Chaplaincy of Aquitaine

2019

Christmas Carol service: lovely to see friends old and new

We enjoyed a wonderful Carol service on Dec 16th, welcoming Tony and the new Catholic priest in Sarlat, Père Christophe Lafaye. Dave and the rest of the team did an excellent job of putting the service together, which showed two videos from l'eglise Momentum, of Chris Tomlin songs: Il régnera (He shall reign forevermore) and A Christmas Alleluia, both in French. The readings alternated in French and English and every carol had some verses in French. The team all played their parts to make it run smoothly and be a fitting remembrance of that day long ago.

It was lovely to see old friends and meet new ones. The church was decorated with night lights, light ropes and greenery. At the end there was a welcome cup of vin chaud, coffee or mulled apple juice together with stollen, mince pies and spiced biscuits.

November 'Vide Grenier' - fundraising out in the community

On 3rd November we had a stall at the Vide Grenier in Le Bugue. In spite of bad weather conditions Jeff, Andrew and Rebecca managed to set up the stall and enough people came along for us to raise 228€ for our charity in Nepal.  Many thanks to those who came along and those who donated goods to sell.

Rejoicing with summer worship services

We are blessed with so many different worship leaders, who spoke on the following topics this summer:

Prayer, the feeding of the 5,000 and feeding on the Word of God which endures for eternity. Faith, which is something God gives us, it doesn't come by us working at it but the Bible helps us grow in faith. Our faith and confidence in Jesus allows us to do what we couldn't without him. Trust in God, our pilot, in Jesus he has shown us what our future will be like.

Testimony, harvest and gratitude, God's faithfulness, gratitude, a way of life that grows from God's faithfulness to us. A profound gratitude for life itself. God is the fountain and source of life. When we give thanks for the bread and the wine we acknowledge Jesus' presence at the centre of everything.

The children made a prayer die which had prompts for prayer on each side. There was also a prayer tree which we could hang our prayers onto.

2019 - Winter and spring services, thanks be to God!

2018

2018 - Autumn and winter services at Ste Nathalène

Our December Christmas Carol service was delightful: Everyone helped with the preparations arranging greenery, candles, lighting, hospitality etc. and it all looked wonderful. Thanks to all the musicians, readers, and Tony for leading the service. It was well attended by English and French friends and neighbours who all enjoyed some vin chaud and stolen. A lovely way to start the festivities remembering our Lord and saviour. Praises sing to God our King.

In early December, we were blessed to have Liz Morris with us again for our Prayer & Praise with Communion.Special thanks to Andrew and Rebecca for literally guiding her safely to Ste. Nathalene's via a route that bypassed the "Yellow Vests" demonstrators in Sarlat!  Valerie led us in the Intercessions, which then concluded with the 16th century French song "Reveillez-Vous Les Bergers by Pastourelle ("The Wake-up Call") being sung and played on guitar by Henri, accompanied by Valerie on the hurdy gurdy. The song relates to the angel of the Lord instructing the shepherds to arise and spread the good news of the Lord's birth. It was a lovely musical prelude to the reading of the Creed from 1 Corinthians 15 and then the taking of communion at the Lord's table. It was a lovely service which we will all remember.

Rejoicing with summer services!

29th July - What a wonderful morning of Praise and Worship we had led by Sheila. We all read and interpret our Bibles in different ways and even after years of spending time studying the scriptures, it is surprising to find something new in them. Her talk was on prayer: When, how and where do we pray?

22nd July - David Albrecht went through the famous people in the readings - David, Paul, Jesus and the Disciples. They were very busy but Jesus said "Come with me to a quiet place and get some rest."  It is wise to retreat from the demands of others around us, to recharge our batteries, in prayer to God who is our source. We need to carry Jesus with us, show compassion and pray for others. 

15th July - Sheila Campbell asked us to ponder the situations, motives, actions, reactions of the various people in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Sheila also posed modern day dilemmas, where we may be tempted to justify 'passing by on the other side'.  Some laws can be broken for the greater good.  It is the spirit of the law, not the letter of the law that is important. Jesus extols us to show compassion, to act on it and go beyond what is needed - to go the extra mile. To put our neighbour first whatever their background.

1st July - Rev'd Gerald Rootham lead our Communion service, his sermon was on: Jesus heals at the pool of Bethesda. He raised the questions: 1) Am I willing to be changed by Jesus. 2) Do I show my gratitude to God? Lots of people are paralysed in heart or mind. Some are content with how they are, they have got used to it. However, there are issues in our lives that need to be changed, like bitterness and unforgiveness. Only Jesus can set us free - are we willing to let go of the habits that bind us?

Blessed spring services

17th June - Rev'd Tony Lomas lead the service. We walk by faith and not by sight. Tony used an analogy of a blind man using a guide dog, and the bond of trust between them. The guide dogs effectiveness would be reduced if the man wanted to keep some control. We need to wholly trust the Spirit. We impede God if we keep hold of parts of our lives and gifts. Also, a visiting couple shared a wonderful testimony about how their daughters friend had come to faith after a seed had been planted at a service here 5 years ago.

3rd June Prayer & Praise - Madeleine Holmes' inspirational sermon was 'Treasures in jars of clay'. This readily available pottery could become chipped, cracked or otherwise flawed - as can we- but could also become prized vessels - as can we- to carry water and spread God's life giving message.

20th May - Pentecost Praise with David Albrecht. Dave Wilton chose some very on topic songs as usual and the congregation raised their voices in song and prayers of thanksgiving. 

6th May - Prayer & Praise with Communion was led by Rev'd Tony Lomas. Tony's theme was about being chosen. This was emphasized by the Gospel reading from John 15:16 when Jesus said: "You did not choose me, but I chose you". After communion we were able to continue our fellowship with a Bring & Share lunch in bright sunshine. 

15th April - Prayer & Praise with Anne Penfold. The empty tomb to go with the empty cross. One a place of questions and sadness, the other a place of answers, hope and joy. The Apostles preached of the resurrection which gives hope and a secure future. There followed a hot lunch out side, what an enterprising bunch we are. 

