Francis Foucachon speaking at NSA’s Disputatio – Calvin@500 Series. “John Calvin and the Huguenots”

From an NSA news release:

     Rev. Francis Foucachon, a native of France with a Huguenot family heritage that extends to the 16th century Protestant Reformation, will present "Calvin and the Huguenots" at the Nuart Theater this Friday, October 30, at 3 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public.
     The lecture, the fifth in the College's yearlong Calvin Lecture Series marking the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth, is on the eve of day that Protestants celebrate the Reformation worldwide.
     Foucachon is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and has served as a church planter in France with Missions to the World. With its speaker series, New Saint Andrews joins an international and interdenominational commemoration of John Calvin's life and work. New Saint Andrews, which is firmly rooted in the Calvinist tradition, is a limited-enrollment classical Christian liberal arts college located on Friendship Square in Moscow, Idaho.

Baptism of Edmund Lucien Foucachon

 

Baptism of Edmund Lucien Foucachon, Sepember 6th, 2009, at Christ Church, in Moscow, ID. Baptized by his grandfather, Rev. Francis Foucachon.

Welcome to the Covenant People of God Edmund! May you walk in the faith of your fathers all the days of your life. May the fear of the Lord reside in you, making you fearless among men. As your name, Edmund, signifies, may you be a Prosperous Protector, blessing and protecting others with the blessings and strength bestowed upon you by God. And as your middle name, Lucien, signifies, may you be a light among men. May you carry on the faith of your fathers to a thousand generations.
Your father, Daniel

---

Bienvenue au Peuple de l'Alliance, Edmund! Que tu marches dans la foi de tes pères tous les jours de ta vie. Que la crainte de l'Éternel demeure en toi, en sorte que tu sois sans crainte devant les hommes. Selon la signification de ton prénom, Edmund, que tu sois « un protecteur prospère », qui bénit et qui  protège ton entourage avec les bénédictions et la puissance que le Seigneur te donnera. Et selon la signification de ton autre prénom, Lucien, que tu sois une lumière parmi les hommes. Que tu portes la foi de tes pères jusqu'à mille générations.    
Ton Père, Daniel 

 

Here is the congregational charge that was given:

Little Child, for you Jesus Christ came to this earth, struggled and suffered; for your sake He crossed Gethsemane and went through the darkness of Calvary; for your sake He cried: 'It is finished'; for your sake He died and for your sake He overcame death; indeed for your sake, little child, and you—still—know  nothing of it. And thus the word of the apostle is confirmed: 'We love God, for He loved us first.'

(Taken from an old French Reformed Baptism Rite)

Doug Wilson on Grace and Law

Edmund Lucien Foucachon

Edmund Lucien Foucachon was born on June 30th, 2009, at 9:37 pm, weighing 8 lbs 1oz.!

Welcome to the Covenant People of God Edmund! May you walk in the faith of your fathers all the days of your life. May the fear of the Lord reside in you, making you fearless among men. As your name, Edmund, signifies, may you be a Prosperous Protector, blessing and protecting others with the blessings and strength bestowed upon you by God. And as your middle name, Lucien, signifies, may you be a light among men. May you carry on the faith of your great-grandfather, Lucien Foucachon, to a thousand generations.

Unless the Lord builds the house,
they labor in vain who build it;
unless the LORD guards the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.

It is vain for you to rise up early,
to sit up late,
to eat the bread of sorrows;
for so He gives His beloved sleep.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
so are the children of one’s youth.

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
they shall not be ashamed,
but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
~Psalm 127

Blessed is every one who fears the LORD,
who walks in His ways.

When you eat the labor of your hands,
you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the very heart of your house,
your children like olive plants
All around your table.

Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the LORD.

The LORD bless you out of Zion,
and may you see the good of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.

Yes, may you see your children’s children.

Peace be upon Israel!

~Psalm 128

Daniel et Lydia - Un Poem

L'Ouest américain les a fait se rencontrer
Et la vie qui parfois sait vous jouer des tours
Sous le ciel d'Idaho, ils se sont bien trouvés
Pour conjuguer ensemble ce que l'on nomme l'amour.

