LA CÔTE ANGLICAN CHURCH CHAPLAINCY PROFILE ABOUT US La Côte Anglican Church is an independent chaplaincy in the Swiss Archdeaconry of the Diocese in Europe. It grew out of a home group attached to Holy Trinity Geneva and from 1986 until 2003 it was part of that chaplaincy, seen as a daughter/sister congregation. The community started worshipping once a month on Sundays, eventually progressing to every Sunday, in a Protestant church in the village of Gingins, in the canton of Vaud. It was organized by the lay members who had started the group and grew with the leadership, inspiration and help from successive Holy Trinity chaplains and other clergy. With the appointment of La Côte s first Chaplain, Revd. Paul Holley, in September 2003, the community gradually achieved financial sustainability and the status of an independent chaplaincy. A strong desire to reach out to more of the English-speaking population of the area, coupled with the need to grow in order to become financially viable, led to the establishment in 2005 of a second congregation meeting twice a month in Divonne-les-Bains, just over the border in France, where the French Reformed congregation kindly share their church building with La Côte. A group of committed La Côte members living in and around Divonne provided the impetus for this initiative, under the Chaplain's leadership. Julia Chambeyron was ordained in 2006 and as non-stipendiary Assistant Chaplain at La Côte works closely with the congregation in Divonne and takes special responsibility for its ministry. In 2010 Revd. Carolyn Cooke was appointed Chaplain following Paul Holley's departure. La Côte has experienced significant spiritual and numerical growth, and believes it has strong potential for further growth and development over the coming years. The church community has a strong spirit of committed collaboration and mutual support between the lay members and clergy.
GEOGRAPHICAL SITUATION The La Côte region is pleasantly rural, situated between Geneva and Lausanne. However, alongside the traditional activities of farming, wine growing and tourism, there are many multinational companies, international organizations, European and global non-governmental organizations established in the surrounding area. La Côte Chaplaincy holds services in Gingins (Switzerland) and Divonne-les-Bains (France). The current Chaplain lives in Nyon, Switzerland. While there are no formal boundaries as there would be for a parish in the UK, most people attending our services come from the area shown on the map above, which effectively comprises about half of the north shore of Lake Geneva, extending up into the Jura mountains. There is a degree of overlap with the areas served by the neighbouring chaplaincies in Geneva (Holy Trinity Church) to the south and Lausanne (Christ Church) to the east. Two more lakeside Anglican chaplaincies, at Vevey (All Saints) and Territet, Montreux (St. John s) are situated at the east end of Lake Geneva. The part of France to the north-west of Geneva is known as the Pays de Gex, named after the town of the same name. This region is bounded to the north-west by the Jura, which affords opportunities for skiing and hiking, and provides a grandstand view across Lake Geneva to the Alps. It lies in the Département de l'ain, which is part of France's Rhône-Alpes region. Traditionally, this was an agricultural area of scattered villages, with Gex the only town of any significance. THE LA CÔTE CONGREGATIONS La Côte reflects the diversity of the expatriate community as a whole, drawing in young families, middle-aged couples/singles/families and some retired older members. We are firmly international, attracting many Americans and some local French and Swiss nationals married to other English-speaking nationalities. In addition to the British expatriates, a non-exhaustive list of nationalities would include New Zealand, Estonian, Canadian, Dutch, Italian and German. A number of members are not Anglican in church background, coming from, for example, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, or free Evangelical traditions. Having successfully moved from start-up to
stable growth in two church bases, we would like to explore further aspects of growth, new satellite congregations, development of Sunday morning and mid-week worship and deepening the spiritual growth of our community members. THE CHURCH AT GINGINS The building we use in Gingins is that of the Swiss Reformed Church (Église Évangélique Réformée). The church dates from the 14th century and its architecture is similar to that of churches from this period found all over Europe. It comprises a main seating area for about 160 people, and a sanctuary with Communion Table separated from the body of the church by an arch. There is a twomanual pipe organ, and the customary pulpit, lectern etc., together with a public address system. Whilst plain in character, it has a warm atmosphere, which combines a feeling of intimacy with a seating capacity for a considerable congregation, ideal for regular Sunday services. In recent years it has been crammed to overflowing at our Christmas Eve services. Adjoining the church is a courtyard with a house for the Swiss Pastor and a church hall with one large meeting room. The church hall is used for Sunday Club and refreshments after services, as well as for other occasional meetings. We are in the fortunate position of sharing the church at Gingins with the local Swiss Reformed parish, paying only a small fee for the use of the church building. WORSHIP AT GINGINS Since, the local Swiss congregation holds services there once a month in the morning, the Anglican services are held every Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. (Sunday Club three times a month). The mid-afternoon