1st April - Easter Prayer & Praise with Communion led by Rev'd Tony Lomas. We were joined by many visitors which was lovely. Tony preached on Mary and how she stayed behind at the tomb. There were 16 of us for an Easter meal at the local restaurant. 

18th - March Prayer & Praise with David Albrecht. John 12:24 ... unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. We were hosted by Dave and Jan which was so much warmer than the church. David chaired our Local Annual Meeting; welcome Kay onto the committee!

Thank you to all who give of their time and talents in order to make our services such a blessed time of worship and fellowship in Christ. Thank you to all who contribute to the meals, which allow us to continue our fellowship over lunch.

2017

Wonderful Christmas Carol service by candlelight

It was such a joy to join together for our annual bilingual Carol Service. We never tire of hearing the wonderful story of the predicted birth of our saviour and the Biblical accounts of his birth.  The singing of ancient and modern carols moves our heart and soul and rekindles our first love. Charlotte gave an excellent message about how God knows us best and gives us the greatest gift of Jesus Christ. God know Jesus would be rejected but he still gave his only son because he wanted to, that's how much he loves us. Thanks to all who came early to warm and decorate the church and for the mulled wine/fruit juice and stolen afterwards. 

Terrific August charity quiz night

Our thanks to Jeff and the Campbells for organizing a wonderful evening. Roger and Norman were on fine form as were ‘neat & tidy’ ably assisted by their granddaughter in the back room! The Auberge put on a tasty meal – lots of clean plates is a good sign! The table number flower decorations were very effective. Thanks to all who donated raffle prizes, it increases the amount we raise.

The grand total, after expenses for the quizmasters, meals and prizes was 290€ - a brilliant result. The money will be donated to New Dawn Nepal. Finally for those who weren’t able to come …. The winning team by 14 points was Andrew & Rebecca’s - well done!

Blessed Summer services

The family of Ste Nathalène have been enjoying the blessings of the summer visitors. We have received very good feedback from them, saying how surprising it is to find a vibrant fellowship, with up to date songs and a heart for exalting God, in rural France. Dave and Jan and others have done a brilliant job of leaf-letting the local campsites to advertise our services. We have been blessed by the various folk who have lead the services, all with something unique to offer. Thanks to all who are involved in our weekly summer services, which are always such a special time of worship, prayer, and fellowship.

God has been faithful in providing an abundant lunch to all who join us. It is lovely to hear of their church families in the UK and their personal journeys. It is a blessing to be part of their holiday experience. "Bonne continuation" as they say in France, wishing you well on this next part of your journey!

Warm welcome to Rev'd Andy and Annie Horlock in May

We were delighted to welcome Andy and Annie Horlock to Ste Nathalène for the first time at the service on on May 7th and hopefully not the last. They have recently bought a second home in the north west of the Dordogne. They have been friends of Gill and the Chaplaincy over the years.  They organised a ministry swap a few years ago where Andy took services at Limeuil, while Gill took services at his church in Lugano. Andy also served in Bordeaux last August.

Easter Prayer & Praise and fun!

The Easter service was led by Revd. Deacon Charlotte Sullivan. The reading was Matt 28:1-10 The empty tomb. How do we respond when miracles happen? Is our response sceptical or belief? Is it easier to believe in a miracle that happened two thousand years ago, than the same God doing the miraculous today? We are Easter people, this changes who we are. He has brought us out of death and into life. We no longer fear sin because he took away our sin. There can be joy in our lives, no matter what we are going through. As we face the confusion of this world, lets us fall at his feet and worship him with all our hearts.

We were joined by 6 adults and 4 children on holiday in the area. Beatrice and Joseph played the maracas with gusto. Alex and Harry did a word search in the shape of the cross. Thankfully the fun fair was not open so we didn’t have to compete with the music of the dodgems. It was too good a photo opportunity to miss! It was fun seeing the adults trying to get their legs in the little cars!

March Prayer & Praise and Local Annual Meeting

19th March Prayer & Praise with Communion led by Revd. Gill Strachan  

It was lovely to be reunited with all the family after various absences. Thank you to Jeff, Rosemary and Valerie for the readings, to Sheila for the intercessions and the musicians. In Isaiah we heard how the Israelites lost the plot when they were thirsty and took it out on Moses. How quickly they forgot how God had provided for them up to then. It is good for us to keep remembering God's past provision in our lives so we build our faith for his future provision.  The woman at Jacob's well had a gradual revelation of who Jesus was, v 9 you are a Jew, v 11 Sir ... are you greater than our father Jacob? v 19 Sir I can see you are a prophet. v 25 I know that the Messiah is coming. v 29 could this be the Messiah?  We too are called to be his witnesses. v 39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony. Are we sharing our testimonies with those around us? This was our final service in the Salle.

Gill chaired the meeting which followed the service, and commented on the faith and hearts on fire for our Lord which are manifest in this family of vibrant worshippers. It is a joy to serve when we realise we are working for the family business and not for an employer. We are not employees but co workers with Christ. The warmth of the reports was also commented on. We welcomed Jeff onto the committee. Sheila Campbell was elected as second Chaplaincy Council rep. Many thanks were given for all the commitment of those continuing in their various roles and for the generosity of this community. 

January 2017 Prayer for Christian Unity

We enjoyed a meaningful service of Prayer for Christian Unity in Sarlat. Rev'd Gill co-celebrated with Père Philippe (Roman Catholic) and Pasteure Elisabeth Brinkman (Protestant).

2016

Autumn Services

At our October Prayer & Praise with Holy communion lead by Revd' Gill Strachan, we broke with tradition and sat at the front of the church in a semi circle. We raised our voices to praise the Lord accompanied by music on CDs. Gill's reflections on the readings incorporated interactive discussions.  Thank you Anne for leading our intercessions and to Charlotte for the CD. We were pleased to be joined by a Phil and Mary who have moved to the Dordogne. There was just enough sun, to be able to enjoy lunch outside. Everyone enjoyed a bowl of warm homemade soup and bread, thank you Kay.

