logoheading December 18th 2008
 

Carol Service at Condé-sur-Noireau

Condé TempleDespite the poor weather conditions, the Carol Service at le Temple, Condé, went very well.

The local weekly newspaper, the Orne Combattante, had published an article about the Carol Service and about Normandy Vision the Thursday before, and some people reported hearing it advertised on the local radio channels. The regional newspaper Ouest-France, which covers Normandy and Brittany, published a good report on the Carol Service in their Tuesday edition. The local newspaper, the Orne Combattante, should be publishing a report on the Carol Service in this week's edition. One of their reporters was there - at least for part of the service!

There was very thick fog in some parts of the region around Condé, swiftly followed by torrential rain, and this probably helped keep the numbers down. There were only about 110 present this year - that's including the nearly 25-strong choir - compared with around 140 last year.

The choir, after many weeks of hard work, were superb on the night, and that helped inspire the congregation to sing the carols heartily. There were some encouraging comments afterwards, and hopefully some of the contacts made will start coming along to either English or French services at the church.

Please pray for those who came along to the service who perhaps would not normally attend church or hear the gospel, that something in what was sung, read or said would make an impact on them and be used by the Lord to draw them to himself.

 

Christmas Family Service at Condé-sur-Noireau

Please don't forget to pray for our joint Christmas Family Service at le Temple, Condé, on Sunday, December 21st beginning at 10.30.

This is a bilingual joint service with the French congregation. It is hoped that more families will come along to this service and so it is a good opportunity to present the Christmas story and the gospel to those who are not familiar with or committed to it.

 

Grave of Rubens Saillens located!

Grave of Ruben SaillensNot that it was really lost!

Rubens Saillens was one of the leaders in French evangelical protestantism from the end of the nineteenth century through to his death in January 1942 at Condé-sur-Noireau.

Saillens was a Baptist and had connections with Spurgeon's Tabernacle in London. He preached his last sermon in December 1941 in the Reformed Church in Condé. It is not in the same building or on the same site as where we hold English services in Condé. That building and site were destroyed during the Liberation of Normandy in 1944. Saillens was also a great poet and hymn-writer, and French evangelical and protestant hymn books are full of his hymns, some original works, others adaptions or translations of well-known English hymns.

Both Saillens and his wife are buried in the same grave in the Protestant Cemetary at Condé-sur-Noireau. The inscription on the grave-stone includes a quotation from Galatians 2: “The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me”.

You can see more pictures of the grave of Rubens Saillens, and find a little more about him on our website.

 

Where can I get more information?

informationIf you would like more information, visit Normandy Vision's web site at www.normandyvision.org or you can contact us at info@normandyvision.org.

Other ways to get in touch with us can be found on our web site at www.normandyvision.org/contactus.asp

 

Normandy Vision UK Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales, number 1116858. Normandy Vision UK Trust can be contacted in the UK at 13 Danbury Vale, Danbury, Essex CM3 4LA, United Kingdom, or in France at 12 rue de l'Hôtel de Ville, 14160 Dives-sur-Mer, France.