Little report of a big weekend
Here are the headlines :
1) Chinese New Year
Pat and I went on an ex-pats' tour of the Grand Théâtre on Friday morning and then scuttled home for lunch and a meeting I had with our colleague, Tim Mitchell at the university campus.
What we had not realised was that there was a procession in Bordeaux for Chinese New Year with a slightly small and contained dragon dance in the square by the town hall.
I don't think we missed much, but we'll try and be present for it next year and maybe encourage the Chinese Christian Group to be there as much as possible.
2) Floods
On Saturday and on Sunday morning high tides and torrential rainfall combined to make the river burst its banks.
On the left bank the walkways on the quays were flooded, as well as part of the boulevard inner ring road and the access road from the city centre to the rocade outer ring road.
On the right bank the floods were more extensive, encircling some new, smart flats, flooding a small number of houses and some streets up to 300 yards from the river.
In Blaye fields around the village where our church building is situated were flooded.
No problems for church folk.
3) Visit of Pete and James from MTW / UNEPREF / Marseille / Maryland / Tennessee
Pete Mitchell and James Gildard are missionaries from MTW, a PCA mission, working with our union of churches, UNEPREF, currently in Marseille. Pete has been given the task of establishing a new team working either in Toulouse or in Bordeaux. They came to present their ten-year plan to the church council. The church council will respond, then the mission and UNEPREF will decide where the team will go.
4) Pat's back
In the sense of the dorsal parts of Patricia. Poor thing jarred her back on Saturday morning and ended up on the floor in the living room being fed chocolate because she was in danger of going into shock with the pain. A doctor came and gave her an injection, pills, patches, sundry medications. When she's ambulatory again (how long I have waited to use that word) then it'll be a doctor's appointment, IRM and osteopath, perhaps.
5) Saturday evening
The Chinese Christian Group presented the history of the church in China, followed by nice Chinese food. It was good to see my friends again. I have missed them. We were all invited along, but Pat's back kept her in bed and the kids stayed at home to look after her.
6) Sunday morning
The Chinese, Anglophone, Blaye and Cenon churches all met together in the Cenon church for joint worship. We sang two songs in Chinese, English and French, and non-French speakers had Pete's sermon notes in English to help them understand. Gwilym and I went. Catrin stayed home to look after Pat. It was good to be back with folk again and to have a chance to talk over the meal.
After the service there was a meeting of the council, to which I was invited and to which I forgot to go because I got into conversation with some church members. I came in just in time for the time of prayer. I caught the most important part.
Then a meal - jolly good stuff !
Then another council meeting where Pete and James presented the ten-year plan.
Then home to inspect Pat and to relax and reflect.
1) Chinese New Year
Pat and I went on an ex-pats' tour of the Grand Théâtre on Friday morning and then scuttled home for lunch and a meeting I had with our colleague, Tim Mitchell at the university campus.
What we had not realised was that there was a procession in Bordeaux for Chinese New Year with a slightly small and contained dragon dance in the square by the town hall.
I don't think we missed much, but we'll try and be present for it next year and maybe encourage the Chinese Christian Group to be there as much as possible.
2) Floods
On Saturday and on Sunday morning high tides and torrential rainfall combined to make the river burst its banks.
On the left bank the walkways on the quays were flooded, as well as part of the boulevard inner ring road and the access road from the city centre to the rocade outer ring road.
On the right bank the floods were more extensive, encircling some new, smart flats, flooding a small number of houses and some streets up to 300 yards from the river.
In Blaye fields around the village where our church building is situated were flooded.
No problems for church folk.
3) Visit of Pete and James from MTW / UNEPREF / Marseille / Maryland / Tennessee
Pete Mitchell and James Gildard are missionaries from MTW, a PCA mission, working with our union of churches, UNEPREF, currently in Marseille. Pete has been given the task of establishing a new team working either in Toulouse or in Bordeaux. They came to present their ten-year plan to the church council. The church council will respond, then the mission and UNEPREF will decide where the team will go.
4) Pat's back
In the sense of the dorsal parts of Patricia. Poor thing jarred her back on Saturday morning and ended up on the floor in the living room being fed chocolate because she was in danger of going into shock with the pain. A doctor came and gave her an injection, pills, patches, sundry medications. When she's ambulatory again (how long I have waited to use that word) then it'll be a doctor's appointment, IRM and osteopath, perhaps.
5) Saturday evening
The Chinese Christian Group presented the history of the church in China, followed by nice Chinese food. It was good to see my friends again. I have missed them. We were all invited along, but Pat's back kept her in bed and the kids stayed at home to look after her.
6) Sunday morning
The Chinese, Anglophone, Blaye and Cenon churches all met together in the Cenon church for joint worship. We sang two songs in Chinese, English and French, and non-French speakers had Pete's sermon notes in English to help them understand. Gwilym and I went. Catrin stayed home to look after Pat. It was good to be back with folk again and to have a chance to talk over the meal.
After the service there was a meeting of the council, to which I was invited and to which I forgot to go because I got into conversation with some church members. I came in just in time for the time of prayer. I caught the most important part.
Then a meal - jolly good stuff !
Then another council meeting where Pete and James presented the ten-year plan.
Then home to inspect Pat and to relax and reflect.
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