Reflection on summer church services

It never ceases to amaze me, what wonderful people God sends our way in the summer. The tourists return year on year and recommend us to their family and friends. They seek us out, via the web site or leaflets left at camp sites.  They are pleased to find contemporary worship in the middle of the French countryside. Some have joined us for several weeks while house hunting. Thank you Dave and Jan for giving up your Saturday mornings to do the leaflets drop.

I'm also astonished that the holiday home owners, offer to help and contribute so much to our worship. They live busy lives in the UK but are always willing to bless us with their service, rather than sitting back for a well earned rest from active church work. It says a lot about their devotion to our Lord and reflects where they are on their Christian journey. God is good and always exceeds our expectations.

We were delighted to have Colin and Sheila Campbell in our midst again, accompanied by Amber and Samuel. We missed Emily who was away on an archaeological dig so couldn't be with us this summer. Hannah was kept doubly busy assisting with the children's ministry and the music! Anne was very grateful for her help together with Mark and Sue. We looked forward to the children's show and tell at the end of the service. Anne had many imaginative ideas to inspire the adults and children - though we are always children of our Father! We had so many Dutch children in the first couple of weeks that we need to buy a Dutch Bible for next year.

The teaching we received from (in order of appearance!) Dave Wilton, David Albrecht, Revd. Cameron Watt, Revd, Robin Nash, Revd. Tony Lomas, Revd. Deacon Charlotte Sullivan was to the usual high standard, Biblicaly sound, inspired, informative, practical, encouraging, thank you all for sharing your revelations on the text. A big thank you to all who contributed to the weekly services, for the music group, intercessors, Sunday School, Readers and hospitality. Top marks for a top team!

Joyful July Services

On July 3rd, Rev'd Gill Strachan took a considered service with reverence. It was lovely to be engrossed in worship and the time flew by. The noon bells chimed as the names of the sick were read out. Gill has been ordained for 10 years now. We are blessed to have her as our Priest. Lunch cannot be described as a picnic. It is a feast of food fit for Sunday lunch.  We are well fed spiritually and nutritionally at Ste Nathalene!

During the service on July 17th, Anne Penfold spoke about Mary and Martha. How Mary paid gracious attention to her guest and Martha's distraction prevented her from being truly present with Jesus. All our activities take us away from resting and listening to Jesus. Trying to serve without being nurtured by His Word is like expecting an uprooted tree to produce fruit.  Jesus invites us all to sit and rest in his presence and know that we are loved and valued by God. Only one thing is needed - attention to our guest who is also our host who gives abundant gifts. Usually we seek to sit in the sun for lunch but at 32 degrees we sort the shade!

Spring Services: thankful for worship leaders and musicians

Anne led us in a very thoughtful service in April, which included shared encouraging testimonies of how God provides and even supplies ahead of the need. Alleluia. There were lots of familiar emotive hymns and songs. It was great to have the Watt family in our midst again. Thank you Emily for joining the music group and playing your flute. It was a glorious, sunny, blue sky day so we were able to share lunch together outside. 

On May 1st, Dave Wilton led us in a service of Prayer and Praise to our Lord. Dave talked eloquently on God's calling on our lives. He interspersed the message with illustrations from his own life, of the various ways God guides us.  If we follow God's lead, he opens up the way ahead. If we ask our Lord to show us what we should do; to give us a dream, then he will do it. If we act on the vision he gives us, we will see him move. We will see him open hearts, we will see his Kingdom advance. You and I can make a difference.

Blessed Easter service

Rev'd Deacon Charlotte led us through a wonderful Easter service, celebrating Christ's victory over death and our redemption. Dave had chosen some lovely songs to accompany our journey. Valerie took the intercessions, Chris operated the overheads and Andrew administered the chalice for the first time. Well done team.

March Local Annual Meeting: new Committee

Following our Local Annual Meeting on 20th March, we are pleased to confirm the new committee and roles for 2016.

Alexandra Billing continues as Local Warden. She takes up Chaplaincy Rep and Chap Aid Rep while continuing in her other roles. Rebecca Easdale was voted on as a Local Warden and Andrew Easdale is continuing as Treasurer. Dave Wilton continues on the committee and leading worship. Jan Wilton has taken on the role of Pastoral Care co coordinator.

The committee have also taken on many other tasks, some new, others continuing, to ensure the smooth running of the Ste Nathalène Centre. This terrific team would like to thank all of you who contribute to the life of the church. Your support is invaluable and very much appreciated. Keep up the good work and underpinning prayer for the Ste Nathalène sector.

We would like to thank those willing to continue in their roles and those who have taken up new ones. All the work Colin and Sheila Campbell have contributed to Ste Nathalène was acknowledged, as they step down from the committee this year. They will of course, continue to contribute to the life of our Centre. Our prayers are with them during this difficult time. We would also like to thank Gill, our priest in charge, for your love, support and guidance.

January 2016 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service

Christian Unity was the reason for the evening's celebration, and judging by the volume of chat going on before the service a lot of unification was going on. Père Philippe nearly had to shout “Order” to quieten everyone down so we could begin!

Understandably, many of us didn't know each other, but that didn't matter. The only time it became apparent was in the singing. With hymns in English and in French it did have an element of childhood pantomime to it, with “now children can the boys sing louder than the girls or can the girls sing louder than the boys?” to it. The singing honours were about even, I am glad to say. In fact, as we started with a hymn in Latin and sang the Kyrie Eleison in Greek we all actually sang in four languages. What a blessed celebration of unity and outreach, despite the rainy weather in Sarlat.

We give thanks for blessed winter worship services

Thank you to Gill for taking the service (at the salle des fêtes next door to the church) on January 17th, and to Rebecca for playing the keyboard. Many of us were singing the songs all the way home! We were warm in the Salle but a little lost in such a large space, as several of our regulars were away or poorly. We are grateful to the commune who allow us to use the salle in the winter, when our heaters are insufficient to heat the church.

We had a wonderful service with Charlotte at the Wilton's home on 6th December. We pray that our life and services are where people can come to know and experience the love of Jesus for themselves. Our love for Jesus and each other should be visible to others and draw them to Him. 

