L'Abri

May 4—May 19 Weeks 5-6 L'Abri Fellowship, Chalet Bellevue, 1884 Huémoz, Switzerland – http://www.labri.org/swiss/index.html

The Taizé community in France asks adults over 30 to spend no more than one week a year at the site in Taizé. This is so others have chance to come and to allow the community to maintain its focus on ministering to younger people. I arrived on a Sunday afternoon and left the next Sunday. My next destination was the L’Abri Fellowship in Huémoz, Switzerland. Pastor and theologian Francis Schaffer, originally from the United States, founded this fellowship in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. L’Abri is a French word for shelter. He welcomed people looking for shelter from the struggles of modern life, particularly persons with questions about faith and the nature of human life. He was well known for his after dinner conversations about whatever questions the gathered fellowship bring up.

Over the years, both Francis and his wife, Edith, have passed on, yet the vision and fellowship continues. The location is in a small village of Huémoz – about 300 people I think I heard stated. The fellowship has four homes or Chalets for staff and each has some capacity to house visitors as well. However, most visitors are housed in Chalet Bellevue these days. This is a large Chalet that may have originally been a hotel, was then used as home for disabled children and was eventually given to the L’Abri Fellowship. On the third floor long term workers live. On the second floor are the dorm rooms – or at least that is as close as I can tell to what we would call them. Many of these room have a couple sets of bunk beds. On the main floor is the lounge, kitchen, dining area and a couple of other rooms in which to gather. On the lower floor is the laundry, a few rooms for folks to stay in, and office or two. I was told that upwards of 30 students can be there at any one time. There is also the Chapel/Study area which is a separate building down the mountainside from Chalet Bellevue. (It seems all the houses in a village like this are named.)

I arrived the first day of a new term and was the first student to arrive. Notice the language which L’Abri uses for visitors and the time visitors stay. The ethos is one that mirrors to some extent the university and the university calendar. The assumption is that every visitor is coming with questions and need to study and discuss to address those questions. When I arrived I was greeted warmly, shown my dorm room, and given a tour. Then we went through rhythms of a stay at L’Abri. Most days breakfast is at 8 a.m. and after breakfast 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. is study time. Lunch is at 1 p.m. Work time is 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. with a tea break at 5 p.m. Supper is at 6:30 p.m. and after dinner is free time. Each student is assigned a job each day – helping in the kitchen, in the laundry, with grounds, cleaning bathrooms, etc. In the schedule above I suggest study time is in the morning however the work and study times may be reversed on some days. Then there are some special times. At some lunches and some dinners they are considered formal – and what this means is that everyone is expected to be there and participate in a discussion. The discussion is based on questions students bring up and one of the staff facilitate the discussion. Occasionally staff or visiting scholars would give a lecture as well.

I was the only student the first night, but over the course of the two weeks I was there the student ranks grew to six. We were a varied group – mostly from the United States but also a pharmacist from South Africa and a retired engineer originally from Malaysia now from Toronto, Canada. The discussions were lively and the staff helpful. The seven staff there when I arrived focus is on the people coming to L’Abri and to help guide them on their search. I was able to continue reading about science and theology as well as engage in a number of discussions about different ways of thinking. Many of the students were wondering about their faith – how to understand it better, how to experience God’s will more fully, how to rekindle their faith after life has happened, etc. I was surprised how quickly we began to share our questions with one another. Through our conversations at meals, discussion while working together, and going to church together, a community began to form. I was surprised how hard it was to leave after just two weeks. Helen arrived on the last night of my stay. She too noticed how quickly you began to have meaningful conversations.

What I have not mentioned is how incredible the setting is. If you like the mountains, and I do, then this is an incredible spot. Looking out the window of the room I stayed in I could see the valley floor 3,000 feet below and mountains seemly coming straight up out of the valley floor to elevations of (I think) 12,000 or more feet. Just up the road is a ski town called Villars and the view from there was incredible. For one who likes to study, engage in discussion around issues of philosophy and faith, doesn’t mind doing a bit of work, and enjoys the mountains L’Abri is an incredible place. Furthermore, faith runs deep in the staff and they are ever there to encourage the visitors and students to discover or go deeper in Christian faith.

After leaving L’Abri we travelled until the Northumbria Community was available to accommodate us. Helen and I spent a bit more time along Lake Geneva before going back to the Burgundy region of France via Lyon, France. In Burgundy my goal was to see at least the remains of the monastic community at Cluny. This community became incredibly important from about 980 to 1300. During its heyday the community had as many as 2000 monks and a church building that was about 2 football fields long. Because it became a symbol of power, during the French revolution it was nearly demolished.

While in Burgundy, we were able to again visit Taize as well as a number of ancient communities. The small city of Tournus not far from where we stayed had a several hundred year old church (that also had had a monastic community associated with it). Inside that church we found a fascinating art display of large carvings depicting events in the life of Christ. We noticed how central the church or monastic enclaves were to the history of the Catholic church in Burgundy and likely throughout France.

We also stopped in Chartres, France to visit the cathedral there. The building itself is massive and towers over visitors and the city. When we arrived at church, we found a worship service in progress. The grounds around the church we filled with what looked to us like scout troops. We discovered that these scouts had participated in a pilgrammage from the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris to cathedral of Notre Dame in Chartres. This three day hike culminated with a mass at Chartres. It was this mass we were privileged to see at its conclusion.

I hope to be a little quicker with the next update.

My our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ give you grace and peace,

Norman