L'après-baptême
Well we were numerous for the service. I had put a little reminder on the screen to switch your phone on after the service and, thankfully, nobody's phone went off.
All went well. I may pop one or two photos on afterwards, though I am becoming ever more wary because of French privacy laws, which include an 'assault on the private life', which can be things like publishing people's photos without permission.
La communauté africaine sang two African songs. We have two families, one from Congo and one from CAR, so they sang one song from each country/language. The chaps wore these amazing short-sleeved jackets, just like the jacket of a suit, but in a cheerful blue and yellow print - and with short sleeves. The ladies were also colourfully attired in blue and yellow print dresses. I SO want to be African.
Can you imagine if la communauté britannique ever sing something? We'll all wear dark grey with contrasting light grey shirts and black shoes, and we'll sing traditional slow hymns to traditional grey tunes, like 'Abide with me' and 'Sweet is the work'.
La communauté chinoise also sang a song. We were invited to join in with the French translation, but since the tune was indecipherable and you couldn't tell where you were in the song anyway nobody even tried. Anyway, it was far better to listen to them singing and watch them giggling. The lad (you know who you are) has a very nice voice !
The simultaneous translation into Chinese went very well, I thought. Being translated simultaneously like that does a lot for your simplicity. Sammy preached on three baptisms - that of John the Baptist, that of Jesus and that which Christians undergo, and what these three mean and how they differ.
The baptism took place in the pool outside, and then after a suitable interval for an apéro, chatting and milling, we assembled the tables (lots of tables) for the meal.
The service was much longer than usual. I recorded the whole thing and I think we were at the 2-hour mark before leaving for the pool. We ate at about 2pm, and then some time afterwards the brief information meeting where plans were shared for the accommodation for the summer, for the youth work Sept-June (we Daveys will be involved with the lycéens - the 17 and 18 year olds) and for the actual moves - pastor's house-move the day before the church furnishings (benches, etc.) are stored at the chateau in Blaye.
The day finished with us going to bed to the sound of explosions - fireworks in Bordeaux to celebrate the Unesco World Heritage Site listing.
All went well. I may pop one or two photos on afterwards, though I am becoming ever more wary because of French privacy laws, which include an 'assault on the private life', which can be things like publishing people's photos without permission.
La communauté africaine sang two African songs. We have two families, one from Congo and one from CAR, so they sang one song from each country/language. The chaps wore these amazing short-sleeved jackets, just like the jacket of a suit, but in a cheerful blue and yellow print - and with short sleeves. The ladies were also colourfully attired in blue and yellow print dresses. I SO want to be African.
Can you imagine if la communauté britannique ever sing something? We'll all wear dark grey with contrasting light grey shirts and black shoes, and we'll sing traditional slow hymns to traditional grey tunes, like 'Abide with me' and 'Sweet is the work'.
La communauté chinoise also sang a song. We were invited to join in with the French translation, but since the tune was indecipherable and you couldn't tell where you were in the song anyway nobody even tried. Anyway, it was far better to listen to them singing and watch them giggling. The lad (you know who you are) has a very nice voice !
The simultaneous translation into Chinese went very well, I thought. Being translated simultaneously like that does a lot for your simplicity. Sammy preached on three baptisms - that of John the Baptist, that of Jesus and that which Christians undergo, and what these three mean and how they differ.
The baptism took place in the pool outside, and then after a suitable interval for an apéro, chatting and milling, we assembled the tables (lots of tables) for the meal.
The service was much longer than usual. I recorded the whole thing and I think we were at the 2-hour mark before leaving for the pool. We ate at about 2pm, and then some time afterwards the brief information meeting where plans were shared for the accommodation for the summer, for the youth work Sept-June (we Daveys will be involved with the lycéens - the 17 and 18 year olds) and for the actual moves - pastor's house-move the day before the church furnishings (benches, etc.) are stored at the chateau in Blaye.
The day finished with us going to bed to the sound of explosions - fireworks in Bordeaux to celebrate the Unesco World Heritage Site listing.
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