2015

Delightful Carol Service

The bilingual Carol service went really well on the 17th December. Gill and Charlotte were joined by Père Philppe Demoures. Dave, Jan, Rebecca and Henri played for us. Thank you to them all for the practice time that we don't see, but our Father sees. Thanks to Dave for preparing the service for the projector and to Sheila for operating it.

The committee did a wonderful job of decorating the church. Sheila made the mulled wine which was delicious and very welcome. The song 'Mary did you know' was played via the computer and was very touching.

Everyone left with the warmth that comes from knowing, we are greatly blessed, highly favoured and beloved by God.

Joyous July services!

We were delighted to have Father Robin Nash back with us on July 19th, and taking the Family Communion service. His sermon was on the good Shepherd. We were joined by several Dutch families on holiday in the area. It was lovely to have Robin and Victoria back in our midst after a prolonged stay in the UK.

We had our first service led by newly ordained Revd. Deacon Charlotte Sullivan on July 12th. What a wonderful uplifting joyous Service. A good challenge on rest for us too! Whether on holiday or permanently here in the Dordogne, do we rest in God? When we are so busy during the holiday season, how important it is to rest. The whole Service was a time of special Worship as we praised our God for the many blessings he gives to us. Everyone enjoyed the children’s slot even though no one was under 16! Our bring and share was a delight to enjoy fellowship together. When we rest, God can restore us!

Thank you card received

We were joined at the July 5th ecumenical service with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters, by a couple on holiday who sent this thank you note:

Dear Sheila,

We just wanted to say how  much we enjoyed worshipping with you on Sunday morning and joining you for lunch.  Having been raised as an Anglican, served as an elder in the Church of Scotland and then trained with AOG we particularly loved the ecumenical service and joining in in both French and English. You have a very welcoming fellowship there and Alison and I are so glad we found you for such a special service!

With Every Blessing, Pastor Chris Barratt, Gatehouse Community Church

July 21st Banagramme games fundraiser

We met at Colin and Sheila's on a very hot afternoon. We sat at tables arranged under the shade of the trees. Three teams played eachother on one table and two teams on another table. The table with two teams were much slower to get through the letters to finish their crossword so were last in for tea! Derek and Christine and Andrew and Rebecca were the joint winners. Colin was in dictionary corner!

55€ was raised for our charity this year: A New Dawn, Nepla project. See 'Our Charities' tab for more information.

July 5th Ecumenical Service

The service was led by Rev'd Gill Stachan and Abbé Philippe Demoures from Sarlat. This was our first joint service hosted by Ste Nathalène. We usually join together for the Week of Christian Unity and Women's' World Week of Prayer. These ecumenical services have been held at Temniac. 

The readings and songs were in both French and English. Philippe gave the homily on 2 Cor 12: 7-10 on our weakness, which Gill had translated into English. Many thanks to all who participated to ensure that this was a wonderful occasion and a fitting witness to the Christian ethos of unity. Thank you to Dave for putting everything onto the computer for the projection.

Many of us stayed to lunch which was out side in the shade, a lovely time of fellowship.

May Quiz Night

Quiz Night took place on Friday 22nd May at the Auberge de Roustigou, Archingnac. There were six tables of six contestants, plus a valiant effort by the Campbells. We started with the food, always a good place to start! There was an escalope of dinde served with pommes saladais, with haricot verts wrapped in bacon - I expect you wish you'd come now!

Roger and Norman, our quiz masters did an excellent job, together with the brains behind the quartet - the back room girls! Rule number 4 is that the quiz masters are always right! Use of Jokers meant that the end result could not be predicted at half time. There was a welcome break for an ice cream desert, as a sugar rush was required by some to get the old grey matter going!

Our very grateful thanks to Sheila and Colin for arranging everything, it all went well and a good time was had by all. The evening, which included a raffle raised 320€ for the project in Nepal supported by www.a-newdawn.org

Farewell to the Vrolijk family

Our service on the 7th June was a fond farewell to the Vrolijk family. It was nice to be in Dave and Jan Wilton's home for this occasion. They are blessed with a heart to share what God has given them and blessed with a room big enough to accommodate 45 people! Thank you very much.  Paul's sermon can be found on the web site. It was a wonderful time of family worship praising Jesus and sharing Hoy communion. We lingered over a bring and share lunch, everyone reluctant to pull themselves away from the fellowship.

Our Service on the 21st June was the start of a regular Prayer and Praise format. It was very well received by our regulars and visitors. Dave delivered a helpful talk on unity, around the headings of authority, attitude, affection and aims. 

Holy Week in Sainte Nathalène

We shared a Tenebrae Service on Maundy Thursday, which was held at Colin and Sheila’s home. Tenebrae is a service of gathering shadows. It is very moving as it leads us from the last supper through to the crucifixion. As a passage from scripture is read, some candles are extinguished, until we are in darkness. Then there is a time of silence reflecting on thoughts of Holy Week and the passages of scripture we have just heard.We then say the Lord's Prayer - still in the darkness and then when the main light on the Cross is lit i.e. the light of the world, we finish by singing :- There is a green hill far away . . . And finish with the Grace.         

A Stations of the Cross service took place in church on Good Friday. We moved round the church reading from the Bible, the account of Christ’s journey to the cross and tomb.   

Easter Sunday was a beautiful sunny day and the alter was decorated with spring flowers, reminding us of the promise of new life in Christ. Our thanks to Sheila who led our service.The children produced a newspaper report from the four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection. We had a lovely picnic together in the sunshine. 

Celebration of renewal and blessing of wedding vows

Congratulations to John and Judy Heasman on their 40th Wedding Anniversary. They renewed theirs vows, exchanged and blessed rings and spoke a few special words which they shared with all present. Finally they signed a specially prepared card with all their friends, too. A wonderful day and great memories for all who were there.

Their French neighbours decorated their hedge and entrance for this occasion, it was a great surprise for them both. They received many plants and flowers and as they are great gardeners, we are sure they will be nurtured for a lasting memory.

Week of Prayer for christian Unity service at Temniac

We joined together with fellow Christians on the 20th January at Temniac for a bilingual service.  This year the service was produced by the churches of Brazil. Their theme was 'The Well is Deep' John 4: 1-42.

