“In today’s postmodern society Christians must be able to work together, simply in order to be witnesses together of Christ”, declared Pastor Claude Baty, of the Union of the Free Evangelical Churches, in his acceptance speech following his election as tenth President of the FPF (Protestant Federation of France). Baty was elected to head the FPT during its recent general assembly. He will succeed the current President, Jean-Arnold de Clermont, on 1st July. “Contrary to what is commonly believed – added Baty – it’s not Islam, but Christianity that is advancing most rapidly, especially in the countries of the southern hemisphere”. So “the centre of Christianity will no longer be Rome or Geneva, but more likely Kinshasa, and this will inevitably lead to new forms of worship”. In the view of the newly elected President of the FPF, “we can no longer speak as if nothing has changed. In this sense ecumenism is indispensable”. One of the newly elected FPF vice-presidents is a living embodiment of one of the new faces of Christianity depicted by Baty: she is Victoria Kamondji from Sierra Leone. The new FPF Council has also been appointed, composed as usual of pastors, laymen and laywomen representing the various churches and associations; it will remain in office for the next four years. From this year the number of council members has been increased from 21 to 25 to ensure a better representation to the churches that entered the Federation in 2006. During the general assembly, the FPMA (Madagascan Protestant Church, with 34 parishes and some 15,000 believers throughout France), benefiting from a simplified membership procedure, became the 23rd member church of the FPF. The assembly voted for a year’s probation for the “Fraternité des veuilleurs”, before its definitive admission in 2008.
