Category: Ministry

We were on the market in Guingamp on Friday morning. Fairly quickly after we arrived, a young man approached us with a few provocative questions. That was unusual. Very few people dare to come to speak to us. Anyway, the man asked his questions, and we starting talking. He stayed a long time on our side, talking. Some of his mates joined us, and at some point, we were talking with 4 people. It was great. After a long time, The man and his friends left with a leaflet about the church. It was a good morning.

On Saturday afternoon, I led the funeral of an English lady who had died the previous week in Lannion Hospital. I didn’t know her or her family, but the husband and daughter wanted the service to be in English as they hardly speak any French. As my colleague couldn’t do it, i did it.

It was my second funeral, and my first cremation. It took place in Begard, a small town about 20 minutes from Guingamp. The service went well I think. It was very sad. The husband and the daughter were devastated. They had been married for 54 years. There were about 15-20 people, all English apart from the Breton neighbours of the couple. I found that the fact that the lady wasn’t buried disturbing. It gave me a sense of the hopelessness of these people. It also gave the impression that there is no hope beyond death.

After the service, the coffin went into the crematorium and the family left. I stayed behind for a coffee with the undertankers. I was curious about their job so had a few questions to ask. It was interesting. I realized how important their job is. They are confronted with the reality of pain and death every day and seemed very human. They realized the importance of their work, and weren’t after the money, for example, unlike some, they wouldn’t charge for keeping the ashes of the deceased person. I enjoyed that time I spent speaking with these undertakers. It is an interesting contact.

On Monday we had our traditional end of year ministers’ fellowship in Rennes. We usually meet in the capital of Brittany for the last meeting of the year because it gives the opportunity for the ministers to visit the christian bookshop and collect their orders for their Christmas book table. There were a good number present. It was good to be there news about the various churches represented. I was able to talk about the Belgian Bible Institute which most know by name only.

We met in the knew building of the “Eglise Evangélique de Rennes Sud” (for a picture, click here)

Last week, I visited the Belgian Bible Institute in Bruxelles. They hold a prayer day every semester, and I had been invited to lead the fall semester prayer day. I had met the director and some of the students at some conferences, and it was good to get to know that Bible institute better.

I was a bit anxious about the day. I had never led a prayer day, and the goal was to pray as much as possible from 9 am to 5 pm, with a lunch break. Would people pray? Would there be long times of silence? But everyone had come to pray, and we prayed. In the end, I didn’t have to do much apart from opening the word at the beginning, and announcing a hymn from time to time. It was a good day. There were about 30 people present. The day of prayer is the most important day of the semester, and it is compulsory for full-time students to attend.

I spoke on Colossians 2:6-15 on why we must keep Christ at the centre: because he is God fully and perfectly manifested, because in Him we have new life, and because in Him we have complete forgiveness.

On the following day, I sat in some lectures and chatted with students and staff in the morning, before going to Bruxelles town centre.

I took the stand to the market in Rostrenen this morning. The sun was shining, the market was quiet, most tourists have gone now. Nobody wanted to speak to me. But when I saw a man wearing a T-shirt saying “Je ne suis pas Anglais, je suis Gallois”, i had to ask where in Wales he and his wife were from.

We spoke Welsh, they were tourists from Carmarthenshire.

The oldest member of our church, Lucie Jégouic, went into the presence of her Lord and Saviour last Thursday, 1st August. She was in her 101st year. In the absence of our pastor, it was my privilege to conduct the funeral. It was a new experience, but the Lord helped me, and the prayers of many people were behind me. I also asked Alain Monclair, former pastor of the Guingamp church to help me.

The funeral was on Monday in the village where her husband and son are also buried, and where she had lived most of her life. We put 120 chairs out to start with, but quickly realized it wouldn’t be enough. There were at least 180 people. Many were standing. Most of them had not heard the gospel. But a few christian friends and church members had come. A few members of the family talked about the impact Lucie had had in their lives. Someone mentioned that she’d had 64 people descending from her (children, grand-children, great-grand-children, great-great-grand-children). Many of theme were present at the funeral.

I preached from Habakuk 2:4 “The just shall live by his steadfast trust”. I started with the many changes Lucie had been through in her lifetime, but highlighted her steadfast trust in the Lord over the last 50 years since her conversion. I challenged those present by asking them if they shared her hope.

After the ceremony, the family and close friends stayed while those who were not coming to the cemetery walked past the casket. In the cemetery, I prayed again and read a few verses. After this, the family and friends paid their last respects. Then she was laid to rest in the tomb, with her husband and son, awaiting the resurrection of her body.

After the cemetery, we all went to a local restaurant to have a “gouter”: drinks, crepes and cake.

One of the traditions that struck me was the visiting hours before the funeral. People who wanted to were able to go and see the body before the day of the funeral. Every afternoon, the family would be there, in the room, waiting for people to come and visit. Thank you again for all those who prayed.