2014

October 17th - Quiz Night in Archignac

On the 18th October, we had a very nice meal at the Auberge de Roustigou in Archignac.  There were seven teams of six, trying to retrieve those elusive answers to the obscure questions and debating which joker to play! We were in the very entertaining and capable hands of Roger and Norman. 

There was a bountiful array of bottles for the well supported raffle. Thanks to the generosity of those who attended, we raised 207€ for Cancer Support France, Restro du Coeur and Emmaus.

October Harvest celebration

We celebrated Harvest on 19th October.  Thank you to everyone who donated long life groceries which will be given to Restro du Coeur. Sheila Campbell's talk was on sowing seeds for the harvest of souls for the Kingdom of God.

Our church family at the September WorshipFest

The family of Ste Nathaléne were well represented at the Chaplaincy Worship Fest which took place on 27th September. It took a lot of time and preparation to make this event such a success. Thank you to all who worked behind the scenes arranging and setting up, also to Tony for the venue.  I'm sure Robin and Victoria won the prize for the most miles travelled!

Our music group of Robin, Dave, Rebecca, Henri and Jan were joined by Steve Long and Tony Fuller, with some help from Boaz.  Davita, Hannah, Lydia and Rebecca helped with the action songs to keep us all in line!  'I've got to - woo, woo-  praise the Lord!' is my mantra now!  Dave prepared the Power point and Victoria operated it.  Victoria also organised a table with activities for the children. Colin and Sheila did a fantastic job with the catering for the second year. That hot potato will be passed on next time!

A big thank you to Paul for his part in arranging the event, bringing together the people who shared their testimonies and projects. His sermon was delivered in his usual humorous accessible, informative, helpful style. All in all it was a well worth while and encouraging event which made us feel like one big happy family!

Picnic after July service

On the 6th July we welcomed to our service some members of the Sorges/Chancelade Center. We were also joined by summer visitors. We had lunch together outside following the service.

June service at Temniac, Sarlat

On 1st June we had a change of venue and met at the Centre de Notre Dame de Temniac in Sarlat. Rev'd Gill Strachan took the service of Holy Communion. Afterwards we had lunch on the terrace in the shade. 

We had a great afternoon of worship together at the Wilton's recently. Kay sent this photo, showing Glen, the Intern Theology student from Indiana who has been staying with them this week. He shared with us all a little more about himself and his reasons for coming to France. Glen is married to Jessica, and has two little girls, Elizabeth and Hannah. He has two years to go before finishing his Masters degree. 

April services and gift of a lectern fall

Our thanks to Heather Fishwick who made us a lectern fall. This beautiful gift will be an encouraging and inspirational focus in our services. It was blessed by Gill Starchan at our Holy communion Service.

Leading up to Easter we had a reflective, emotional Tenebraie service at the home of Colin and Sheila Campbell.  On Good Friday we followed Christ's journey to the cross with readings from the Bible at each Station of the Cross.  Madeline Holmes led our Easter day service and spoke about us being part of the early church.

March 2nd House Meeting

On Sunday March 2nd we met once again at Dave and Jan Wilton’s house. A good number gathered from the various corners of the chaplaincy and beyond to worship in this wonderful setting.

2013

Quiz Evening in Archignac 

On Friday, 25 October 2013  we enjoyed a meal and quiz at Auberge du Roustigou, Archignac. This raised 210€ for Cancer Support France, Resto du Coeur and Emmaus. Many thanks to Colin & Sheila Campbell for organising the evening. Also to our quiz masters 'Ant & Dec' for an excellent quiz and the back room girls who did the scoring.

Interfaith dialogue experience at Temniac: Sunday Oct 13th 

The Centre Notre Dame de Temniac– Sarlat, held a Recontre interreligiouse. Toutes spiritualités invitées au dialogue on the 13th October 2013.Temniac is a centre for encouraging the world religions to meet and in a loving way to discover the differences. For us as Christians, we are the only Faith where God has come to earth. All other religions are waiting for God to come.Therefore, as Christian Brothers and Sisters we need to reach out to those who do not know Jesus Christ as the Son of God, explaining, gently, why we have this personal relationship with Our Saviour. 

The interfaith day was a moving and memorable experience, where about 65 people of different faiths (Tibetan & Vietnamese Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Baha’ie, Catholic, Anglican & non-religious) came together and explained who they were and shared a text of their tradition. There were times of silent prayer between each leader’s presentations. After a picnic lunch the afternoon resumed with sharing in small groups, to share with each other our personal reactions and thoughts on the morning's experience.

The aim of these days is to talk to people of other faiths so we can demonstrate that in our world of tensions and perpetual conflicts, fraternity and communion are possible. For future events, it is hoped that information will be available before the day, to help our understanding, as it is difficult to follow it all in French.There will be two more of these Services/Meetings at Temniac in March and April 2014. Temniac and Soeur Frederique would be delighted to welcome more of us from Ste Nathalène. This is an opportunity for us as a Church Family to reach out to the French community in our area. We were delighted to meet members from ACAT - you may remember that we had a joint service in June with them.

- Sheila Campbell

Harvest Festival 

Our previous service was Harvest Festival/Creation tide which was well attended.

A great Worship Service led by Madeleine Holmes who challenged us all on how we care for our environment. An appropriate text for Harvest. It was a delight to see so many visitors and children.

A good contribution of tinned and long term packages were donated to Resto de Coeur. Thanks to Colin & Sheila for delivering the goods. Photograph kindly taken by Victoria Jones

June Prayer Vigil with ACAT 

On the night of 22nd to 23rd June ecumenical Prayer vigils were held throughout France organised by ACAT (l’Action des chrétiens pour l’abolition de la torture), a Christian organisation similar to Amnesty international.  They were organised to coincide with the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.  For the first time the Sarlat group asked our congregation to get involved and we jointly organised a bilingual service with full translation on powerpoint.   This was a time of praying for people around the world who are imprisoned or tortured - for their release and the relief of their suffering.  We prayed for the victims, their families and also the perpetrators.

