New English-speaking Church to open in Normandy
The Anglican church will hold its first service in April
Caption: The new church will start in Cherbourg
Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock
A new English-speaking Anglican church is to open in Cherbourg in April in response to growing demand from English speakers in the area.
It will be a new branch of Christ Church la Manche, which already runs two English-speaking churches in Normandy, in Coutance and Avranches.
The new church, in Cherbourg, will be only the second Anglican church to be started in France since Covid.
“We’ve been aware of a need in the north of La Manche for some years,” Fr Chris Probert told The Connexion.
The inaugural service in Cherbourg will take place on April 19 at 17:00 at the Église Évangélique Baptiste, on 316 rue des Métiers, Tourlaville.
All worshippers are welcome; the Church currently counts Christians of all dominations as part of its regular attendees.
And as well as welcoming British residents and visitors, the church has made efforts in recent years to attract other nationalities.
“After Brexit and Covid reduced our attendance, we’ve been trying to pivot to include those who speak English as a second language,” said Fr Probert.
Regular attendees include Dutch and German people living or on holiday in the area.
“We are also aware of more residents from the US coming to live in our area,” he added.
Christ Church la Manche has a community of around 40 across its current two churches, but is often also attended by people who are on holiday or visiting their second home.
It is part of the Church of England Diocese in Europe, which provides services in English across the continent.
English-language services in other parts of Normandy are in Gratot (near Coutances) on Saturday mornings, and at the Crypt Chapel in the Village du Mont Carmel, Avranches, on Sunday afternoons.
Anyone interested in finding out more can view the Church’s Facebook page or look on the ‘A Church Near You’ page on the Church of England website where you can find information about service times
“We are really excited about this new church,” said lay minister Adrian Grainge.
“We trust that this will provide a place where Christians in the area will be able to come and worship, get to know one another, make new friends and most of all to get to know Jesus Christ better.”
