Ladies Fellowship                     Youth Group         

Ladies Prayer Breakfast           Lille Centre Bible Study         

Young Adult House Group        Women's World Day of Prayer         

Brownies & Rainbows              Men's French Prayer Breakfast         

Sunday Club                              Sunday Morning House Group        

Alpha                                         C3-Christ Church Café

French House group                  Play Group

VISION AIMS WORKING GROUPS

Ladies’ Fellowship                                     Contact: Sophie Melville

About 10 ladies meet downstairs in church every Thursday at 9.30am during the school term to make room for God in the middle of the week, to be nourished and refreshed spiritually, to make friends and grow in the Christian life. Our group is made up of a variety of ages, traditions and nationalities and includes ladies who worship elsewhere on Sundays. We all value the opportunity to talk through our questions in an open, secure and supportive environment. We try to chose topical bible studies, for example we looked at Rick Warren’s DVD and booklet ‘The Purpose of Christmas’ during the Advent period and are currently studying Mark 1-8 ‘The Coming King’. Do come and join us!

Youth Group  (ages 12-18)                Contact: Anne-Marie Bolton

                                                                                   or Nicola Casey

We meet every Sunday afternoon during the school term to have a lot of fun, play a lot of games, share a great community and above all, to find out more about what it means to be a Christian, living a life with Christ and discussing how this affects our outlook on various different topics that we face every day.  This year we’ve had series looking at ‘God’s Big Picture’, an overview of the whole Bible story; an in-depth look at the life of Jesus by reading through the book of Luke and a look at the idea of sharing the gospel with our friends.  Throughout it all, we’re trying to work out what they mean and how they affect our everyday lives as young people in Lille!  As well as Sunday afternoons every so often we get together for a film night, dinner together, a bowling trip or a fun time playing Laser Game.  Anyone is welcome and all are encouraged to invite their friends to join us!

Ladies’ Prayer Breakfast                               Contact: Judy Bolton

This group meets on a Saturday morning approximately once a month (discounting holidays) and is made up of women of different ages and nationalities who join together for a couple of hours to share and pray for each other and for the needs of the church and the world, while sharing a croissant and tea or coffee. It is a place where women who work during the week (and who therefore cannot join in other women’s activities) can meet and be honest about their faith, their struggles and their need for God.  This year it has once again been thrilling to have all age groups represented and feeling free to share together and support each other.

English-Speaking Bible Study                     Contact: Suzanne Bray

We meet most Wednesday evenings at 8pm Hugues and Laurence's flat in Rue Gambetta. Our principal activity is studying the Bible, but we also pray together for world issues and also personal needs of church members and other friends and colleagues. We usually go through a book of the Bible systematically, aiming to understand what it meant to its first readers at the time of writing, how it has been understood throughout the history of God's people and what it means to us today. We also discuss how to apply it and how it can help us to grow in faith. Members take turns to lead the study (no obligation, volunteers only !) and everyone takes part in the discussion and prayer.

We are an international, mixed-age group with members born in every decade from the 1930s to the 1990s and about half and half, men and women. At the moment we have several French members and also members from the UK, India and New Zealand.

During 2010-2011 we have so far studied Ruth, Judges and are in the middle of Song of Songs.

Various types of tea and cold drinks are served with some very yummy cakes and biscuits...

New members welcome!

Young Adult House Group                               Contact: Zen Chance

For anyone who puts themselves in the ‘young adult’ age bracket (we set no limits!), we meet every Tuesday night from 7pm to share a meal together followed by a Bible study led by a member of the group, aiming to practically apply to our lives that which we read in Scripture.  The House Group aims to be a place for young adults to grow in their faith and worship God, being inclusive to all backgrounds, nationalities and levels of Christian understanding.

We tend to follow the themes from the Sunday Evening Service, going deeper into the topic each week and discussing what we’ve heard and sharing thoughts and opinions on how to apply it.  After the discussion each week, we have a time of prayer together, and then we’ll probably play games long into the night!  It also provides the basis for countless other social meetings throughout the week; the house group is more than just a once-a-week group; it’s a basis for a community!

Women's World Day of Prayer                Contact: Pauline  Cecchin

This year the service was prepared by the women of Cameroun and was held throughout the world on 5th March. Lille Centre's Service took place at the Eglise Reformée and we had the privilege to be led by a large group of families from the Cameroun who live and work in the area and who worship at the Temple. They gave the service a joyful, festive air of Africa with their colourful local costumes and music. They decorated the Church for the occasion with objects from "home" and they prepared local dishes. Our small group from Christ Church was delighted to be joined by Perine and Gilbert who felt very much at home.

Brownies and Rainbows                          Contact: Karen Newlands

Warm thanks to Michaela McKechnie, who is now in Germany, and to Kate Openshaw who will soon be returning to UK:  they were Brownie Leaders until June 2010 and contributed to a fulfilling programme of events.

