamastre! As a practising buddhist, he is not into Christmas Carols (!), but he did teach them to sing an Ardéchois blessing on the owners of the cafés.

Since there were not that many clients in the cafés, Philippe decided to knock at other doors! So here we are in the local chemist : 

Reminds me of a story I heard about there being no room in a hotel for a special couple of which the young woman was pregnant ...

Christmas plays

So you must all be into them now. We just had our first one and it was a resounding success! Full church, good sketches, smooth technical operations and very competent kids!

Our kids are rather wonderful actually! Here's a glimpse of the Sunday School group and of the girls after one of their dances (they make them up themselves!)

Claire and friend discuss the real meaning of Christmas with the tree!

Zacharia receives word from Gabriel!

The shepherds are confronted by angelic presence!

The girls after the dance.

The answer to the enigma

Tell me if you got it right!

The photo a couple of posts ago is of a stove-top chestnut oven. If you don't have a fireplace where you roast your chestnuts in a holey frying pan, then you can put them into this portable oven and cook the chestnuts slowly over an electric or gas stove. A lovely winter's activity at the end of a cold day!

Bon appetit!

A window into the Christian faith ...

Last week 3 churches from Lamastre joined together to run a book stall - a Christian book stall !!! This is a noteworthy event in secular France.

We set up in a vacant shop (Catholic owners)and visitors could see an oecumenical display of books about Christmas, the environment and ecology from a Christian point of view, calendars and cards, Bibles, Children's books ... 

Well, that was the week that snowed, so we didn't get crowds in but parishioners from the 3 churches took turns to man the stalls and each evening at 5 pm after the children get out of school, there was story telling based on the Bible (by a Reformed church minister - a dynamic lady who could imitate a wonderful Cameroon accent!)

When I returned the unsold books to the depot in Montélimar (I had to go there for a Femmes 2000 meeting), Heidi was impressed that we sold €1000 worth of goods!

So thank God that people still read, that our churches appreciate working together, that Christian literature is developping here in France, although still quite expensive to buy given the much smaller market. And pray that all that was bought will stimulate people's faith in the living God. May this Christmas be the one where people finally understand that Jesus is Lord and Saviour. And pray that all the churches will be faithful to the Gospel message.

GUESS WHAT THIS IS !

So, all you Aussies out there ... what do you think this item is ?  The card on top indicates that it is an early Christmas present for Pascal. He got it early because of the time of year. And that's all the clues you are going to get!!!

Our first snow! December 1st.

View of our balcony from Claire's bedroom

Claire and I built a snowman in our garden

It's now 13th December and none of this is left. A reminder of how ephemeral life can be. A reminder to make the most of each day and to be child-like in our appreciation of life.

Le Centre Evangélique

Sunday 21st November, Pascal and I played "chassé-croisé" (the French version of "passing each other like ships in the night!) along the Rhône Valley! He was returning from Lyon where he had spent 4 days with the other church he pastors, and I was taking the train from Valence to go to Paris for the Centre Evangélique. I left the car in the car park and SMSed him as I sped away in theTGV (the Very Fast Train!)

The kids are old enough to cope for a couple of hours, but it is reassuring to have mobile phones to keep in touch. 

So what is the Centre Evangélique??

3 days of conferences, round table discussions, AGMs for different clubs including our Former Students Association from our Bible Institute. It's bumping into people with whom you studied, worshipped or worked; names you have heard of; people you have admired. It's walking down aisles of stands representing editors, all sorts of Missions, Christian organisations and ministries, Free trade merchandise ... In short, it allows a global view of what's happening in Evangelical circles in France and French-speaking countries.

This year the theme was "Missions - what priorities ?"

My aim was to find answers to 3 questions :
 * Do the French churches still need input from foreign missionaries (as you will no doubt understand, this is a vital question for me!)?
*  Where are the French churches at in terms of their own understanding of mission?
*  What happens if Christian churches from other countries want to send missionaries into France?

In answer to the first : yes, because there are still not enough Christians being trained to work in full-time ministry or in lay ministries. But it is vital that those coming to France to work, come along side French local churches to build them up and to train them to evolve missionally. Ideas from the Emerging Church movement, the incarnational church, are filtering through. Many French Christians see the need to be more outward looking and to review their church life in order to be accessible to the Post-Modern world, and they realise that people aren't going to just walk into their church searching for God, so they have to be out there being salt and light. However, they lack experience and, perhaps, confidence to make the necessary changes. Plus, let's be fair, France is a very hard country when it comes to being open about your Christian beliefs.


As for the second question :
For most traditional evangelical churches, mission means going overseas evangelising the natives!! Although in the last 15 years, this has translated into non-governmental organisations helping the Two-Thirds World countries and organising humanitarian projects. So two main ideas came through in the presentations : Christians involved in humanitarian projects need to remember that the sharing the Gospel is our priority, and, that France is as much in need of the Gospel as any other country. In fact many immigrants are bringing the Gospel to France and there is a big increase in the number of ethnic Christian groups in France, which is changing the face of Evangelicalism here!

And for the third question : There was no direct answer to this because it wasn't discussed as such, however, I spoke with a number of people and we hope that with the advent of a new federative body (CNEF - Conseil National des Evangéliques de France - the National Council for French Evangelicals) mission organisations will contact this Council and be directed into areas which need missionary input. It's too early to say if the CNEF will produce a national strategy, but it can already present an up-to-date picture of the Christian situation here.


I must admit that I was taken aback at the lack of mission vision apparent in our churches here! My overall reaction was "There is still an enormous amount of work to be done" and, of course, I was comparing France with our Anglo-Saxon culture. 


One highlight : hearing Ivory Coast and Haitian Christians talking about recent events in their countries and humbly accepting responsibility for certain errors committed on a national level! They explained how God's refining fire is renewing and maturing the Christian witness in their countries. God bless them and help us to pray for them and to help them as God directs.

Advent Calendars

Advent calendars are more of a German and Anglo-Saxon tradition, but because so many missionaries have worked in France, the tradition has been created here. It's also a good way of encouraging families to have daily readings, and another means to witnessing about our faith to non-believers. The Catholics put out a number of calendars or manger scenes to construct each day with the Nativity story to read. 

Our church ladies combined with the Reformed Church ladies to sew 27 of these calendars for our families. It helps wait for Christmas ! "Mum, when is Christmas going to be here???"

It was a lot of work - not quite up to Patchwork standard - but needed a concentrated effort. Our ladies were wonderfully industrious and it was a great way to get our two communities together in a different way.

What is inside? Almost every day there is a part of a story with pictures to colour in. The theme is "LIGHT". All I have read so far is about a little shepherd boy who loses a lamb and has to go to look for it. So far he has met a giant man - a thief- to whom he gave one of his candles, and a wolf with a damaged paw which he cleaned and wrapped up.

Each Sunday a small candle appears to make up a miniature advent wreath.

So we are waiting to celebrate the arrival of the Light of the God; the end of the shadows is nigh!