Pray with France, July 12, 2026
Lectionary Selection: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Prayers for France
God-Eternal,
you cause all kinds of seeds to germinate and grow:
a seed becomes a stalk of wheat
another a mustard tree,
Your word becomes love and hope
under multiple gestures of sharing and solidarity.
We thank you for your power
who wants and knows how to transform the world.
We pray that you will give us courage
to share around us the hope that carries us
to be a witness of your Good News.
Sow creativity, courage and perseverance in us
to always find new ways,
to proclaim to seekers of meaning the life you promise.
We thank you for the bonds between us, the sister churches,
With whom we share the same mission,
Who inspire each other,
who exchange our new ideas
and who we pray for one another.
We thank you because, despite so many barriers,
the seed germinates, grows and bears fruit.
All new expressions of faith
that we are trying to put in place,
the new projects we are trying our way with,
and the new ministries that we are considering,
are borne by your promise:
That the seed will fall into the good soil:
They ended up giving fruit,
one hundred, another sixty, the other thirty.
What an encouragement to dare new paths
to be your witness to the Gospel. Amen
Mission Moment from France
Our Protestant Church in the Lutheran-Reformed tradition has been losing members for some time now. Yet our way of expressing trust in Christ is well observed and appreciated. We say it is perhaps too complicated, too intellectual, and discussed with the “internal language” of the church (our “language of Canaan,” as we say). Having its origins in the century of the Reformation and founded in the theology of Calvin, our Reformed Church has been committed since the union with the French Lutheran Church in 2013 to seek new ways and places to sow the Good News:
- With a community learning path (seminary), we encourage our members to dare to speak of their own faith and thus be a church of ‘witnesses to the Gospel’ (as says our guiding theme).
- Through new and innovative projects, we try to reach our current members better: a specific Church for young people (20-40 years old), a spiritual and meditative journey in hectic times, workshops of art expressing the unspeakable, a listening bistro in the marketplace, and a summer festival of the Word in a village.
- The recent creation of the ministry of deacons opens up opportunities for new commitments within our Church: becoming an evangelist, working as a musician-artist, or welcoming people in specific places, for example.
- We are preparing a Forum entitled “From the Building to the Public Square” for this October to reflect on how our buildings can better reach the modern city around.
Written by Ulrich Rusen Weinhold, Secretary for International Relations of the United Protestant Church of France
Mission Partners in France
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