  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, (photo taken from Dr Clare Amos blog)
Dear La Côte Church family and friends,
Coinciding with Palm Sunday this week is the 80th anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s execution. A German Lutheran Pastor of the Confessing Church, Bonhoeffer was “judicially murdered” on 9 April 1945, as Dr Clare Amos puts it, in an act of pure revenge just before the end of the Second World War.
Bonhoeffer held to the costly belief that his Christian identity was more fundamental than his German one. As a patriotic German he wrestled with the choices he felt compelled to make in his opposition to Hitler and the Nazis. Clare Amos observes “there was no possibility of the luxury of keeping his hands clean in the midst of the muck and morass that he had to live through.”
Neither did Jesus turn away from the muck and morass of rising political tensions as he entered Jerusalem on a donkey, embodying a contentious way of peace. Following Christ into Jerusalem, opens the way for us to seek after the things that make for peace, in a world “hell-bent” on aggro. Jerusalem continues to be a battleground, and as disciples of Jesus we continue to pray and to strive for peace with justice in the place where he died and rose again.
Palm Sunday asks us to follow Jesus into the muck and morass of public life though our worship, our prayers, our words and actions.
Suffering and Risen Lord, we thank you for Bonhoeffer’s courageous faith and costly discipleship, wrestling with choices of allegiance in his troubled times.
Help us to discern your voice and give us courage to get our hands dirty. Inspire us to choose the things that make for peace in the muck and morass of our times.
Reveal your presence with us in days of joyful Hosanna praise and nights of fear and mourning.
Make us instruments of your peace.
In Christ’s name we pray, Amen
For Clare’s full sermon on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, click here
Carolyn Cooke
News from La Côte AGM
Following our AGM, we are delighted to welcome:
Diantha Terry as our new Church Warden, together with Liz Bramley who is standing again,
Eric Cockshutt as our new church treasurer,
Jessica Chapman as a new member of our church council.
On behalf of La Côte Church, thank you to these three church members for stepping up to the challenge to lead us.
We also said goodbye to:
John Ingham, who has stepped down from his role as church treasurer,
Phil Clifton and Louise Burrows who have stepped back from church council,
Ever Gutierrez who has stepped back from his role on the Safeguarding team.
On behalf of our La Côte Church may I express our deep gratitude to all of them for their dedicated engagement and service to our community.
To find out more about our Church and our AGM, please enjoy our 2024 annual report, HERE.
We are delighted to announce that the Sunday Club Bake Sale raised 854 chf. These funds will go to “Embrace the Middle East”, a Christian Development Charity Tackling Poverty & Injustice in the Middle East.
On behalf of our Sunday club, thank you very much to all of you who made and bought baked goods and who gave generously to this venture. One child helping with the sale commented on how much they loved helping and raising funds for a good cause!
For more information and for recent updates to the charity’s partners caught up in the conflict in the Middle East, click HERE.
Annual general meeting of the La Côte Anglican Church Association in France - Sunday 27 April 2025
Please join us for the AGM of our church’s association in France on Sunday 27 April at 11.30am in the Temple in Divonne.
For notice of the AGM and the agenda, click here
Worship this weekend
Sunday 13 April - Palm Sunday
10.00 Divonne - All-Age Holy Communion
16.00 Gingins - Evening Prayer, starting with a procession in Gingins village
Holy week and Easter Sunday
PLEASE NOTE - If you are unable to attend one of our main services but would like Holy Communion or private prayer in person, please contact Carolyn Cooke.
For any prayer requests for yourself or others, please contact Peta Tracey who will share in confidence with our Tuesday prayer group where we pray for the needs of our world and community.
An extra service during Holy Week - Monday 14 April at 11.30
St Ursula’s Anglican Chaplaincy, Berne
Chrism Service
This service is an opportunity for the renewal of commitment to ministry for deacons, Readers and authorized lay ministers and priests in the church. It is also an occasion to receive oils to take back to our chaplaincies for the sacrament of anointing. The newly consecrated Suffragan Bishop Andrew will be leading this service, so this is an opportunity to meet him.
Everyone is welcome to attend. Please let Anne de Tréverret know by Friday 11 April. Please bring a packed lunch, and drinks will be provided.
Ecumenical circle of silent prayer – Holy Saturday 19 April at 11.00
Please join us at la Place du Château, Nyon. This is an opportunity to gather with fellow Christians in the region, for silent prayer for our troubled world and for local needs. We conclude our prayers by saying The Lord’s Prayer in our mother tongue.
Give your used eyeglasses a second life!
La Côte Anglican Church is organizing a collection of used eyeglasses (including sunglasses) during Lent and Easter (5 March-20 April 2025) and would be grateful for any contributions.
