Address: 131 boulevard Yves Farge, 69007 Lyon

Services

1st Sunday of month:

10.30am Family Service

2nd & 4th Sundays:

10.30am Holy Communion

3rd Sunday:

10.30am Morning Prayer

5th Sunday:

10.30am Morning Worship

LAC News:

Students coming to Lyon
If you are a student coming to Lyon for the academic year 2010-11 - Welcome to the Lyon Anglican Church. Sunday services, in English, at 10.30am every Sunday morning, are the basic element in church life. Do come and join us ! And let us know if you play a musical instrument or would like to sing with the Music Group. The YAM group (Young Adult Midweek) brings together students from a variety of countries, for both worship and social activities. And there will be Church Open Nights at The Vicarage on September 10th and October 8th and November 12th.


Crossing Boundaries
There will be a new midweek group from September, where we shall be trialling some new study materials called Crossing Boundaries. The Bible is a book about people on the move and for people on the move. The studies have been developed by Jenny Robertson and David Healey. The first meeting of the group will be on Tuesday, September 14th at The Vicarage at 7.45pm.


Church Open Nights
Church Open Nights are a monthly opportunity to come together round a shared meal, fellowship, and prayer. Autumn Open Nights will be on Friday, September 10th, Friday, October 8th, Friday, November 12th, and Friday, December 10th. These are held at The Vicarage. All are welcome. See the signing uo sheet in church.


Pastoral Care
The Church Council discussed Pastoral Care at our July meeting. The issue is: how can we best affirm, encourage, and support people in a high-turnover community. The following points were made: * of the 12O names/families in the November 2009 Church Directory, some 30 have now left Lyon, and a further 30 are, for whatever reason, very much 'fringe members' * at the same time, new families and students are arriving in Lyon every month * in order to support and encourage people, we need to know who they are ! This makes the welcoming of new people and our periodic social events very important. * the Chaplain is responsible for overseeing the pastoral work within the church community. But we believe in every-member ministry, and he therefore asks that members of the congregation be aware of the needs of those around them.. * much pastoral work and be-friending is devolved effectively to groups and sub-sets within the Church community, e.g. the Ladies' Group, Men's Group, the TGIF group, Musicians' Fellowship, YAM Group etc. We urgently need: * to update the Church Directory for the 2010 rentrée * to compile lists of members of the above groups


Diocesan Strategic Review
Diocese of Europe Strategic Review Document, March 2010 comments from Lyon Anglican Church THE NATURE OF THE REPORT 1. It is really encouraging that this report focuses on pastoral care and mission potential within the Diocese. As our Synod representatives confirmed, these two items have been identified as areas needing attention at successive Archdeaconry Synods. Too often local clergy have felt isolated and under-supported, and the impression has been given that senior clergy in the Diocese have had not time or energy to engage with the mission opportunities presented in (or by) a changing culture that is significantly different from the UK. 2. References to the data collected in the Chaplaincy Surveys of autumn 2009 are tantalising. Specific reference is made to the increasing presence of Africans, often refugees, at least initially, in congregations in Europe; and to the increased presence of non-Brits in what are no longer ‘expat communities.’ Both insights strike a chord here in Lyon, and I believe that they have significant implications for the nature of our church life and mlssion. 3. Bishop Geoffrey explains the genesis and remit of the Strategic Review Group, and describes their input and recommendations as ‘thinking outside the box.’ Unfortunately there is little evidence of this. Apart from the tidying up of legal issues, the only clear recommendation of the report is that we move from one to two suffragan bishops (indefinitely on hold), and that we replace seven part-time archdeacons by four full-time archdeacons; to be funded variously from Belgian state money, C of E central funds, and increased quota. SOME QUESTIONS ARISING 4. During the past 10 years no Archdeacon has ever visited Lyon. From a local perspective, it is difficult to see how replacing a part-time Archdeacon based in Nice with a full-time Archdeacon based in Brussels, covering two existing Archdeaconries, France and Benelux, will be any real improvement. It seems that the only justification for locating pastoral care for French clergy in Belgium is to benefit from a Belgian state subsidy. 5. Before worrying too much about the geographical location of the four Archdeacons and about their housing costs, it would seem appropriate to ask about their proposed remit and priorities. Pastoral care of clergy in Benelux and France could be a full-time job. But it could equally be done by people other than Archdeacons, e.g. suitably qualified local laity, trained counsellors etc. On the other hand, if the new Archdeacons are to be effectively assistant Diocesan Missioners, responding to local mission opportunities in France and the challenges of a changing culture, then a very different job description and list of skills is required. So in drawing up the job description for the new positions, we would put a high priority on creative experience of mission work of the kind that the Church of England under Rowan Williams is currently doing so much to encourage, notably through the Mission-Shaped Church report. We feel that expertise of this kind would usefully complement the current senior staff team's strengths and weaknesses. 6. So - we too would want to give thanks for growth in local chaplaincies across the Diocese, and for attention being paid here in this Review Document to key areas. We would be happy to pay our share of the cost of better pastoral care and more effective mission support. But I think there are more radical questions to be asked about how these key activities are to be structured and resourced. cm/20.iii.2010 PS These comments have been forwarded, as requested, to the Diocesan Bishop. As yet (July 2010) there has been no response.


Music in Lyon Anglican Church
Music is an important part of our church life. It has the capacity to touch parts of our spiritual world that words don't easily reach. Our services on Sunday morning usually start with a time of singing and praise, led by instrumentalists and singers from the church Music Group. Much of our singing is from Mission Praise. But we are always interested in extending our repertoire, and in finding hymnody and worship songs that reflect the diversity of the church community. If you want to know more, or if you have musical gifts which are not currently being used, speak to Michelle Hong, who is the leader of the Music Group.


Lyon Anglican Student Guide to Lyon
Available here!