On June 20th, the 54 congregations of the Protestant Reformed Evangelical Church across France celebrated a common theme in their church services – “This is My Family”, using a song by this title written by Pastor Pascal Gonzalez, a 1998 graduate of Faculté Jean Calvin.
Pascal has been pastor in the denomination for 23 years, and being gifted in music and evangelism, he and his wife, Evodie, lead a children’s choir, Aquarium, and are currently organizing a music festival – “Aqua tu Sers” – for July.
The song gives a beautiful presentation of the reality of life in the Body of Christ, with all its wrinkles, joys and challenges, and always living under the Grace of God. We are broken clay vessels, but our Covenant-keeping God uses us to carry the message of Gospel Hope to a hurting world. Listen to the song here.
Translation:
This is my Family, This is my Family…..
We exhibit patience; we respect science.
We desire Truth, but not without Love.
In the two Testaments, it’s always the same God.
And always highlighting the difference between the sin and the sinner.
This is my Family, This is my Family….
Of course, sometimes we argue; we get on each other’s nerves in our discussions.
We’re not a perfect Church; we can be defeatist sometimes.
However, whatever happens, these bonds hold me fast.
They tell me: “Don’t be afraid”; you’ll always have your place here.
This is my Family, This is my Family….
Sometimes I get discouraged, I feel the storm coming;
I feel like going elsewhere, being with other brothers and sisters.
I come across other worlds, sometimes more joyful or more somber.
But I come back, and I realize again: in our Family, grace abounds!
In order to not preach in vain, keep reading John Calvin!
To stay vigilant, we need to keep re-inventing ourselves.
To keep growing, Love needs to spread like a virus.
To keep our youth dancing, we remember the Covenant.
This is my Family, this is my Family……
We have the same Father, the same Core Values,
We are governed by a synod, with a Presbyterian structure;
We enjoy the classic hymns; we sit on benches that are sometimes quite old,
We love the Huguenot cross, our singing is not always on key;
We are reformed, but not “deformed”,
We may be a bit atypical, but we’re evangelical;
We love the Cevennes Mountains, which run through our veins,
Yes, sometimes, we get on each other’s nerves, but we live under grace!
This is my Family, this is my Family……