As the title suggests! ⛪

I’m only now coming around to writing this post! Throughout the exchange, I was wondering when to write about this topic—at the beginning, halfway through, near the end...well, now it is over! For the longest time, I also thought it might have been a lengthier and fuller post. But, it doesn’t have to be! So, here are some recollections and (small) reflections on my time with these fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, in Switzerland :)

Looking for a church

To look for a church, I simply googled “English speaking churches in Lausanne”! Of the three results that I found, two seemed to fit the criteria I was looking for, and so I sent an email to both churches to ask a few questions (this was all done while I was still in Canada.) Only one responded (and very promptly!), so I decided to check that church out first. Praise God that it was a solid church that preached the gospel and I did not have to look elsewhere!

First (Sun)day

I visited this church (Westlake Church Lausanne) on my first Sunday in Switzerland. However, I was in Zurich the night before, so I had to catch an early train to make it. Even though I didn’t know anyone else, and at the time was still feeling homesick, it was deeply encouraging to be among God’s people, halfway across the world, and be united in the truth of the Gospel. So it felt both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

The walk to church on my first Sunday. Bright and sunny day!

University/young adults group

Westlake also has a university/young adults group which I participated in throughout the year. It seems that usually the format is to meet in smaller uni/YA-focused home groups (small groups/community groups), similar to the rest of the church, but this year we met just as one big group and divided up after sharing a meal for Bible study. Sometimes we did other activities or bigger group things, but for the most part it would be in smaller groups.

For the first few months, there were many more young adults (as in non-students), but as the year went on we did get more students—some on exchange, some in their bachelors, some in their masters and also PhDs! People also came from different countries, which was neat to interact and meet with so many believers from various places. Since there was no “campus fellowship” like UWCCF (a bit more on that later), this was where I met other believers that were around the same age as me (though mostly a bit older.)

Overall, I found it to be a time of listening, encouraging, learning, and observing. Listening to what others shared about their weeks and their thoughts. Encouraging one another in prayer and just consistency in seeing people every week. Learning from our studies of course! And also observing how people walked in the Lord. A splendid time spent with them!

Normal church things

This was the building where we met at on Sundays.

I found the normal Sunday service to be balanced, kind of an in-between of two churches that I have visited in Waterloo (Trinity and Redeemer for those who know). The worship included both contemporary and hymns, and the preaching was expositional, edifying and convicting at times, without the need of a super loud voice (I guess the preaching style suited well.) The pastor is also a genuinely caring fellow; gentle, patient, and also a bit of some classic British humour sprinkled in there 😛 Three-point sermons still exist on this side of the globe too!

Definitely learning here from the sermons. Uplifting to worship together. Meeting different people in the church. Also though, patience and time. It takes time to see people every week, then start to say hi, then converse a bit more,...can’t rush these things! The church also ran some other events during the year which were other opportunities to meet. But it is really nice to be able to walk in and say hi to people you know and who also know you.

Sunday school...for adults? 😮

Well turns out it is pretty normal, but I just assumed it was a growing-up-kid-thing! It ran in the morning before service (9 am class, 10 am service), and different people would teach. We also had croissants and coffee/tea in the morning 😋. A time of continued learning, opportunity to ask questions and sometimes hear differing opinions on certain issues. Given the diverse backgrounds that people came from, it was normal for people to have differing opinions (namely on secondary and tertiary things, definitely not primary Gospel things.) I’m not sure how many other churches do this (and if so how they might operate it), but it seems to be a good way to continue to expand our understanding on topics that perhaps won’t get as much treatment during a service or that could complement or add to existing home/small group discussions.

A local (French-speaking) church

I did also get to visit a local French-speaking church, which happened to be a Reformed Baptist church. It was also quite interesting to hear a sermon preached in French; unlike listening to a Cantonese sermon (not to mention a Mandarin sermon), it was almost the same as listening to it in English in terms of comprehension and understanding levels (which is a bit shocking to me 😂). The style of the worship was also one that I had not encountered before: there were two hymn books, no projector, no A/V equipment, and only a piano (there may have been also a violin or a cello, but that was it.) And so we would flip to a certain page (as announced orally and also in the bulletin), and then sing it. One of the pastors even led one of the hymns, which I had not seen before. Anyways, it was a neat experience. I have included a picture of one of the hymns we sang, but in French (He Will Hold Me Fast!)

Il me gardera- He Will Hold Me Fast

A local church (during some travels)

During my travels I also got to visit some other churches in various cities. However, I would always be looking for an English-speaking church in the area, so the influences and styles of those churches tended to actually be similar to one another, at least for the time I was there. Granted, it was only for a Sunday morning (or sometimes Sunday evening!), but still a short glimpse into these other churches.

GBEU- ministry on campus

As I mentioned earlier, there was no “campus fellowship” like UWCCF on campus. This is partly true; if you were thinking of the way ACFs/CCFs across Ontario are run; their size and events and complexity, than yes, there isn’t anything like that. There is still though a ministry going on called GBEU (Groupes Bibliques des Écoles et Universités) that has various groups meeting across the French-speaking part of Switzerland. I did not get to go to their meetings due to class conflicts, but on the EPFL campus they would usually meet once a week for lunch to discuss a small passage or meet one another. Since it is part of a bigger organization, the organization did host an outreach/evangelism week of sorts, where they had different talks happen on campus for different topics, such as “Science and Faith” (which I did go to!)

How does a (particular) local church operate

Another picture taken on the morning walk to church from the bus stop.

Another takeaway from my time at Westlake was getting a bit more of a look at how they operate. They currently don’t have their own building (that is going to change though, you can checkout their building project on the website!), so there is stuff to setup and take down. How the church went about deciding their confession of faith, the structure of the church and how the service runs, their congregants, etc. There is a lot to church that I learned more about during my time there.

Given the church’s proximity to the two universities in Lausanne, there were also a lot of congregants who are in academia (PhDs/post-docs/professors). I haven’t met that many academics before in one setting, let alone in a church! (They also have a Christian Academics group at Westlake where academics meet once a month to share a meal, have someone present a particular topic and then discussion follows). Meeting these various people has helped give me more perspective with regards to grad studies and further education, something that I had minimal exposure to at Waterloo. Pretty cool!

Concluding Thoughts

Perhaps this post was a bit longer than I intended with a “shorter” post, but they are just some thoughts and sharings on my time with the church in Switzerland. A big realization for me was the globalness of the body of Christ, since I had not really met other believers outside of where I grew up/went to university. God is a global God of a global people!

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9-10)

Meeting people who came from different backgrounds and have differing opinions on secondary/tertiary issues yet still united by the Gospel was also encouraging and different. I think sometimes we can be quite single-minded at CCF, and differing opinions are sometimes frowned upon. To be fair, I think it does help when people agree on various other issues! Things run much more smoothly, and perhaps in most churches that would work well. It could also be that people just agree on the same things at CCF; that would be fine too. But at least for me, the takeaway is to be more patient, gentle, and understanding; if the issues differing are not primary ones, we should still embrace our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, since we are all part of the same body and Church. Sure, one of us may be wrong and the other right, but if we are both fully convinced in our minds, then that’s fine (and good), and we can agree to disagree on that particular thing!

“One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” (Romans 14:5)

Actual conclusion

I’m finally wrapping up this post back in Waterloo, watching the people come and go by the bus terminal from E7...The sun has set at this point (but I took this picture before it did.) Sitting here, I’m very thankful for my time in Switzerland, particularly at Westlake. God has been incredibly gracious to me, and all I can do is to give Him all the thanks, glory, and praise.

Sunset time on campus (Waterloo!).

See you around!