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Saturday in Paris
Entry 4 of 31 | show all | print this entry |
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Today was a very full day. I slept well though I woke early so I could prepare for the day. Around noon, I started out from my hotel which was half an hour's walk from the hotel where services would be. It was sunny and not too cool. The walk took me down the Boulevard Haussmann, one of the wide, tree-lined boulevards in Paris that dates from the Second Empire period of Napoleon III (1850s and 1860s). It is famous for shopping; the huge luxury department stores Printemps and Galeries Lafayette are located there and were swarmed with shoppers. A long black Lamborghini sedan dropped off a fashionably dressed woman as I walked by.
A few blocks farther, just around the corner from the hotel where we would have services, I passed a plaque on the wall of a building identifying the place where novelist Marcel Proust lived for many years.
I had spent quite a bit of time analyzing Proust's masterpiece about the passing of time: A la recherche du temps perdu (Remembrance of Things Past) when I studied French Literature at university, so I was interested to see the place where, in his bedroom lined with cork, he wrote several of the books that make up his chef d'oeuvre.
I arrived a few minutes early, and had just taken a seat at a sidewalk café to have a coffee, when Daniel and Cindy Harper and Steven Moschidis walked by. Since the waiter had not yet arrived to take my order anyway (they often take their time in Paris...), I skipped the coffee and we all walked together to the hall, which is in a pillared room on the lower level of a hotel.
This is a very good hall, since it's separate enough that we wouldn't be bothered by anyone and we wouldn't bother them either. It may seem strange to some, but it France there has often been strong hostile reaction to singing hymns in hotel meeting rooms. On reason is the anti-Christian bias which is strong, though not universal in France. There is also a very strong sense of what acceptable social behavior is and is not. No reason need be given for the fact that something "is done" or "isn't done." It is simply sufficient to know that a given activity is acceptable or not. Most parents teach their children from a very young age not to do certain things, giving as the reason: "Ça ne se fait pas!" (That simply isn't done!). Group singing of Christian hymns except in a church building, or on a pilgrimage retreat "isn't done." We could sing The Internationale (the communist-party anthem) or we could listen to raunchy punk rock, and it wouldn't bother people if they heard it, but Christian hymns, well, as I said "it isn't done." I remember once in Strasbourg years back we had rented a municipal conference hall for a large service. The rest of the center was empty, church members were the only ones present, but when the hymn portion of services began the janitor/caretaker burst in and demanded the singing stop or he would call the authorities!
That is all to explain why it's excellent to find a hall where no one, except those singing and God, can hear the hymns.
Daniel and Cindy did most of the preparatory work in reserving and setting up the hall, which we very much appreciated.
We were finally 19 for services, including people from several associations and countries. One gentleman came from England for the weekend to be present; some came from near the Belgian border, and several came from Normandy. For two people from Paris, it was their first ever Church of God Sabbath service.
Mr. Gorisse led hymns and played a lively piece of special music on the flute, Daniel Harper gave a fine sermonette, and I have a sermon on the topic of Christian commitment.
Steven Moschidis had taken care of the refreshments that we enjoyed after services. They were mostly samples of Greek food and they were delicious (Micheal knows where to find the authentic item).
We viewed a video update of progress in various francophone areas in Africa and Europe. I gave a commentary and answered questions.
After that we talked until out time in the hall ran out. I believe we all came away encouraged and excited to spend this time together.
Daniel and Cindy caught the train back to their home near Cherbourg a bit after 7:00 pm and I met three members who live in Paris for dinner. It was quite an eclectic group, an Australian computer analyst, A Frenchwoman who works for the Australian embassy, a Greek systems developer and an American pastor....
We had dinner in a historic landmark of a restaurant called Bouillon Chartier, or just Chartier by habitués. It's a cavernous "dining hall" of a place in continuous operation since the late 1800s.
It was very busy, atmospheric, inexpensive, and the food was tasty. We were all four at least bilingual, so the conversation drifted back and forth from French to English depending on which vocabulary came quickest to mind. With such an international group, the conversation was interesting and enlightening: we discussed developments in the Church, possible prophetic trends, international politics and several social trends among other subjects. After dinner we decided to go across the street for desert to a place advertising the best crepes in Paris. We decided that was false advertising, but the conversation was still good.
Latest Comments (3)
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hey dad!! (reply)
Apr 14, 2008 18:38 EST by fmeeker
Wow, sounds like a really busy Sabbath!! But it's really encouraging to see that we seem to be growing a tad! And I'm happy you were able to spend the Sabbath with such a nice group! That's quite a blessing for being in France! Well, I miss you already and hope you're doing well! Lots of love,
Fiona
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Sabbath (reply)
Apr 14, 2008 17:21 EST by maryhendren
Hi Joel,
What a fine Sabbath with two members able to attend services for the first time. It's great to see pictures of our brethren.(I recognized Mr. Gorisse.) Someday the tables will be turned and the singing of Christian hymns will be the thing 'that is done.' Thanks for including pictures and comments on things of interest. It gives a small taste of being there.
Regards,... show all
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paris (reply)
Apr 14, 2008 15:36 EST by manxswede
Hi Mr Meeker
enjoying the posts and start of your journey, congrats on the success of having a service in Paris.Good to see Michael there although I know him as Steve!!! Maybe there are two!
safe travels
Paul Spenser (ucg sweden)
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