Daniel et Lydia

Edifier un futur c'est là leur avenir
Des coeurs pleins de projets, une période heureuse
Vécue dans l'allégresse, une vie à bâtir
Un chemin de bonheur, une route joyeuse

Daniel et Lydia

Construire une famille sur un modèle ancien
En être héritier, ne pas rompre la ligne
Aspirer à poursuivre pour unique seul bien
Le désire de savoir et d'en demeurer digne

Daniel et Lydia

Chemins riants ou sombres, ils la parcourront
Cette vie de bonheur parfois semée de peines
Mais quelqu'un leur dira qu'il leur fait tenir bon
Quelqu'un qui les chérit et quelqu'un qui les aime

Daniel et Lydia

L'océan nous sépare des êtres qui nous sont chers
Cette lointaine Amérique qui pourtant les enseigne
Voyageurs en recherche, ils sont loin de leurs pères
Consolation pour nous car là-bas la foi règne

Daniel et Lydia

-Lucien Foucachon, written on the occation of our wedding, June 2008

30th Anniversary

     My parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this month! And not just thirty years, but thirty years of loving each other, sacrificing for each other, being an example to us kids, and teaching us through their lives and their instruction how to fear and love God. I am especially thankful for my parents this Thanksgiving!

Still as much in love as ever, and I hear even more so!

 

 

 

 

  The photo is a bit blurry, but that is a Chateauneuf-du-Pape from 1989! I hear it was exquisite.

A Huguenot Tradition - Advent Breakfast

The French are not big on breakfast. Often very light like a Croissant with coffee. However there are four breakfasts in the year which are exceptionally special. There is a Huguenot tradition in France of having a special advent breakfast that my father grew up with and then did with us, and that I am now continuing. It is often not a huge breakfast, mostly because we would otherwise be late for church, but it is always very special and unique. There are a few things that always accompany it, such as a tangerine with a candle stuck in it, as well as Papilottes (which we didn't have this time since you can't get them in the states. Papilottes are a Christmas-only chocolate that is wrapped in a foil with a joke inside and sometimes a little firecracker.)

Other than those, it varies from time to time. This morning we had eggs, toast, and breakfast sausage; a donut (with coconut on top), fruit cake, a slice of pound cake, a chocolate cigar, peanut butter cups, and hot cider (and of course the orange).

Here are a couple photos of our first advent breakfast:

On Baptism

This is a very rough translation from the original manuscript written in old French on the History of the Vaudois Churches in the Piemont mountains. I read this section on Baptism (which I found is a lot easier to just read than to actually translate!) and I found that some of the things sounded strangely like the "new" Federal Vision stuff...

We are pretty certain that the Vaudoises are our ancestors, specifically Henri Arnaud, a Vaudois Huguenot pastor who led an army of Huguenots back into the Piemont Valley in 1690 (?). This book was given to my father by his father, and tells of the persecutions of the Huguenots during this time period.

On Baptism

The first [sacrament] is called baptism, that is to say in our language, washing by water or from a river, or from a fountain. It must be administered in the Name of the Father, Son, and of the Holy Spirit, to those who, first of all, by the grace of God the Father, looking to his Son, and by participation of [in?] Jesus Christ, who has redeemed us, and by the renewing of the Holy Spirit, who imprints living Faith in our hearts, the sins of those baptized are forgiven, and they are received in grace : and after having persevered [in grace], they are saved in Jesus Christ.

The Baptism with which we are baptized, and that with which our Lord himself wanted to be baptized, in order to accomplish all justice, just as he wanted to be circumcised, is [the baptism] which he commanded his Apostles to baptize with.

Moreover, this baptism is visible and material; [the baptism] does not make a person either good or bad, as we learn in the Scripture of Simon Magus, and of St. Paul. And the reason that the baptism is administered in the midst of the congregation of the faithful is so that he who is received is reputed and held by all for a Brother and Christian, and so that all might pray for him, that he be Christian of the heart, just as he is externally considered to be a Christian. And it is for this reason that we present the Children to Baptism. Those who the children touch the closest ought to do this, just as their parents do, and those to whom God has given this charity.


Jean Leger, L'Histoire Generale Des Eglises Evangeliques Des Vallees De Piemont ou Vaudoises, (France, Leyde: Jean le Carpentier, 1669), 67.