Two weeks ago, our small church put on a big event. The International Christian Community of Lyon's 10th annual Christmas Carols service drew a crowd of about 450 to the Temple du Change in Vieux Lyon. It's a fun and festive event which truly kicks off the Christmas season, and is a much-anticipated outing for many English-speaking expats and Anglophiles in Lyon. It's not a passive concert, but instead a chance for the entire congregation to lift their voices together in song. Many traditional hymns are sung such as Joy to the World, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, and my personal favorite, O Holy Night.
We also celebrate our diversity by bringing the German speakers up front to sing "Stille Nacht" (Silent Night), and we do an international Bible reading, this year in 15 different languages! Our emcee, Jim, keeps the tone lighthearted and joyful. The kids get a chance to come up front and ring bells to the tune (loosely) of "Jingle Bells." It's a great action photo opportunity for the moms and dads, and the kids are rewarded for their efforts with a peppermint candy cane.
This year, being the 10th anniversary, we added a special twist. We invited the world-famous Petit Chanteurs de Saint Marc to join us, and they delivered a beautiful mini-concert of Adeste Fideles (O Com, All Ye Faithful in Latin), Gloria, The First Noel, and the well-known French carol "Il est ne, le divin enfant." These young singers mesmerized the audience with each stirring note. It was unforgettable!
We also had an amazing guest speaker this year, Jim Kallam from Church at Charlotte in North Carolina. He delivered the message of God's greatest gift, Jesus Christ -- the light of the world and the hope of the nations. Jim's words were filled with grace and truth and I know the message touched many hearts that night.
As the evening drew to a close, we wrapped up with another annual highlight, the singing of "12 Days of Christmas" which involved the entire congregation standing up according to their birthday month: Januaries during "A Partridge in a Pear Tree," Februaries during "Two Turtle Doves", and so on.
We ended the evening by belting out "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," and then everyone filed to the back of the hall for cookies and clementines before heading out into the crisp winter evening. As we did so, our hearts were a bit merrier and the smiles on our faces were a bit wider, for the true meaning of Christmas had stirred our souls.Merry Christmas!
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| Kids lining up to get their bells.... |
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| ... and performing "Jingle Bells" |
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| International Bible Reading |
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| Germans singing "Stille Nacht" (Silent Night) |
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| Pure Christmas Joy! |
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| The Petit Chanteurs having a good time |
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| Enjoying the Word in song |
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| It was a joyful time, thanks to the leadership of our talented emcee Jim Carlson |
Bonjour! I wish we had known about your fun Christmas festivities! We are expats spending our first year in Lyon doing work and ministry. We are serving with a church in Villerbaune but were looking for more to do at Christmas. Hopefully our paths will cross.
ReplyDeleteYes!! Let's find a way to make that happen.
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