timing suits our community well. The attraction of the church at Gingins lies above all in its style of worship. One of the reasons we started to hold services here was because there was a need for something a little different: within the Anglican tradition and with regular Eucharistic services, but with little less formality, a little more family-orientated, with more lay involvement and an enthusiasm for exploring alternative liturgies. The Gingins congregation is a diverse one, comprising a number of different nationalities. Many members are not from an Anglican background but find a comfortable home in which to worship, enjoying the informal and welcoming atmosphere. Services of Holy Communion, Evening Prayer All-age services follow a flexible pattern and include guest preachers and lay-led services from time to time. Several organists and the Song Group provide our music. The Sunday Club is divided into groups. Parents and other members of the congregation run the groups on a rota basis. Preparing children from the age of 7 to receive Communion is also an important part of the ministry. The wide participation of lay members of the congregation, which was a necessity before La Côte had its
own priest, has continued and has been encouraged by the clergy all the way along. The service planner is a major feat of scheduling, involving many people in the running of the Sunday service. This encouragement of the laity has uncovered many gifts among the congregation, which led, for example, to the ordination of Julia Chambeyron and the continuing lay leadership role of many others. THE CHURCH AT DIVONNE-LES-BAINS The Divonne congregation started meeting in September 2005 at 10 a.m. on the second, fourth and fifth Sundays each month. The French Protestant Church (l'eglise Réformée de France) has welcomed this Anglican presence very warmly and collaboratively, clearly delighted that the church building is used every Sunday and not just on the first and third Sundays when they use it themselves. Their main congregation meets in nearby Ferney-Voltaire, in a much bigger church building. The church is located near the centre of Divonne, a few minutes walk from the main streets, shops and Sunday morning market. As in Gingins, we have the privilege of being guests in this church building, and have no responsibility for maintenance. The French community is very flexible in allowing La Côte to use the temple (as it is known in French, to distinguish it from the Roman Catholic church) and its excellent parish rooms for extra services and meetings or social/fund-raising events. Joint services in French and English take place at least once a year. Julia Chambeyron has formed a very good relationship with the French clergy and joined an ecumenical French clergy discussion group initiated by the local Roman Catholic bishop. This has raised awareness of the presence of an Anglican congregation in the area. WORSHIP AT DIVONNE Services take place in an informal and intimate atmosphere using Common Worship liturgies. There is one Eucharist and one non-eucharistic service per month. Music is provided through a rota of pianists and organists. Family Worship takes place at least once per school term and highlights have been the nativity plays, a First Communion service and a tree-planting service! Generally 40+ people attend worship, with peak attendances of 70+ at Harvest, Christmas and Easter. The Sunday Club meets in the adjacent parish room, offering programmes for children aged 3-11+. Numbers vary for children s attendance, with an average of 10-12 over the three age groups, but we have recorded 20+ at the major festivals mentioned above. People attending services at Divonne belong to a number of La Côte groups, such as the home/study groups, pastoral care group and Social Action group. The congregation goes out of its way to make newcomers feel welcome, and relationships between people in this
new congregation have developed in an encouraging manner as a result of the welcoming and friendly atmosphere. An annual Divonne Summer Picnic has been added to La Côte's not inconsiderable range of social activities.mutual support and pastoral care are provided in an informal manner. The rate of turnover among the Divonne congregation is low, and there is potential for future growth and development using the many gifts and talents of the members. YOUTH WORK This is an important part of the ministry of our church. Our goal is the integration of our youth more fully into the life of the church, both into the worshipping community and into the social side of life, as participants and leaders. A Youth Leader was appointed to work across the chaplaincy on a part-time basis from September 2014, with the aim to understand the issues they are facing and to support them in their journey of faith and growth. He is working with our young people generally from ten years old upwards, especially through three groups: Sherbert for the older youth, SAS for the 10-14s and Chatfaith, the older youth in Divonne, also for preparations for Communion. CHAPLAINCY ACTIVITIES A large range of activities jointly organized and led by clergy and laity take place: fundraising events, both for the church and for charities supported by La Côte, occasional social get-togethers, such as pot luck suppers, joint celebrations, ecumenical exchanges and other activities with the local Swiss and French parishes. Regular weekly or fortnightly activities are bible study and prayer groups. Other regular monthly or less frequent basis: (see Activities page for details) Council meetings Pastoral Care Group meetings Social Action Group meetings Confirmation classes Music Groups Lent studies & seminars Annual events: Community Day Retreat Divonne Summer Picnic Autumn Fair Quiz Night (right)