We were grateful to musicians Henri and Valerie Peyrusse for providing the background music for the meditations, including the use of the traditional French hurdy gurdy and bagpipes which was enthusiastically received by the entire congregation. Many requested that we could sing next year at the Prayer Vigil. We hope to hold a joint prayer vigil again next year.

June service held at Temniac

On 2 June our Holy Communion Service was held at the Temniac spiritual centre. Rev'd Paul Vrolijk taught us about Lectio Divina, and offered to hold a half day or day conference, so that we may use Lectio Divina in our daily studies. The service was uplifting and challenging and all who attended were delighted at the hospitality of the sisters, who also attended our bring and share lunch after Worship.

The congregation comprised many visitors, who were invited to join us for our fellowship meal. Many thanks to all who made this such a special ecumenical experience.

March service was full of joy and fellowship!

On March 17th, despite it being very cold, in fact it was warmer outside, a group of 17 friends and family, met to worship together at St Nathalène's Church.

We were blessed by the leadership of Madeleine, who, gave us much to think about, and take home with us.

We had some wonderful musicians who stepped in to support us all, and I think that we sang our hearts out to God. We finished our service with coffee and cake, before making our journeys home. We continue to thank God for his continued love for us all.

Jesus calming the storm

As part of Paul’s sermon on 3rd February we had the chance to look at this wonderful painting.

Artist's comment...quoted by Paul...

"At first glance this painting appears to be an abstract expressionist version of a bird in flight or a spirit. Yet upon closer examination the white ball in the sky becomes the moon, the ship and mast become visible and the small image of a man on the front of the boat becomes evident. The overwhelming storm is surely going to take the vessel down in seconds. The severity of the threatening storm is felt as the viewer is drowning in the waves. The symbolism here is that life is an over-whelming storm. Yet the cross, though it appears far off, even insignificantly small, brings a great calm, just as Jesus did for the disciples. If God is in our boat (life), we have nothing to fear. If the viewer fails to see themselves about to be overcome by the vast storm then the painting fails them."

This had so much resonance for us: both in our personal lives where many of us feel constantly buffeted by what life is throwing at us and also in our church family where we desparately need more help!

Service for Christian Unity at Temniac

On Tuesday evening there was a bilingual service for Christian Unity at the Centre Notre Dame de Temniac, in Sarlat. The service was led by Abbé Philippe Demoures who joined us for our Carol Service.

Although there were only 13 of us there, it was a very warm and moving experience. I really enjoyed the opportunity to worship with Christians from other churches and backgrounds. The service had been written by young Christians in India and focused on the Dalit community.

A date for your diary – next year's service will be held at Temniac on Thursday 23rd January, at 19h30.

January service held chez Kay and Glenn Doney

On Sunday 6th January we had our first ‘proper’ service in a home setting. Kay and Glenn Doney, who regularly host our Fellowship group, opened their home for more formal worship.

Thirteen people gathered around the Altar, set with the Chalice and paten, the cross to one side, to worship God in songs and praise, accompanied by Henri on the guitar, Valerie on her hurdy gurdy, and Tony on percussion – wow we were so blessed.

All were invited to share in Holy Communion led by Rev'd Gillian Strachan. Thank you to all those who came, some of whom travelled a long way, together we made it a special time of worship to our God.

2012

December Carol Service - A series of firsts

Ste Nathalène carol service held on 16th December was a series of firsts. It was the first time that Madeleine had led our carol service, the first time we had had a truly bilingual service with Valerie leading in French and the first time that Abbé Philippe Demores had represented our local Roman Catholic church.

It was also the first time that we had had a Youtube video as part of our talk. This managed, without words, to give a very clear message to love our neighbour. (Click here to check out the link). Sadly it was also the first time that Kevin was unable to lead our music but Avril Topp and Geoff Pickersgill kindly stepped in at the last minute to support our regular musicians Henri and Tony.

It was a warm winter evening unfortunately not reflected by the temperature inside the church. Despite the heaters and the candles we could see our breath as we were singing but we all left with a warm glow in our hearts even if our feet were numb – and the homemade mince pies (another first), mulled wine and fellowship in the Salle de Fête soon solved that problem.

Summer church

From 15th July services were held every week at St Nathalène until the end of August. It was wonderful to welcome many summer visitors; this time of weekly worship greatly blessed our regular congregation.

Renewal of Vows

On 17th June we had to thread our way through the annual brocante and ask for stalls to be moved before we could even enter the church!

However once inside, led by Paul we celebrated with Keith and Elizabeth Spencer as they renewed their marriage vows after 26 happy years together.

Many of Keith and Elisabeth’s friends joined us for the service and we all enjoyed fellowship together afterwards with a picnic under the trees outside the church.

Other bits n bobs

It has been a busy few months at Ste Nathaléne, and we are all really pleased to feel
a change in the weather, as we have endured some pretty chilly services throughout December!  

For the last couple of months we have been enjoying services in the small chancel, in the hope that it would be easier to heat than trying to warm up the whole of the church. This has worked well, we managed to pack our congregation into the small area and we project our services onto the wall as we no longer have room for the screen.

Unfortunately there is no room for our musicians and they stay in the main body of the church, their wonderful music masks the sound of their chattering teeth and we are all so grateful for their commitment and feel very blessed to have such a wonderful worship group.

At the end March a number of the congregation got together and gave the church a really good spring clean. It now looks  (and smells) wonderful. A big thankyou to Heather, Lenore, Don, Sheila, Colin and Judith for all your hard work.

On the 1st April, we had a fantastic, uplifting but also challenging service taken by Paul. This was followed by our AGM. Thanks were given to all those who had done so much throughout the year, things are not always easy at Ste Nats as we are a new and relatively small congregation and are separated by great distances.  However, thanks to the prayers and the commitment of the congregation there is now a real feeling of community and family and for that we feel truly blessed.

Thanks were expressed to the two committee members who were standing down (Valerie Peyrusse and Bob Topp) and thanks and welcome to Kay Doney and Lenore Howell who have joined the committee.

