Last week (Thursday), I went with Neal Blough for his first of 12 lectures at l'Institue catholique de Paris, which we might call "Catholic University". This was founded in 1875, just a few years after the disastrous Franco-Prussian War which caused some of Janice`s ancestors (and everyone else) such hardships.
Neal has participated in numerous Ecumenical dialogues with representatives from various denominations, but especially with informed Catholics. The invitation to give these lectures on Evangelical Protestantism undoubtedly grew out of some of those contacts made over the past decades. His having the Ph.D. also helps to open doors here. These lectures will be explaining the Reformation to senior citizens taking, what we would call, 'continuing education'. The French kindly refer to this programme as being "The University for the Middle of Life".
After riding several métros, we walked a few blocks to the University (6th arrodissement), which is not far from the Église Saint-Sulpice de Paris, a large church I enjoyed photographing on Pentecost several years ago. After passing students standing just outside the gate to the University, we entered the passageway itself. Two floors of classrooms and offices are above this gracious passageway, one where carriages could have entered the enclosed quadrangle of buildings in earlier eras. By having a single point of entry, security is enhanced. In any case, I imagine that nobody thinks of driving to class because parking is expensive (if available at all) and Paris is proactive in encouraging the use of public transportation throughout the city.
The electronic display indicates the rooms or halls for each lecture being given at that time. I don't think that the non-credit lectures were being listed, but might have missed seeing them.
Since this was the first week of classes (European Universities tend to begin in early October), many students were checking to see where to go for their first lectures.
Neal then strode off, following the instructions on the sheet which advertised his talk (conférence).
The inner court was tastefully covered with paving stones and cobblestones. This is not one of those delightful manicured greens found inside small English college quadrangles, but a major meeting and crossing point for thousands of students.
I took one photo of Neal lecturing, hoping nobody noticed. I counted about 95 people present, which is impressive. Most were taking extensive notes using fountain pens. Questions flowed afterward, even though it was his first presentation and he was not yet known to the auditors. His first talk briefly explained the various branches of the 16th-century Reformation, their main leaders, and salient differences in belief and practice. People paid close attention. I often saw heads nodding in agreement. I would guess that most in the class were of Catholic background, but that is just my guess. I had to wonder if anyone decided to take the class as a result of watching the Protestant Fête on TV the other weekend.
The series offers a superb opportunity to explain Protestantism generally and the Anabaptist movement and thinking in particular. It is surprising that French Mennonites can have such an effective spokesperson in Paris. After all, there are only some 3,000 Mennonites in all of France. When Neal gets opportunities like these, I realize that even though there are far more members of Lutheran and Reformed churches, Neal is one of several Mennonites of his generation in France being selected because of an ability to speak in a way that is not confrontational, a way that simply invites you to listen and learn, a way that places Mennonites and Protestants in the general context of French society and history. This approach keeps on opening doors of opportunity.
Thanks for you last letter. It meant a lot to us. We just cleaned the remaining books and cataloguing supplies off the library tables. Tomorrow we will face packing.
With love from us both,
Evan
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