The Church Next Door

Sanan and I decided to visit the church next door this Sunday morning. When the bells rang at 10h30(which are just outside our kitchen window) we walked around the corner, through the wooden doors and stepped back in time a few hundred years. Le Foyer de l’Âme (The Soul’s home – what a great name!) subscribes to classic Reformed Protestant service. All of the hymns came from  a Genevan Psalter (16th century), which means they have those quaint but quirky melodies like the original doxology.

The building is lovely, having been recently repainted to its original color of yellow with turquoise ironwork. It has an amazing tracker organ (meaning non-electric, all key are connected to the pipes with wooden rods) which was recently restored (there’s even  a book published about the it).

The church appeared to be very healthy. 75% full, very middle class, lots of youth. In fact they gave a report of their summer trip to Madagascar. The pastor seems like a great guy. I was pleased to see after the service that he had blue jeans on under his black robe.

As I listened to the sermon (which was “bracketed” by a little organ piece before and after) was not at all what I would call Reformed Theology. (not to say the pastor isn’t Reformed – it just didn’t come out very strongly). I pondered a bit on how my Ne0-Reformed friends in the USA may not have felt at home. Perhaps in France they have kept the ancient form of the service and music and loosened up on the theology, while in the USA they’ve dropped the music and the liturgy and doubled down on the theology.

Anyway, my Huguenot roots enjoyed the experience.