We are also delighted that Madeleine Holmes will be coming frequently to lead our services and we look forward to seeing her much more in 2012/2013

Holy Week

Maundy Thursday
On Thursday 5th April we had a Tenebrae service at Colin and Sheila’s house. Tenebrae is a Latin word meaning “shadows”.  The readings of the service commemorate the events of Wednesday, Thursday and Good Friday of Holy Week:  On Wednesday, the Last Supper, the betrayal and arrest; on Thursday, Christ’s passion, trial and death; on Good Friday, Christ’s burial and the scattering of Jesus’ disciples.
Twelve of us met together and found the service to be a time of great reflexion, prayer and
fellowship. We had a real feeling of God’s peace and  presence as we worked our way through the scripture.

Good Friday
Several of us met together in the church at 2pm for a bilingual service of Stations of the cross. Our great Thanks go to Madeleine Holmes and Henri and Valerie Peyrusse for leading us. The two services we have had this week have really enriched Holy Week for many of us and we look forward to sharing great Joy together on Sunday.

Ste Natters Matters
We now have a small news sheet, which is emailed out to the congregation each week. It contains the details for the next service and also any special thoughts or prayers that any of us may have had during the week and would like to share.
Each of us is writing a small article on “our daily devotions”. Its been really interesting to read the different ways in which each of us connect with the Lord each day.
We give a huge thanks to Judith for developing Ste Natters Matters, its now become a great way to keep in touch during the week for those of us who live here, and for those who can only spend part of the year in France it also helps to keep them up to date with all our news. Judith will not be able to continue during the summer as she is busy with her tea shop but if you would like to take up this really important role in the life of our church please contact Kevin.

Women's World Day of Prayer

Many thanks to all who came and supported the day of prayer last Saturday.

It was great to have so many family from Ste Nats there.  A really big thank you to Kevin and Robin for providing the music and getting us all truly “praising the Lord” during the final hymn!

We hope that this event will become a yearly celebration and a service in which we can meet and worship together with our French brothers and sisters.  It was a joy to be able to share a time of fellowship and cake afterwards and meet friends new and old.

Our thanks go to the Sisters at Temniac. They are always so enthusiastic and accommodating and have been great friends to us, they hosted this event free of charge.
The event raised 267€ to help support the projects in Malaysia

2011

Carol Service

Our bilingual Carol Service  Sunday 18th December 

Many thanks to all those who helped to organise and who took part in our Carol service. It was a very moving and special event for all who were there.

The church looked amazing in the candle light and this year was warm and comfortable thanks to our new heaters.

It was fantastic to see all our regular friends and many new faces. As usual the tableau was a delight and added a special "something" to the prodeedings !!

Following the service there was a great time of fellowship with mulled wine and mince pies and the chatter and laughter went on until the early evening.

Quiz night at le Thé Vert Daglan

The Quiz Night at “le Thé Vert”, Daglan, was a great success. Ant and Dec, the quizmasters, were on fine form; a really convivial evening which raised 270€  for our charity “Hou Moed”.

Prayer Focus

“The creeping wilderness will soon take over that church that trusts in its own strength and forgets to watch and pray.” A.W Tozer

The idea for a prayer focus day was born because of a number of pressing issues facing the congregation at Ste Nats. It was inspired by a book that Kevin, and I have recently read called “Red Moon Rising” by Pete Greig.

Pete Grieg is one of the founder members of a prayer group called 24/7.

24/7 started in 1999 in a church in Chichester UK. Pete plus a few others in the congregation felt God was calling them to pray continuously. They decided to follow their hearts and pray for one month solidly, splitting each day into 24 hourly prayer slots and asking people to sign up for one slot. Not only was it a success for their church it grew and grew with many churches taking on the idea, and they now have many 24/7 prayer rooms praying throughout the world. They are getting some truly stunning answers to prayer, and those who pray are being inspired to deepen their own relationships with God .

We are a fairly new congregation at Ste Nats and we now have some fairly specific worries, for example,

• Where we are going to meet during the coming winter. The church is beautiful but freezing in the winter. The small Salle de Fêtes, where we met last year during the winter will no longer be available to us and we are unsure about the availability of the large Salle de Fêtes as it is often rented out for local functions.

• We have a very small team that prepares the church and the services each week. The weekly services were beginning to take their toll. We could see tension and exhaustion all around us and felt it important to point this out to the regular congregation as well as discussing and praying about it together to avoid any flash points.

Before making any decisions about the winter venue, we thought this would be a good time to mobilize ourselves in prayer, to ask God first for his help and guidance

So From 11am Saturday 20th August until 11am Sunday 21st August, we held 24 hr prayer focus for Ste Nathalene.

We chose this date because the 21st is the day on the Chaplaincy Prayer Calendar that Ste Nats is prayed for.

The 24/7 groups normally meet in a room which is well set up and conducive to prayer. They have bibles, books, candles, cd’s etc. We unfortunately do not have the luxury of a separate room available at Ste Nats, all we have is a cupboard.

So we decided to produce a small booklet, to give to all those taking part, and encourage them to pray at home. The booklet contained our prayer needs plus some “focal points”; some scripture, prayers and music suggestions. It was made clear to all that these were only suggestions, we also gave away small candles that could also be lit during the prayer slots to act as another focal point.

To publicise the prayer focus, we emailed our congregation, it was added to the Chaplaincy prayer chain asking for wider prayer throughout the Chaplaincy, and we contacted the central office for 24/7 asking for the event to be put on the bulletin boards in all the different Prayer rooms.

During the fortnight running up to the day we had a small slot in each of the Sunday services and explained the idea, the background and the specific needs asking (well begging really) the congregation to get involved and support it.

Feed back was essential to us, and we asked those praying to let us know if they felt particularly drawn to a place or a word or a piece of scripture. On Sunday 21st at the end of the 24hrs we had a small box where feed back could be posted or if people preferred Kevin’s email was on the small booklet so he could be contacted directly. The prayer ministry teams were also ready to pray with anyone who felt they wanted to share any specific needs or hurts which the hour of prayer may have brought to the surface.

At the very beginning we were unsure if we would fill all the slots, we did have eight people who were willing to take any slot, at any time and between them would cover the whole 24hours if needed.

