This has been a year of further consolidation and growth and a busy year for us all. The church has seen full congregations right through the year, and happily right through the summer, no mean feat with the temperatures inside the kirk soaring to 30° with just a few feeble fans faintly turning the air. In February we will be installing air conditioning /heating units for a much more effective cooling and heating system all year round, to replace our rather aged equipment. Very importantly the local Mairie has agreed to pay for essential masonry repairs to the exterior of the building, and estimates are being studied for painting and window repairs.
Our worshipping community has been growing, and one exciting development is a new Sunday group for children, a first in the history of St. Raphael, which we pray, will provide a basis to attract more younger families in the future. To further develop a sense of community regular Sunday lunches are held in the chaplain's house with 30 plus people sharing each time, with new faces on every occasion.
New study groups have begun, following a most successful group in the lent season and spring, which looked at the way in which great artists have inspired our faith. The new groups meet in different parts of our area and have as their basis the Bible and other spiritual issues. These groups should make a great contribution to the development of our spiritual community.
Monthly services continue at Port Grimaud, during the summer, in the south of our area, and regularly at Lorgues in the centre and Seillans in the north. All have attracted reasonable numbers and are showing signs for future spiritual growth.
There have been a number of 'occasional' services during the year all of which have provided pastoral opportunities. Too few baptisms, a few marriage blessings, more funerals and some house blessings.
Ecumenical links are strong with contacts with local Russian Orthodox, Armenians, Roman Catholics and Protestants in activities, and recently with the Year of the Bible project. We are involved in a number of events and services in the coming months with our fellow Christians, both in St. Raphael and in Port Grimaud and elsewhere.
Celebrations, events, concerts and services are being considered and discussed as we look ahead to our centenary in 2007 which will provide, we hope, an opportunity for us as a church to become even better known, and to reach out ever more to the local community.
We are conscious of the importance of publicity and one new development in response to this is our new web site; www.sjevar.com
It has been a thoroughly good year with many encouraging signs of Christian spiritual growth and we are all feeling much encouraged.
The Reverend Canon Benjamin Eaton
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