Changing Times: Scattered Throughout The Region

By Emma Le Noan, Paris, France

Whether we think Coronavirus comes from man’s folly, a natural disaster, the hand of God, or the devil’s schemes, it has undeniably caused a lot of havoc in the lives of mostly anyone throughout the world in one way or another. It feels to me that our church was scattered during 2020 when a lockdown was imposed by the government. We no longer met together in person, as I am sure was the case elsewhere as well, but still, we all saw how God provided for the church through virtual services. This might not have been our ideal circumstances, yet it propelled the church more effectively into the new era of the global internet community. Whether we like it or not, this is how people live today.

As elsewhere, we see many people coming to church virtually. In our case in France, where there are few sister churches, many are living “scattered” and far away from Paris. In the ministry group of which I am a part, we literally have brothers and sisters living “all over the map”!

Acts 8:1 “…on that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.”

This passage comes to mind as I think of what has happened in the world over the last four years. When I think of the Coronavirus, which this time four years ago was starting to hit the news, it seems like a great persecution on the world. We have all probably seen up close some of the devastating effects of this virus. People known to us have lost their lives to it, and some others having caught the virus have had unforeseen health complications to name but a couple of the most statistically obvious effects.

The persecution in Jerusalem of the early church sent converted Jews away from the city (in fact the text says all of them except the apostles!) and scattered them throughout the country. The book of Acts does not say that these scattered converts were overcome by the persecution, that they lost heart or that they stopped practicing their faith. On the contrary Acts 8:4 says, “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went”.

Overcoming challenges

Firstly a married woman, then a parent of 3, and now a grandmother and a mother to adult children and an older single woman, and after having been a disciple for almost 35 years, I’ve seen that there is no “one size fits all” when considering how to live out our faith as far as practicalities go. Just when everything seems organized to suit your life, another fresh challenge presents itself, and a new set of variables comes into play!

I have seen this as an obstacle and have allowed myself to get discouraged about it. Thinking thoughts such as, “it would be so much easier if I could walk over or drive just 10 minutes to see sister A who is not feeling well or enjoy a coffee with sister B”. Or, “how can we get together to share our faith when we live so far from each other?” There are many people in our church in Paris who do enjoy that proximity, but it has not been my reality for several years.

Wrestling with God over this I concluded that I often mistake “easy” for “better” and that from a spiritual point of view, “easy” rarely proves to be better. When there are obstacles, we grow. When there are obstacles we pray, because we can’t do things our way, so we cry out to God. When the persecution broke out in Jerusalem, perhaps the first thought in the minds of the apostles was, “this is disastrous for our cause”. But it turned out that it was a catalyst for spreading the Gospel.

God Provides

With the “scattered” group of mostly older women we have had to change how we think and practice staying connected and how we minister to each other. In July 2020 we baptized a woman who studied the bible through virtual means simultaneously with a sister in Switzerland, a sister in her home country in Africa, and a sister from our group in Paris! Our group was the closest geographically but nevertheless over two hours of driving one way through the countryside! Our new sister, Mama G, now aged 70, lives in a small town in the west of France. Since becoming our sister in Christ she has had some major health issues. Living by herself, with her son living far away, we have seen how God has provided for her. The sisters in the group do what they can do – organizing visits, having her to stay in their homes for special events. This was working well until several months ago when her health took a turn for the worse: mobility becoming more and more difficult, and a need for more consistent help was required. As the shepherd of the group, I felt quite helpless, but God as He always does, provided in a way that was far from obvious to me. Mama G welcomed into her home a younger woman and two children in need of a place to live. This generous act, we soon realized was a Godsend as the younger woman has proven to be like a daughter to Mama. As well as taking care of many practical needs and accompanying her to medical appointments, she also helps Mama to stay connected to our group and Mama is no longer living alone.

Another highlight during the pandemic was the restoration to the fellowship of a couple who had been converted over 30 years ago in the Paris church. They had ended up living in Normandy and not in the Paris region. Thanks to virtual church they recommitted. As an older couple with a lot of experience they bring much to the group despite their geographic distance. During the same period, a younger family living on the east side of Paris moved out west, into our geographic area. They bought a house close to two other households so that we now have a base of three families living within 10 minutes’ drive of each other. This couple had prayed to have a home they could use for God and it has been another sign of God’s provision and mercy for our spread-out group.

“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14)

When I reflect on all of this, I see God orchestrating how our group can function despite the obstacle of distance. I am someone who likes to have everything straight and neat – everything in tidy boxes. But I’m continuing to learn that walking with God is not to see into the distant future but to look to Him for the next step. With the women in our group, we have a virtual midweek with a theme, (we’ve just started the book Becoming a Woman of Purpose by Cynthia Heald) and we make sure that the schedule is communicated in advance. With this group of women, many of whom are juggling a work schedule and commute, some with difficult home situations, some with precarious health, we know that we cannot expect full attendance every week. But we have the meeting regardless – it is too much of a lifeline for those living far away. We also schedule in-person meetings that are fun and spiritual on a less regular basis. This is a change from the weekly regularity that I experienced as a younger disciple and required me to re-think what it means to stay connected, how to accomplish our mission, and how to grow in our faith.

Recently when evaluating the group altogether, we realized that we had lost the art of talking over the phone. With all the other ways and means of communicating, the spontaneous phone call still has its place and is gratifying and encouraging, especially for those who are isolated geographically and do not have the opportunity for individual conversation when we meet in house church on Sunday or at an all-church service. Just this week, we began to implement a plan to be more intentional about meeting this need.

Nothing new under the sun: prayer makes the difference

It’s amazing to me how easy it is to not pray about things when I know that it really does make the difference, having seen it over and over again. And when I am conscious, I get excited thinking about, how is God going to answer this prayer?! Yet so often I still want to rely on my “knowledge” or experience. In September 2022, I was feeling discouraged because three single women in our group (two living far from Paris) left because their loneliness had got to them, and they sought companionship elsewhere.

Turning to God, I felt encouraged by the Spirit to start meeting at 7 am Monday morning (on zoom) with two of the women in the group so that we could pray and ask the Spirit to guide us. Initially quite a sacrifice in my mind, this weekly moment has become one of my favorite times of the week. Sharing the burden of the group with these spiritual, serving sisters has lightened my load, and kept us all more connected and focused. Since that time, one of the sisters who left has returned and we were able to restore her to the group, another of the three is in close contact with many of us and we are hopeful for her and faithfully praying still.

“But the greatest of these is Love”

I would still counsel people to move closer to where the church group is, especially young, singles, but this is not always a possible solution for everyone for a multitude of reasons. Going through this trial and while writing this article, my faith has been renewed to continue to believe that God can still use us, as always. The distance just forces me to be more encouraging, even more prayerful, even more persevering. He calls me to a higher faith and requires me to grow in love! Even during strange and new times!

When I read these two previous sentences, I think all of those are good things for us! This is definitely one way that God is using me to learn these lessons!

About Emma Le Noan

Emma Le Noan is a British woman who became a disciple in Boston in 1989 and moved to Paris in 1990 when she married her French husband, Yannick. Together they have served in the Paris Church in various roles over the years. Currently serving in the Paris Eldership, they have three adult children, and one grandson aged 2 this month!