December, 2000

Dear Friends,

Now that the Reformed Seminary in Aix-en-Provence is nearly thirty, its history and traditions have an increasingly rich significance. One of the most remarkable Professors to have graced the classrooms at Aix is the late Professor of Philosophy Jean Brun. What distinguished him from the run-of-the-mill professional philosopher is the unusual creativity with which he confronted the daunting questions of life and meaning.

A small masterpiece by Jean Brun is the illustrated book, La Main (The Hand), a study of the significance of this most precious extremity. Toward the end of the text he comments that “despite his conquests and victories, man remains a pathetic being because each gesture of his hand can change the course of the world...” Why “pathetic” (pathétique)? Because everything we do is full of drama and pathos, full of intentionality. This means the work of our hands can be blessed, or evil. But also our errors, the sins effected through the once beautiful appendage, are fully motivated, and deeply destructive. The remedy? God, who made the world by his powerful touch, came down in human form, and died, his hands forever pierced with the wounds of atonement.

As we face so many reminders of human frailty, the incapacity in and of ourselves to change the world for good, it is no small comfort to know that God is directing human affairs like a wise sculptor. We have seen his hand in the brief history of Aix-en-Provence, and while mysteries exist, we are profoundly thankful for what he has crafted. His own pathos, culminating in the cross, drives the work of his own hands toward more and more excellence, a greater weight of glory in modern France and around the world.

And we are grateful to you, the faithful supporter, whose hands have been lifted up in prayer for the Seminary, whose hands have signed generous cheques and addressed envelopes of love throughout the years. As we embark on the most visionary campaign in our history, the James Montgomery Boice Chair of Practical Theology at Aix, we ask that you might once again extend your hand in a gesture of love, to ensure the wonderful ministry of the Faculté de Théologie.

Very Truly Yours,

William Edgar, President