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Ministry
Report, May 2009 |
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Thank you so very much for your prayers for the commemoration service held at St Martin on Friday, May 8 (photo below). We also appreciate all the notes of encouragement that we got ahead of time. Attendance was particularly large this year and, as you can imagine, the atmosphere very sober. Bill commented on 4 passages from the Gospel of John which illustrate, through Jesus’ reactions, that God is no stranger to all aspects of our human experience – simple joys as well as overwhelming distress. We had been encouraged by these passages at the funeral of Diane’s grandnephew and then passed them on to others at this time of community distress. Bill concluded the message in describing how, when he appeared to them after the resurrection, Jesus gave his disciples “his peace,” which touches all areas of our lives through the presence of the Holy Spirit. The theme was Presence, Peace, and Hope in Christ. Shortly after the end of the service at St Martin we left for a three-day Convention of our French denomination. It was the launching of the denomination’s newly-approved Mission Statement. This was a joyful and encouraging time for members from our churches all over the country to get together and plan for the future, through general meetings, workshops and worship services. The opening meeting also included “Skype sessions” with two members of our churches that are serving in Cameroon and Morocco – an indication that the Church’s identity and reach go beyond the borders of the country. For us, it was a wonderful occasion to see people who have been involved in our lives and ministry here for the past 37 years. We even had a long visit with the man who drove us from the train station to our quarters in language school when we first arrived in France!! Ah, memories, memories …. In addition to this year being the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth, it is also the 450th anniversary of the Confession of La Rochelle (also known as the Gallican Confession). John Calvin actually wrote the draft of this first confession of faith for Reformed believers in France. It is still the foundational confession of faith of our French Reformed churches. To mark this anniversary, many of our local churches made individual panels representing different articles of the Confession. They were sewn together to make a large banner that was displayed at the Convention (photos below). Being sure of our foundational beliefs gives us the basis for moving confidently forward with the new Mission Statement If you would like an English translation of the Mission Statement, we can email it to you (jerdandw@gmail.com). Thank you again for your prayers for our ministry here as well as for the continuing witness of believers in France. Diane and Bill Jerdan Pastors at Commemoration Service (below)
Banner panels are shown below
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Prayer Requests Pray for the continuing witness of Christians in France. To receive a copy of the Jerdans' monthly report by email, send them a message at jerdandw@gmail.com
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