Christmas in Lyon - Gatherings (2)

Lessons and Carols

What could be more unique than



• a church in Lyon where the services are in English


• a non-Catholic Church in a very Catholic country


• a person we would call the Vicar or Rector preferring to be referred to as the Chaplain or simply “Chris” and who, in his previous life, read History at Balliol College, Oxford and then worked in educational publishing for 20 years


• Anglican church services held in the chapel of the Communaute de l’Adoration Reparatrice (a Catholic convent)


• a congregation of the most diverse group of people imaginable – people from every continent except Antarctica


• and, a congregation that includes quite a number of refugees?


That’s the Lyon International Anglican Church!

Early in our stay in Lyon, new friend of Anna’s via AVF hooked us up with a couple who attend that church. Soon John (a Scot) and Brigitte (French) invited us to Church and then lunch at their place. (Another interesting couple who have become friends of ours! You will hear more about them later.)  You can imagine Anna's surprise when she learned that another guest at lunch was from Fresno and actually lived not far from her brother, John!  The world seems to be getting smaller all the time! 


On Sunday, December 19th, we attended the Lesson and Carols service at the church. The readers had a variety of accents and were members of the congregation, the music was great, we were joined by some of the nuns, and Chris gave one of his great, thought-provoking homilies. The service was followed by mulled wine and mince pies.

This is another experience that has enriched our stay, and was definitely a great way to get into the Christmas spirit!