Pauline Cecchin and David Newlands ran an equally action-packed Rainbow programme during this time, and in October 2011 Karen Newlands and Morna Chisholm joined the team. 

From pow-wows to cakes, from games to sponsored walks, the Rainbows and Brownies are active and enthusiastic.  They have celebrated 100 years of Guiding, and are ready to embrace the challenges of the coming years.

Men’s French Prayer Breakfast                     Contact: Mark Bolton

The group has continued on average about once a fortnight. There are usually four or five of us around strong coffee and croissants, with a total of 12 having been at least once. It is a time when we can share where we really are and pray for each other in depth. It also gives us an opportunity to pray for other needs, both within Christ Church and farther afield. As we have shared it has been wonderful to see how God has answered our prayers.

Sunday Club                                                   Contact: the Chaplain

We have enjoyed many happy Sunday Club gatherings over this year, following the ROOTS material for children. Our attendance records have 28 children listed, and our age range stretches from 2yrs - 12yrs. We have covered many topics, played games, learned songs, made new friends and enjoyed our time under the Christ Church roof. It is such a pleasure to see faces light up with fun and learning and sharing ... and not just our children but the teachers and helpers too! We have also enjoyed taking part in a very noisy, happy "kids party" which allowed us to share time with many of our other Christ Church children, whom we otherwise would not meet: from Brownies and Rainbows, from Playgroup, from the Sunday Home Group - we do take fun very seriously here at Christ Church! Thank you from all the teachers and helpers, for sharing your Sunday worship time, and your children with us all: our prayer is to be able to continue to offer Christian-based learning and a fun environment for your children: please continue to hold us in your prayers as we all work, learn and play together.

Sunday Morning House Group                Contact: Vincent Larregle

Has a committed group of members, adults and children, who meet on a Sunday morning – once a month in the church and once a month at Kathryn and Peter’s home in Lille.

Alpha                                                              Contact: Mark Bolton

Two sessions this year, one in English, with some Spanish as well, and one in French. As always it has been wonderful to see people discovering the reality that Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship with God! In the English-speaking group we had between 8 and 10 of a variety of nationalities.

The French group, usually around 8, has led to a French-speaking house group being formed as the the participants wanted to continue developing their relationship with God through the study of His word and through prayer.

C3 – Christ Church Café                             Contact: Michelle Smith

Weekly themed soirées, held on Thursdays from 8-10pm in the aumônerie opposite the church building, designed to be fun social occasions aimed mainly at the ‘young adult’ age bracket, to invite friends to, with no overt Christian agenda, but purely to give everyone who comes a chance to build friendships with fellow English speakers.  Themes are very varied from active things like American Dance, Improvisation, through the more sedate ‘Welcome to Lille’, Quiz Night, and Craft, right up to food and culture based evenings like Chocolate Fondue, various national cultural evenings, a Christmas party and much more besides that can use the gifts of the people who help to run it and create a fun and welcoming atmosphere, open to all people from all backgrounds.

French House Group                                      Contact: Mark Bolton

It was exciting to be able to follow on from Alpha with this group which has usually had between 6 and 8 people each week. We have already completed the ‘Beta’ course, an in-depth study of Philippians, and are now studying the 10 Commandments. We have been made very welcome by Laurent and Sandrine (and the cats!) who offered the use of their flat in Lille. It has also been encouraging to have several different people leading the studies.

Play Group                                               Contact: Veronica Ramos

At the end of the last school year, most of the regular playgroup members moved out of the area, leaving us wondering whether the group would continue. However, in September new members joined and the group has continued. It works more like a parent and children group at the moment with few formal activities for the children but plenty of play while the parents have the opportunity to discuss together and particularly share their difficulties and experiences of living in a foreign country.

The group is very international and multi-cultural and this year the children present have been much younger than in previous years (with quite a few babies). There is a great spirit of solidarity within the group and a desire to spread the news of the existence of the group more widely, particularly within the international community at the Citadelle.

Veronica and Judy currently are the church representatives of this group. Judy may well not be able to continue her regular involvement, so any person who has at heart sharing God’s love with the young families in this town and who feels they could help in this ministry of the church would be welcome to come along and see if this is for them.

VISION AIMS WORKING GROUPS

Financial Self-Sustainability             Group Leader: Frances Coester

Identifying and Encouraging Skills    Group Leader: Pamela Deegan

Sharing God's Message                        Group Leader: Suzanne Bray

Communication                                      Group Leader: David Bolton

Celebrating Diversity                           Group Leader: Suzanne Bray

Welcome and Care                              Group Leader: Sophie Melville

Encouraging Spiritual Growth                  Group leader: Mark Bolton