Dauner News Update January 31, 2008
Marseilles Church Co-hosts Prayer Meeting for Unity
On January 25, to mark the 100th anniversary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the Chapel of Fuveau Church of Christ organized, in conjunction with a nearby catholic parish, an evening of prayer centered on Jesus’ own request : “I pray that all of them may be one.” The program including Scripture readings, hymns, silent and verbal prayers, and was presided over jointly by two local priests, Philippe and myself.
Over a hundred people attended the event, which took place in a 17th-century parish church located in a neighboring village. The initial reaction of the participants could hardly have been more positive; the beleagered state of the Christian faith in French society has impressed on believers the need to take more seriously the will of Jesus for his church. I fully trust that God will bless this first feeble effort and that it will bear fruit in new opportunities to announce the gospel in the neighborhood.
Multimedia Revelation Premiere Set for February 29
Leap Day comes around only once every four years. What is planned for Leap Day, 2008, is an event that will take place only once in the history of the Marseilles church : the public premiere of The Apocalypse of saint John. This 75-minute multimedia presentation — images, animation, narration and musical soundtrack — retraces all the visions of John’s revelation.
The purpose of this production is both evangelistic and pre-evangelistic. A video projection is easy to invite friends to, and the multimedia format corresponds to the way people learn nowadays, especially the younger generations.
Of course, a work on Revelation will appeal first of all to those who are already believers. But the general fascination with apocalyptic themes and with the long artistic tradition surrounding John’s visions will no doubt ensure that many unchurched people will let themselves be tempted to come.
French President Acknowledges Europe’s Christian Heritage
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has spoken out in support of recognizing “the Christian roots of Europe.” At a meeting of his political party, the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, Sarkozy said that leaders of the European Union were wrong to exclude an explicit reference to Christianity from the language of the proposed EU constitutional treaty. (The French voters rejected that treaty in a 2005 referendum.)
“We erred when we turned our back on the past, and in a certain sense turned our back on our roots, which are obvious,” Sarkozy said. The French leader stated that without a basis in Christian culture, the European Union will have no firm foundation.“If we reject our past, we are not ready for our future.”
Sarkozy has recently come under heavy criticism from the political establishment for his repeated remarks about the benefits of religious belief and practice for civil society. His endorsement of a policy that moderates the aggressively secularizing stance of the French state has earned him accusations of “wanting to reinstate the Inquisition”.
As I begin my 37th year of ministry in France, Prisca and I want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of you who have stood behind and with us. Your interest, prayers, moral and financial support have warmed our hearts and held up our arms over the years. It is an honor for us to serve the Master with you.
May the Father bless you and grant you his everlasting peace.
Max and Prisca