Spring Newsletter


Cannes, June 2025, Newsletter no. 8

Dear family and friends,

If you are receiving this eighth Newsletter, it is because you are either part of our family, or one of our friends and acquaintances. This Newsletter aims to allow you to follow us better in our spiritual, professional and family journey. On the menu of this eighth edition: a look back at the past year to begin with, then a review of the challenges we will face in the (very near) future, and to finish, a more detailed presentation of our website, preceded by a list of prayer topics.

Five years already! Already five years since we embarked on an adventure full of unknowns and uncertainties! It's already been five years since we launched into an adventure of theological training for Marc, so that he could go on to exercise his pastoral ministry. Five years of blessings and joys as a couple and as a family with our three children, Talitha, Noëlie and Nolan. But also five years of difficulties, doubts, social and financial instability, sacrifices and so forth...

Of those five years, we spent the first four in the Paris region, where we lived on the campus of the Faculté Libre de Théologie Evangélique (FLTE), in a 56m2 2-bedroom flat. For the first two years, there were four of us, and it was already half the size of what we had before in the Drôme. And the following two years, with the arrival of the youngest, the flat was even smaller, forcing us to add another function to our Swiss knife, or rather our living room (living room/dining room/office/children's playroom/parents' bedroom).

The last and fifth year, the one that is slowly coming to an end, was the year of the big move to the far south! On 20 July, we “'landed”' (via the motorway) in Cannes so that Marc could complete his introductory training period for pastoral ministry, the second stage in the pastoral programme of the Union des Eglises Evangéliques Libres de France (UEELF), to which Marc belongs (the five stages are: student (4 years) / trainee pastor (1 year) / proposing pastor (2 to 4 years) / consecrated pastor / retired pastor). Since then, we've been living in the presbytery, just above the church, and we really appreciate its space and its four bedrooms, as well as its proximity to the sea and the rest of the town centre.

For Marc, this year was twofold. On the one hand, it was the final year of his research master's at the FLTE. On the other, it was the internship at the Eglise Evangélique Libre de Cannes, with pastor Eric van der Does. It was a hard, tough year, just like the previous four, with too much work for too little time.

As far as his studies are concerned, Marc went to Vaux/Seine (FLTE) six times, for between 1 and 4 days each time. These trips enabled him to take three different seminars (Leadership, Sociology of Religions, Justice in Matthew and Paul). In addition, he took three other distance seminars: one in the first semester at the Institut Supérieur d'Etudes Oecuméniques (ISEO, hosted by the Institut Catholique de Paris) on ‘Major ecumenical agreements’, one in the second semester, again at the ISEO, on '1700 years of Nicaea: how to express faith today?' and finally a final seminar of the year at the Institut des Sources Chrétiennes (ISC, hosted by the Université Catholique de Lyon and the CNRS). Of course, each seminar had to be validated, in particular by a demanding presentation (5/6) or written work (1/6). In addition, Marc had to write a confession of faith (between 15 and 20 pages) and then defend it in front of the history, dogmatics and ethics teachers. Finally, if that wasn't enough, there was the dissertation! This dissertation on ‘table service’ (Acts 6.1-7) is not yet finished, but it has progressed (also thanks to some great encounters), and that's not bad at all! In a way, it's the last thing he has to finish before he can get his diploma!

As far as his internship is concerned, Marc has been very well received at the Free Church of Cannes, but also within the Council. The internship (which ends in a few days) has been full of joy, blessings, learning and discoveries! On the menu: Council meetings, preaching, presidencies, youth group, catechism, worship, house groups, visits, services at the old people's home, pastoral work of all kinds, the Alpha course, etc.

Added to this were two pastoral acts, both carried out for the first time and within a few weeks of each other: the funeral of his dear grandmother in the Béarn, Lydie Brunner, who passed away after almost 98 years, and the wedding of a childhood friend in the Drôme, which concluded a year of marriage preparation.

A very (too) full year, a year spent at a pace that was too fast and too sustained, a year that needs to be slowed down next year to reload the batteries!

It's been another busy year for Maggie! There's already been a change of scenery, with a lot more sunshine, which suits her perfectly! Moving house was (and still is) quite something! She continued with her psychology studies and is now more than halfway through her degree. At the same time, so that Marc could complete his studies in the time available, she looked after the children a lot (she likes making lots of music with them). But that's not all! Since January, she has been looking for a part-time job. While it's not difficult to get a job in Cannes, it's more complicated when you want to have Wednesdays off (for the children) and only part-time! For several weeks now, she has been focusing on the job of AESH (Accompagnant des Elèves en Situation de Handicap, supporting disabled and neurodiverse children in school). Not only would the school timetable fit in perfectly with our family life, but it's also a job that falls within the field of child psychology, so it could give her experience in the area in which she's studying. This research has also taken up a lot of her time, and has also been stressful and difficult. To be continued!

It's been a superb year for the children! Talitha has had a wonderful year in CP, as well as at the conservatoire (violin) and in sport (judo). She's growing well and is in perfect health. Noëlie has also had a great year in the Moyenne Section, at the conservatoire (cello, Suzuki method) and in sport (judo), although she has had a lot more medical examinations (and that's not over yet), mainly because of her growth pattern. Nolan, our youngest, is already 3 years old! He's had a great year at daycare and is ready to go to school with his sisters next year!