The requests for a slot flooded in. We had people from around the Chaplaincy, from our regular congregation, from our summer visitors and some from a prayer group in the UK. Some of our summer visitors went home and told their local congregations about us and we had four churches praying for us.

It occurred to me on the Friday as I took the final request for a slot that we were going to be 32 people, 8 more than we had originally asked for! It felt like such a blessing. I wondered if because of the faith and commitment of the original eight that we had been blessed with an extra eight!

All the slots filled with relative ease including those in the middle of the night! I wondered if there may be an insomnia problem in Aquitaine?

We had some people who felt called to fast during the 24 hours and we had others who felt dawn to the church and spent their hour at Sainte Nathalène.

We have had much feed back not only from the hour people spent with God in prayer, but also in the days leading up it as people read the booklet and began to prepare themselves. On Sunday there were conversations going on all around the church as people shared their experiences with each other, it felt exciting and encouraging. Once we have received all the feed back, there will be a time of discernment involving the committee and the congregation.

The 24hrs of prayer has been a time of great blessing for Ste Nathalène and it has certainly helped to bring us closer together as a church family. Charlotte Sullivan August 2011

Baptism

Sunday 24th July was a very special day for the congregation at Sainte Nathalène as we celebrated our first Baptism.

And we were truly blessed that the canditate for Baptism was the very beautiful, lively and well behaved Elena Batey as you may be able to tell from the photos, she stole our hearts !

Elena was joined by her older brother, her parents, grandparents and other family and friends. As some of Elena's family are French there were many bilingual moments throughout the service and a great time of joy, worship and celebration was had by all.

We thank Rev'd Caroline Gordon Walker and the Batey family for allowing us to share in this beautiful moment in Elena life and we continue to keep her in our prayers.

Hou Moed

WE CANNOT PROTECT THESE CHILDREN AGAINST THE HURT THEY MAY EXPERIENCE LATER IN LIFE, BUT WE CAN GIVE THEM TODAY SO THAT THE WARMTH OF THEIR CHILDHOOD DAYS WILL ALWAYS BE A SOURCE OF COMFORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO THEM. ( Hou Moed )

Last Sunday, July 3rd we had a very special service at Ste Nathalène. Along with our normal service which was led by Sheila Campbell,we were joined by our good friends Janet and Trevor Joyner. They have just returned to France from South Africa where they spend part of their year. Janet came back with the latest news and an interesting and heart warming presentation of their work at the Hou Moed Centre in Hermanus.

As a congregation Hou Moed has been our chosen charity for the last 3 years which we support through Chap-Aid. Hou Moed is a drop in centre for street children in Hermanus . It not only provides a hot meal every day for over 90 children, but, you get the impression from listening to Janet that the centre is a beacon of hope for many of these children who are surviving in incredibly difficult situations in the local township.

For many of the children the centre offers opportunities that would normally not be available to them. Such as the young man who had a passion and a natural ability in Karaté thanks to the staff at the centre he went on to compete in Europe and now works in a martial arts school helping to teach others. The two young boys who were spotted singing in the centre’s choir and were subsequently offered a place at a music school. The two youngsters with medical conditions that were luckily spotted early enough by the staff that they could be successfully treated. There were many heart warming stories such as these.

The centre also offers arts and crafts, sewing, small building projects and tennis classes to the youngsters, they love to sing and dance and they take part in a large production of “the Passion” every easter. It’s really nice to get first hand updates and progress at the centre from a member of our congregation working alongside the children.  We also find it useful as Janet and Trevor can give us an ideas of specific needs at the centre, which helps to really drive our fundraising. In one of the photos, you can see the new cooker which was bought with money raised by the congregation in 2009.

There is still so much to do and great need at the centre but we hope to continue to support them in their work. At the end of the service there was a retiring collection which raised €140.00

Treasure Hunt

Thursday 9th. June a small but intrepid band of explorers navigated their way round the car treasure hunt route devised by Robin and Victoria returning to the Thé Vert for an evening barbeque.

We were led through beautiful, and to the majority, unknown secenery and villages of the Dordogne south and west of Daglan.Optional coffee stops were frequent and welcome and the balance between driving and exploring on foot was perfect. To use an overworked phrase it really was the taking part not the winning which was the pleasure.

Recognising the effort and time in planning the route and the dissapointingly small number who attended we are planning to re-run the event in the early autumn and would encourage all who possibly can to join us.

Please watch this space, the chaplaincy website and weekly emails for further details.

Easter Sunday "Service of Light" He is Risen Alleluia !!

We are very grateful to Revd Caroline Gordon-Walker and Robin Jones who led us in an Easter day “Service of Light”.

The Children beautifully decorated the alter and a crown of thorns with flowers before taking part in an Easter Egg decorating competition. After the service many stayed behind and enjoyed a bring and share lunch, fellowship and a feast of chocolate together.

Stations of the Cross Friday 22nd April

A bilingual Stations of the Cross at Ste Nathalène on Good Friday 22nd April, was well attended and beautifully led in English by Judith and in French by Valerie.

Robin accompanied us at each station with a moving rendition of "When I see the blood" by Godfrey Birtill. 

Barn dance

Friday 1st April--- it was time to dust of your stetson and your cowboy boots for the annual Ste Nats Barn dance ! Great fun and much hysteria was had by all. We had live music thanks to Kevin, Kate, Roger and Henri. Colin and Sheila did a fantastic job in calling the steps and then patiently disentangled those who went astray.... Thanks also go to Judith, who served a delicious chilli for supper, and all her merry helpers who waited on the tables, and also to Bob and Avril who ran the bar and the raffle....

Thank you to all those who came along and supported us.

Our Videos

Prayer focus August 2011

Ste Nathalène 24hr Prayer focus from Charlotte Sullivan on Vimeo.

In September 2010, we were asked to prepare a short presentation of our church and congregation for a visit by Bishop Geoffrey.  We decided to prepare a short film as we thought pictures can always say so much more than words!

Ste Nathalène September 2010 from charlotte sullivan on Vimeo.

The song Go Light Your World is performed by Kathy Troccoli and can be purchased  here