Quick review of the weekend
Saturday began with me hauling myself out of bed to crawl off to Formapre. This is a kind of Theological Education by Extension thing that runs over France and the weekend was about Church history and French culture. There was a session on Friday evening but I didn't want to miss big band rehearsal because I am missing the one this coming Wednesday.
Anyway I arrived a quarter of an hour late ( only because they'd changed the time ) and came into a super session all about the history of the church in France from the emergence of France really, and the whole thing of the balance of power between King, Church and Nobility, then reformation and the power play between the protestant and catholic nobles, then the revolution etc.
I always had the intention of attending Formapre - it's good for your theological French, for catching the nuances in French theological thinking and for getting to know people. However to begin with our English classes were on Saturdays so it was impossible. Weekends are hard for most people, really, with the result that Formapre in Bordeaux doesn't have enough people attending to be viable - on Saturday we were 8 - and it's going to be discontinued here until such time as there is a great enough demand.
I had to scuttle off early to get to the orchestra rehearsal where my favourite moment is when we trombones substitute for the horns in the adagio of the Mozart clarinet concerto. Good fun. After the rehearsal, back home to finish off preparing for Sunday.
Sunday morning I was in Blaye, then we had a church lunch at Cenon with the alarmingly young European Director ( not the European Dictator ! ) of a Dutch mission, the GZB I think, which is sending us a youth worker for 3 to 6 years. I didn't like to tell him how old our Director looks in comparison to him.
The lunch was followed by an in-depth discussion of what the youth worker could get involved in and so on. Then we got cleared up and set up ready for the English service where we had some more new faces.
It was good to clear up again, to get home and to sleep. Next weekend promises to be full, too. Friday evening the music school has its teachers' concert with the support of the 2nd cycle orchestra (that is where I come in). Saturday evening the big band has a concert at Pontenx. Then Sunday I preach in French at Cenon am and in English pm.
Anyway I arrived a quarter of an hour late ( only because they'd changed the time ) and came into a super session all about the history of the church in France from the emergence of France really, and the whole thing of the balance of power between King, Church and Nobility, then reformation and the power play between the protestant and catholic nobles, then the revolution etc.
I always had the intention of attending Formapre - it's good for your theological French, for catching the nuances in French theological thinking and for getting to know people. However to begin with our English classes were on Saturdays so it was impossible. Weekends are hard for most people, really, with the result that Formapre in Bordeaux doesn't have enough people attending to be viable - on Saturday we were 8 - and it's going to be discontinued here until such time as there is a great enough demand.
I had to scuttle off early to get to the orchestra rehearsal where my favourite moment is when we trombones substitute for the horns in the adagio of the Mozart clarinet concerto. Good fun. After the rehearsal, back home to finish off preparing for Sunday.
Sunday morning I was in Blaye, then we had a church lunch at Cenon with the alarmingly young European Director ( not the European Dictator ! ) of a Dutch mission, the GZB I think, which is sending us a youth worker for 3 to 6 years. I didn't like to tell him how old our Director looks in comparison to him.
The lunch was followed by an in-depth discussion of what the youth worker could get involved in and so on. Then we got cleared up and set up ready for the English service where we had some more new faces.
It was good to clear up again, to get home and to sleep. Next weekend promises to be full, too. Friday evening the music school has its teachers' concert with the support of the 2nd cycle orchestra (that is where I come in). Saturday evening the big band has a concert at Pontenx. Then Sunday I preach in French at Cenon am and in English pm.
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