What happens next? We start with a time of gratitude! Gratitude that this time is finally over! Because although it was a necessary and exciting training course, these five years have really put us to the test. And we really need to regain our strength. Then there's gratitude to God for everything we have achieved! From where we came from, it hasn't been an easy road, but we're really happy to finally be where we are! I'm grateful to the FLTE and the teachers, and to all my co-students for this theological training and all the encounters we've had, an incredible network, very good friends, godparents for our two youngest, etc. Thanks to the UEEL for its welcome and support. Thanks to the Cannes EEL and its pastor, Eric van der Does, for their welcome and support during this course. Last but not least, thanks to all those who made this adventure possible! Yes, we don't know how to thank all those who prayed for us and supported us financially.

So what's next? Well, we continue :D But what, when, where and how? Many of our readers know this, and we would have liked to share it much sooner, but we ran out of time! Marc will therefore continue his pastoral journey in UEEL, and after having been a ‘trainee pastor’ this year, he will be a ‘proposing pastor’ (for at least two years, until his pastoral consecration at the next synod). And as we enjoyed Cannes so much, we're going to stay! In fact, it's a bit like a convergence of ideas and therefore an opportunity. For our part, after these five intense years, we needed Marc not to take on a full-time job straight away, as mentioned earlier, so that we could recharge our batteries. It was necessary. The fact that we didn't have to move again, especially for the children, was essential. It's already taken them a few months to get used to their new environment, so if we could avoid them having to move again. The Côte d'Azur and its (almost) permanent sunshine is doing us a lot of good. And the proximity of Nice airport is a major advantage for keeping in touch more easily with our family and friends in Germany. As far as the church is concerned, Eric (the current pastor) is officially part-time but was doing a lot more, while wanting to slow down a bit. So there was a need and an opportunity for the church to welcome Marc and our family. But this could only be done on a part-time basis, primarily for financial reasons. The Eglise Libre de Cannes is a fine parish of just over 70 members, but it also has a fair number of supporters and regular visitors and tourists. The Riou church is located in the historic Suquet district of Cannes, not far from the beach (just 200m). The presbytery that we occupy is located above the church and Marc's office is in the basement. The church is multi-cultural and lacks children, young people and young adults, but it's a great challenge. The church is very much involved in the town of Cannes, working closely with the United Protestant Church of Cannes, in particular for the retirement home ‘Les Bougainvillées’ (1 service every Thursday), and with the other evangelical Protestant churches in the town as part of a pastoral programme for Cannes, but also with the Catholic parish for ‘J'avais faim’ (hot meals served to the homeless during the winter), as well as in inter-religious activities (Vivre Ensemble à Cannes). For the UEEL, it was also an opportunity, knowing that Eric is not far from retirement, even if other churches also had a need (if you feel a calling, we need you!). As far as his theology studies are concerned, although Marc has completed all his undergraduate and Master's courses, he still has his dissertation to finish (to validate his Master's degree) and the fact that he only has part-time work will enable him to finish it quietly and without too much delay. Once this dissertation is finished, the idea is to work on a thesis project, still in New Testament, and still on Luke-Acts, to be able to start in September 2026 if all goes well.

So that brings us to the financial side of things. Because it's thanks to you, our donors, that we've been able to live from day to day for the past five years and enable Marc to train for the pastoral ministry. We'd especially like to thank our donors. There are, or have been, 23 regular and monthly donors, not forgetting the 14 one-off donors. When you add it all up, you become even more aware of the grace and help of all those who have supported us. Without you, we would never have made it. That said, it's never been a smooth ride, not least because Maggie couldn't qualify for a job because Marc's studies were far too time-consuming, in addition to our three little ones. So we took out loans to get us through the difficult times.

As mentioned above, from 01 July, Marc will be working part-time only, and Maggie is still looking for a part-time position and hopes to have an AESH post in September (also part-time), but with no guarantee. So if you still have it in your heart to continue to support us for as long as you want, but especially during this in-between period, it would be most welcome, especially to be able to repay the loans that have made up for the shortfalls over the last five years. Don't hesitate to keep us informed.

In short, here are some prayer topics, in no particular order:

• The beginning of Marc's pastoral ministry: some great challenges ahead!

• The financial side, particularly the loans.

• Marc's academic year in theology is shaping up to be much less intense than previous years, but probably more crucial and important, with his dissertation to finish!

• Maggie's second academic year in psychology continues and is about to come to an end! A challenge that's as exciting as ever, but also demands a lot of time and organisation.

• That Maggie can find a part-time job and in particular an AESH post in a school near our home.

• For the children: for their health and development at school, at church and in their other activities.

Many people already regularly visit our website to follow our adventures, but there are also many who occasionally discover what we've been up to when they could have been reading about it a long time ago! With Marc's studies coming to an end, and our status changing (a little), our website will also be evolving, probably over the summer. You'll still be able to follow his ministry, but perhaps from a different angle.

Thank you for reading this carefully. But above all, thank you for your support, whether emotional, spiritual, material or financial; it's so precious to know that we're being carried along like this!

‘May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord’ (The Bible, 1 Peter 1.2).