To La Côte Church family and friends and visitors,
Dear *|FIRSTNAME|*
Horizons
The path up from the beach is hot and steep, but as soon as you reach the top of the cliffs you are welcomed by the fresh breeze, and a magnificent view. I looked down at the tiny figures on the shore a dizzy hundred feet below. Just an hour ago I’d been down there myself looking out to sea - standing at the water’s edge where the waves swirl slowly up over the sand. From there you can see out as far as the end of the long curving arm of the bay, about three miles distant. Now, up here on the cliff the horizon has expanded to take in the hazy form of various ships and the ponderous progress of the ferryboats full of holiday-makers. And if you climb the tower at the far end of the cliff you can see the coastline unfolding in coves and inlets until it reaches the estuary. Of course, you need at clear day for that.
Horizons change. Our view of the world is not fixed. Sometimes it’s a view that is so limited we can scarcely see beyond ourselves. We restrict our vision by an inward-looking concentration on ourselves and by becoming preoccupied with our problems and troubles. There are times when visibility is poor, the scene darkened by our desolation and despondency. It takes a huge effort to peer beyond the confines of our despair. Yet, it is when we look out beyond ourselves that the horizons stretch out and take in the unexpected, both from the broader perspective and in the smaller details.
Helen Keller wrote: “One day I asked a friend who had just returned from a long walk in the woods what she had seen. She replied, ‘Nothing in particular’. ‘How is it possible?’ I asked myself, ‘when I, who cannot hear or see, find hundreds of things to interest me through mere touch. I feel the delicate shape and design of a leaf. I pass my hands lovingly over the rough bark of a pine tree. Occasionally, I place my hand quietly on a small tree, and if I’m lucky, feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song. Surely, the greatest calamity that can befall people, is not that they should be born blind, but that they should have eyes, yet fail to see.”
Jesus was good at seeing the details and the wider picture: a widow dropping her two tiny coins into the temple coffers; a man hiding in a sycamore tree; the faith of a paralysed man’s friends; two sisters mourning the death of their brother; the hunger of the crowd; the suffering of the poor. He saw with a vision that was clear.
Lord Jesus, teach us to see with your eyes.
Revd Adèle Kelham
How about lunch out after the 10.00 service on Sun. 21 August?
Would anyone like to join us for lunch at our local Auberge on Sun. 21 Aug. at 12.00, following the morning service & refreshments at Gingins?
There is a good choice on the menu and it is reasonably priced. Please let us know at peta.tracey@lacotechurch.ch by Fri. 19th so we can book the table!
https://www.auberge-coinsins.ch/
Offering accommodation to Ukrainian refugees
In Switzerland – contact OSAR Organisation Suisse d’Aide aux Réfugiées. https://www.osar.ch/agir/aide-pour-les-personnes-refugiees-ukrainiennes/familles-daccueil
In France – http://www.ain.gouv.fr/situation-en-ukraine-accueil-et-solidarite-a7226.html
Or – contact the local association ALIAS 01 who work in the Pays de Gex to support integration of refugees, including Ukrainians arriving. Please click HERE.
Please click HERE for more information from our La Côte Church website.
Adjusted Covid Measures at La Côte Anglican Church
Update 7 April 2022 - Read more
PLEASE NOTE – If you are hesitating to come to one of our main services but would like Holy Communion or private prayer in person, please contact Revd Adèle Kelham.
For any prayer requests for yourself or others, please contact Peta Tracey who will share in confidence with our Tuesday prayer group where we pray for the needs of our world and community.
Worship this week-end
Sunday 14 August – 9th Sunday after Trinity
10.00 Divonne Holy Communion celebrated by Revd Adèle Kelham
Still looking for new refreshments volunteers for Divonne
People we have been relying on for the last few years really need the help of new people joigning the team.
If we do not get new volunteers, there is a risk we'll not be able to do refreshments anymore.
So please do volunteer if you think this is something you can do, and get in touch with Anne de Tréverret.
Worship next week-end
Sunday 21 August – 10th Sunday after Trinity
10.00 Gingins Family Communion celebrated by Revd Carolyn Cooke
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