Final lap

Time is passing quickly, and we only have two more Sundays here in Grenoble. It’s been a valuable and interesting five weeks so far.

The Church here is good, but there is need for a permanent chaplain as soon as possible. Finances are difficult, with many of the congregation earning very little; so the church suffers from uncertainty about the future, and but we feel there are opportunities as well as problems.

Last Sunday was the farewell service to Pierre and Lilia Ledent. He is a Protestant chaplain in the French Army, and they are moving to Clermont Ferrand, where he is now based. (Always interesting to remember how ‘secular’ France continues to provide Christian ministry for those who might be denied it: soldiers, prisoners and the sick.) Lilia has been very active in St Marc’s, and she will be missed; as is often the case, too much is done by too few.

The service was complicated by the fact that two Nigerian families brought their babies to be dedicated –  which is very important in Nigerian culture. But we had to limit their involvement, so as not to overbalance the whole service. That was unfortunate, as so many people had come, most in colourful dresses and outfits. The Church Council have agreed, finally, to a policy which will ask parents to give plenty of notice, and not to arrange anything until a suitable date has been agreed.

There are problems with integrating the large number of Nigerian and other African families. For understandable reasons, they tend to sit together, but that can seem to divide the congregation. They need to be brought more into the life and worship of the church, and the next chaplain will have to address this. One of the churchwardens is a Nigerian, a man of much wisdom and insight. (Despite having been in France for over 5 years, and having much to offer, he still has not been granted a permanent right to stay and work here…What a waste!)

Meanwhile Grenoble continues to be hot – with the promise (?) of another canicule next week. It’s quieter around here, now that all schools and colleges have closed, and many people are away already (though it will be in August that everything closes down!) Church members are also drifting off gradually, though some are only away for three weeks or so.

We’ve been able to do a bit more, now that the preparation of Powerpoint slides for sermons and services is less time-consuming. So last week we visited the pilgrimage centre of La Salette, high in the mountains of Les Ecrins. Some of the details of the alleged apparition of the Virgin are hard to accept; but the places has a certain power and presence. (It’s also got breath-taking views.) We had time up on Vercors – a stronghold of the French Resistance in WW2. There’s a memorial to 100 partisans killed in 1944 in a Nazi attack on the forces hiding in tis mountainous region; the village of St Nizier was largely destroyed. It seems strange and sad, that this beautiful area witnessed such death and destruction. It also reminds us of the value of the European Union, which has united countries like France and Germany, which had been at enmity for over a hundred years previously. We find it heartbreaking that in a few months we British are likely to be excluded from this welcoming community.

This week we re-visited St Antoine l’Abbaye, a beautiful village above the Isère valley. It had been quiet back in January, but there were more visitors now, and the museum was open – a good display about the history of the community, and an exhibition about relics and pilgrimage. We were also able to visit and take communion to a couple who live some distance north of Grenoble; one of the advantages of having our car here.

Now we prepare for our final ten days in Grenoble.