The past year saw the effects of the economic crisis hit our Church, as people here on work assignments were withdrawn early and others due to be repatriated were not replaced. Some of our members have also been made redundant from their work, and are still seeking jobs. In particular the number of American members has fallen, with consequent pressure on our finances, which went into deficit again after recovering the previous year. Serious decisions about our ability to employ a full-time chaplain lie ahead if our income does not improve significantly.

On the other hand we have seen a new group of students join us since September, and a continuing gradual growth in the number of French speakers choosing to worship with us. In fact our average attendance has been similar these past three years.

Since Dante & Connie Thomas, who had looked after our student work as well as preaching and leading our adult Sunday school left, Shona has taken on the hosting of our group for students & those in their 20s, and I know their Tuesday evening meetings at her apartment are greatly appreciated. So thank you, Shona.

A highlight of the year was the baptism of Lilan’s parents who, on their visit from China, embraced the Christian faith. We pray for them as they share their faith in Christ back home.

We have had the privilege of sharing with Fanny as she has pursued her vocation to the Anglican ordained ministry via the Convocation of American Church in Europe. We look forward to supporting her & Xavier as we participate in her learning over the next three years, now that she has been accepted for training. With Fanny’s presence and the increasing percentage of French speakers in our Church we must reflect on what God is saying to us about worship in the French language. Should we perhaps offer a Sunday evening service in French, for example?

The number of children on Sundays has fluctuated considerably from week to week, and we continue to face the challenge of what language to use to best help them. Some teaching material has been introduced successfully into our crèche for the under 4s. The 4s to 11s are well served by our team of teachers, David, Montserrat, Dona, Lilia & Linda, with their helpers, and Neil has been instrumental in re-launching a group for our over 11s. We thank them all for their dedication. Is God calling you to get involved with our children’s ministry?

Our events committee, led by John, has organised a variety of opportunities for sharing, which have generally been well supported & appreciated. Highlights have included the Bush Dance, a Cheese & Wine evening at the Shepherds’ home, a Car Rally and an outing to Vienne, as well as other visits and walks. Our Catering Committee under Val’s leadership has continued to organise our monthly Church meal and fed us at other events, including weddings and special birthday celebrations. These social occasions are a vital part of our Church life and the face we present to the world. We are about relationships of love, about sharing our lives, and these provide opportunities to do so.

We’ve continued to cooperate with the other two Churches that share St Marc’s building in services & meetings, have shared some events with the other English language Church of Grenoble, and I’ve represented us in the groups which bring together the different leaders of Grenoble’s Churches.

We have benefitted again this past year from Howard & Dona’s presence and active input in many ways, and thank them warmly. We rejoice that they feel God wants them to extend their stay here, so we must pray with them that the necessary financial support will be forthcoming.

It’s been good to have variety in the Sunday preachers and in those leading our music - I hope you feel this has enriched our worship & learning. The Adult Sunday has continued to meet before our Church services, though Dante’s departure was a loss. We thank those who have hosted and led our home groups this past year, but it would be good to have more such groups. These groups are important in offering us a context in which to deepen our faith and practice by sharing our experiences. I do urge you to join such a group if you have not yet.

Support for missionary work has been a major theme this year, with the Lewis family returning from their service with SIM in Burkina Faso. It is good that we had set in place the resources for their financial support for 2 years, so we were able to complete that support. We must support them as they seek God’s plan for their future. Mark & Carine did a great job of leading our Church Weekend away at Champfleuri, helping us to learn from their experiences and improving our understanding of missionary work today.

We continue to support Barnabas Fund in its involvement with persecuted Christians, Tearfund in its work with the poor, ACAT in helping those unjustly imprisoned & tortured, L’Echoppe distributing food to the local needy, Compassion International’s child sponsorship programme, and ICS in its mission to bring the gospel to English speakers worldwide. We gratefully acknowledge ICS’s ongoing prayer & pastoral support of us, and our fellowship with the other Anglican churches of France and the diocese in Europe. It’s been good to have another visit from Pierre Whalon from Paris, who is also an assistant bishop of our diocese, as we work with him towards Fanny’s ordination.

It’s a privilege for me to be Chaplain of this Church, and I thank you all for your support and involvement in its life. So many of you play active roles that it would take too long to name you all, but I would like to particularly thank Alan & Val who give me such support as they serve our Church, and our Churchwardens and Council members for their advice and commitment. Jane has unfailingly beautified our worship with her flower arrangements, so many of you take turns on our rota of Sunday tasks, Penny, Marian and our musicians give us a vital lead in worship, and so on, so thank you for your contributions. (Of course without Marian’s support I could not fulfil my ministry – she does so much in quiet unseen ways behind the scenes.) Let’s pray that each of us will step forward to offer our gifts & abilities to God, and that he will bring new people to us to discover his love and join us in serving him.

We see ourselves as a Church at the crossroads of people’s lives, encouraging one another to embrace and return the love of God for us, and to live in love with one another and those around us. In this way we can experience the fullness of life Jesus came to bring us, and learn to live lives that please God. God’s commitment to us is unfailing, so let us look forward to the next year, confident in him.