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Back in the UK.

 We are back home in Axminster now, and catching up on grass cutting, dealing with mail etc. After seven weeks ago, we were quite tired, but we had some good experiences, and enjoyed our time with the good people of St Peter’s. Becky’s flying visit was great – lovely to see her again (our last meeting was at Christmas.) And after she caught her train, we used our free tickets to join the crowds of locals in the ‘village’ at the racecourse for the prestigious Prix de Diane. There was quite a festival atmosphere, with children’s funfair, street food, music (and betting points!)   Our last couple of weeks were quite busy. We visited or met several church members, and enjoyed a concert of Renaissance English music in the church. We paid our second visit to Paris in the week, re-visiting some of the ‘tourist-y’ sites, including the delightful Jardin du Luxembourg (very close to the hotel I stayed in on my very first visit nearly 60 years ago.) We enjoyed the sort of lunch that Paris res
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What is an Anglican church in France for?

There are real questions of identity, which can be quite divisive. Some church members see their church as very much part of the Church of England – which they may remember from earlier days. So there can be demands and expectations for mostly traditional worship and hymns. Others see it as primarily an English-speaking church, and they may come from a  variety of backgrounds and traditions . They may be less dogmatic, though some are wary of ‘too much liturgy’ – as many aren’t Anglican. Quite a few members aren’t British. Indeed in some places, for many attendees, English is their second (or third!) language. And there are always some French and other nationalities who value the typical Anglican mixture and style of worship, and the openness and welcome they experience (including the normal coffee and chat after the service.) They are probably not interested in questions of ‘churchmanship’, but may want more French-language input/ The question then arises, Should the church be
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Walks and races

 Time presses on and we are nearly halfway through our commitment at St Peter’s. We enjoy being here, but it’s a church that has gone through a difficult time, and is still emerging from that; there are still some conflicts, and a need for healing, forgiveness and reconciliation. But there are some committed Christians here, and with the right leadership, and plenty of prayer, we hope that all shall be well.   Last Sunday was Trinity Sunday; I always enjoy the challenge of preaching on that subject – sp central to Christian faith! The congregations at the two services weren’t huge; perhaps the excellent weather , and the fact that several regulars were on holiday, contributed towards that. We’ve also started meeting with more people, and talking and praying with them; we hope we can sow some seeds of healing while we are here. The Alpha course after the main service on Sunday is drawing to a close. It seems to have been quite successful, and we’ve enjoyed being able to share in the l
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Back in France again

  We have been in Chantilly for ten days now, and feel comfortably ‘at home.’ We arrived on the eve of Ascension Day, so we could take the evening service on Ascension Day – which is a public holiday here in France, despite the separation of church and state. Today – Pentecost Monday – is also a public holiday, and warm and sunny, so people are out and enjoying themselves.   We had a week visiting new places before we came here. On our arrival in Caen, we drove to Chalons-en-Champagne (near Reims), which has some attractive churches and buildings (and is home to the Perrier champagne house.) From there we drove to Strasbourg, stopping at Verdun, which was the scene of a year-long battle, with hundreds of thousands of casualties, in the first World War.   It was our first visit to Strasbourg in Alsace, which of course has had a complex history, having been both German and French at various times. The city itself is very attractive: many half-timbered houses, shops and restaurants, a
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Return to England

 We’re back in Axminster now, after our six weeks in Chantilly. We enjoyed our time there, and think it was worthwhile; now we’re feeling a bit tired, and have (typically) developed heavy colds (but not Covid, despite fact that a number of people at Chantilly have been afflicted!)   Our last week was busy, in one way or another. I don’t think we’ve mentioned the weekly on-line prayer meeting that some of them organize. It takes place in a morning, and normally attracts a dozen or more people, which is encouraging – and perhaps worth trying in other places. The process of looking to the future continues for St Peter’s. There were two meetings, an evening one for the church council and others, facilitated by the Archdeacon of France. People were encouraged to talk about what their hopes and expectations for the future were, as well as identifying what was good (and what not so good) about the church. The Bishop in Europe came the next day for an open lunch, with questions and answers.
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Still Going Strong

 Another delayed blog; we are certainly finding plenty to do here. All Saints Sunday went smoothly; numbers attending church seem to be picking up a bit. We had the pleasure of a visit from a Turkish friend - who had been one of Jo's pupils at St Sidwell's school, Exeter. Her family live in Izmir, and we have seen her several times on our visits there. She is now married, and working in Strasbourg with the Turkish delegation to the Council of Europe. In the week following we had lunch with a number of people; one in their own home, and two in restaurants in Chantilly - good food, but also an opportunity to talk and listen about them and their experience of church. We were also visited by a woman we had prepared for baptism at Versailles five years ago. We did have a quieter day to ourselves, visiting Crepy-en-Valois, which has some lovely narrow streets with old houses, and splendid ramparts, On the way back we went to Gallo-Roman site, with remains of a temple and a theatre -
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All Saints tide

 A bit of a delay since my first post; life has been quite busy, and we have had the pleasure of Nathanael's presence for four days in the week. Since I last wrote, we've experienced another Sunday - with two morning services, a (BCP) Communion and a Service of the Word; respectable numbers at each. We also joined in an online Prayer Meeting one morning. There must have been more than twelve participants, which is encouraging: more than many churches could muster. On our rest days, we've continued some exploring of the immediate area. We walked beside the Etangs de Commelle, a series of large ponds in a conservation area. We saw a range of fauna - water birds like coots, moorhens, swans, and gulls, some butterflies, and - surprise - a couple of coypus asleep on a nest on the water. Another encounter with nature came when we walked through the Forest of Ermenonville, along part of the 'Sentier des Ecrivains' (Writers' Footpath), so called because Rousseau often s
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