Amazingly, the day before the Feast, local authorities implemented a rule limiting the use of meeting halls to 30 people. Even with a few last-minute cancellations, we welcomed 25 people with many more tuning into our first day and Eighth Day Zoom broadcast. Within our group, we had three people keeping the Feast for the first time and we rejoiced in having two baptized on the Eighth Day.

This year’s Feast, for the first time since the 1960s, did not offer English translation of services or organized excursions. Although we missed our English-speaking visitors, having French-language only church services made it possible to introduce an after-church “sermon chat.” No organized excursions also allowed brethren more flexibility in choosing activities more tailored to the group. Although small, everyone was “all-in” with nightly group activities, which included a team-based, interactive Bible study into the subject of humanity, an elaborate game show competition organized by some of the young adults, an uplifting movie night with popcorn and a board game tournament. In the afternoons, brethren enjoyed group activities to local medieval villages and hiking in some of the most beautiful canyons and gorges in France.

We supplemented our local speakers with a Zoom church service coordinated with the francophone site in Venise-en-Québec, Canada, and with voice-over translations of a few sermons from 2019. The Zoom service allowed francophone brethren in Africa to join us, as well as some in France who couldn’t travel to the Feast site. Although we were sad to not have English-speaking visitors this year, many commented how special it was to celebrate the Feast together in our regular site and really draw closer together.