Protestant church in Toulouse

Sorry, no pictures with this post, but a really good story. We have found and attend the only English speaking protestant church in Toulouse (95% of France is Roman Catholic, though not practicing). The church is Anglican (the church of England - Episcopalian in USA) and most of the members are British (go figure). It's currently in the process of a clergy call, so ministers from other communities often fill the pulpit as guest preachers.

We took our daughter and nieces to midnight service on Christmas Eve. The minister filling the pulpit that evening was from a community called Limouex (the minister himself was actually from New Zeland). After he said the benediction, he paused and asked the small congregation (the five of us literally doubled the attendance) if we'd stay and share a bottle of wine to toast Christmas with him.

He went out to his car to get the wine and the five of us stood kind of "dumbfounded" while we and the others waited for him to return. Someone in the congregation found some plastic cups while someone else found some "bickies" (biscuits - translation cookies) and we all toasted the Christ child with a bit of sparkling wine and cookies.

You should have seen the faces of my teenage nieces. One of them thought that if their pastor back home in the US started that practice, attendance in church on Sundays would increase :)

So an unforgettable Christmas memory - Protestant British church in France officiated by a New Zelander that comes to church with his own wine to share. Isn't that priceless?