The collected eyeglasses will be given to the Lions Club of Switzerland, who collaborate with Médico Lions Clubs of France, to recondition the eyeglasses received and distribute them to patients with visual impairments in developing countries.
Please note that any contributions of eyeglass cases would also be greatly appreciated.
For further information, please see https://www.lionsclubs.org/en/resources-for-members/resource-center/recycle-eyeglasses and http://www.medico-lcf.org/?q=recyclage-des-lunettes
Coming up this week
Morning Prayer
Monday to Friday at 7.30 and Saturday at 8.30 - online
Here is the link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84315258948?pwd=WWZaMTRzZEpnNHV3ekZYRFRUYU96Zz09
Meeting ID: 843 1525 8948 - Passcode: 82966
Tuesday Prayer Group
NB: There will be no meeting of the Prayer Group on Tue. 15 April - next meeting Tue. 29 April chez John & Peta Tracey in Coinsins.
Please do contact peta.tracey@lacotechurch.ch with any prayer requests in confidence.
Window on Wednesday - 16 April
9.30-11.30 - Gingins Parish Room
This term our resource is "Practicing the Way" written by John Mark Comer, "Be with Jesus. Become Like Him. Do as he did".
All are welcome to join us fortnightly on Wednesday mornings, as we share our faith and lives together along with coffee & pastries!
If you would like to join us, please contact Diantha Terry and/or Kate Shepherd.
Next dates for our meetings are April 16th & 30th - May 14th & 28th - June 11th & 25th.
La Côte Blokes' dinner - 17 April
Thursday 19.30-22.00 - in Nyon at the Prieuré next to the temple
For more details – contact David Cooke
A La Côte playgroup in Divonne
Thursday 24th April marks the opening of the La Côte playgroup. Please pass on this message to any caregivers with children aged 0-4 who would like to join us in the Parish rooms from 9.45 - 11.45 on Thursdays. There is no need to sign up and no charge, everyone is welcome. We are also still looking for volunteers to join our 'back-up' list to help from time to time on a Thursday from 9.00 - 13.00. No regular commitment required, just a willingness to come and see how things work and help, if free, when needed. If you think you might be able to help and/or would like to discuss this further we would love to hear from you.
Thank you,
The Playgroup Team playgroup@lacotechurch.ch
Recent Happenings at La Côte !
If you would like to have a look at some photographs of recent happenings at La Côte Church please go to our website https://www.lacotechurch.ch/recent-happening/
Rotas in ChurchSuite
Dear church members and volunteers,
ChurchSuite is beginning to work more smoothly, thank you to everyone for your patience and commitment.
One step that would be very helpful for Anne is that you add in your unavailabilites. Click HERE for how to do this or contact Anne.
It is very important that you check ChurchSuite on a regular basis to view when you are next serving. For further information, click HERE.
Happening elsewhere
Lions Club charity concert
Alhambra Theatre, 15 April 2025
For more information, click here
Conference and Display of 16th Century Books
Tudor England and the Antwerp Book Trade:
From Tyndale to Plantin
Antwerp (BE), Tuesday 8 – Friday 11 July 2025
For more information, click here.
The Lost Food Project (combatting food waste)
Members of la Côte Church are taking part in a food bank in Nyon. Click HERE for more information. If would like to supplement our food supplies, please bring rice or pulses to our Sunday services. Thank you very much.
Work with those seeking refugee status
Mentoring opportunities and Accommodation: Please speak to Diantha Terry with any thoughts you have.
Do you have jobs that need doing? Please contact Diantha Terry.
From your safeguarding team
Your safeguarding team promotes and works towards keeping our church a safe place where our congregation can feel secure and cared for.
Safeguarding is an integral part of the wellbeing of our Church community.
We are here not only to work with you through the formalities of short training or administrative safeguarding checks but to support you in strict confidentiality if concerns relative to abuse arise.
You can count on our understanding and goodwill in all things safeguarding.
Ever Guttierez, Cate Bichara and Liz Martinez
Contact email: Safeguarding@lacotechurch.ch
 Pledging and Giving online and in person
Many thanks as ever for your giving to the life of our church and thus to our mission and service within and well beyond our community.
Pledging gives stability to the church finances and ensures that budgets can be planned realistically. So however large or however small your commitment, please consider pledging. Contact our pledge administrator, Mark Warren (mark.warren@yahoo.fr) for further details.
If you are at church without any cash but would like to give to the collection there is a solution: we have a bank or credit card reader at church to contribute to the collection using your card.
Here are the bank details for our church:
IBAN CH42 0022 8228 5504 9740 H
Holder The La Côte Anglican Church Development Association, 1267 Coinsins
BIC UBSWCHZH80A
You can also do so by scanning the QR code below
You may also like to remember La Côte Anglican Church in your will.
Merci beaucoup, thank you very much!
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