Pastor Thomas

Sunday was Thomas's official ordination as a pastor/missionary, as well as the official retirement send-off of Marc, who he's replacing. It was a really neat, good time. We figure there were probably about 50 people in attendance, which is a far cry from our normal 15. We had invited a lot of our personal friends, including Jean-Marc, Thomas's ex-colleague from the Christian bookstore in Paris, who made the train trip specifically for the event. There were also 3 pastors and 2 retired pastors from our sister churches, along with a few "members" of the church who we rarely see. The service was followed by a meal at a local community center. God surprised us by working out a detail: We had rented (and paid for) a smaller room, knowing that we would be pretty cramped, but being unwilling to justify paying the price for the bigger room. Well, due to a heating problem, we were "unable" to use the smaller room, and so got the big one for the same price! I think everyone had a good time. I'm hoping to get some better pictures from one of our friends who is a professional journalist, but for now, here is what I managed to get: