Few words...

On 8 March 2026, Switzerland will vote on the popular initiative ‘Yes to an independent and free Swiss currency with coins or banknotes (Cash is freedom)’ and the direct counter-proposal (Federal decree on Swiss currency and cash supply).

The initiative

The initiative aims to enshrine the availability of cash and the Swiss franc as Switzerland's currency in the Constitution. To this end, it wants to oblige the federal government to ensure that a sufficient quantity of coins and banknotes is always in circulation. Furthermore, replacing the Swiss franc with another currency should only be possible with the consent of the people and the cantons.

The counter-proposal

The Federal Council and Parliament also want to enshrine the provisions on cash supply and the Swiss franc in the Constitution. However, they disagree with the wording of the initiative and are therefore proposing a counter-proposal based on the wording of existing laws.

This morning I visited the C3 church in Lausanne. Here are some notes and feedback on a second impression. Here is a description of what I saw and experienced, the thoughts I had during that moment, and various remarks it inspired in me. Positive and negative points.

There are two services on Sunday: 9:45 AM and 11:15 AM. I went to the 11:15 service. I was expecting a young audience because I imagine the elderly come earlier. This church has a particularity of being bilingual French English. It's the only 100% bilingual church I know. Everything is translated from French to English or from English to French.

The hall is a large performance venue that resembles a cinema with a capacity that I estimate to be between 400 and 800 seats. We are welcomed by being invited with a bit of pressure to sit in the front. We are in the second row. The music is very, very loud and it's quite disturbing. I try not to pay too much attention to it and focus on two things: observing and concentrating on God.

The first part is praise. A group sings and it feels a lot like a concert because it's dark and there are spotlights and a big screen that covers the entire surface of the stage wall. I don't know any of the songs. The songs alternate between English and French. The lyrics are displayed on the wall with the language being sung in large letters and the translation in small letters, either in French or English. It's harder to focus on the praise when you don't know any of the songs. I thot there would be at least one or two known songs. Four women sing and other people play instruments (guitar, drums, keyboard). It seems to me that people sing and are motivated and praise God with all their hearts. It is always good to see people praise God and it has a ripple effect. I can therefore inwardly praise God for his blessings for what I am experiencing despite the difficult period I am going thru. People seem to be mostly in the 25 to 45 age range. There are few elderly people. For example, I had noticed that in the prayer meetings for Switzerland, the people were mostly older than 50.

I call this church a flashlight. You need to use the flashlight on your phone if you arrive a bit after the start because it's completely dark.

After this moment of praise, there was a time of offering. Two QR codes to give money. There hasn't been too much emphasis on this topic. I've seen some videos on Youtube criticizing this church for money. Is it a prosperity church? Maybe not here in Switzerland.

The last part was the sermon. The senior pastor had a message on prayer. His wife Marianne was translating. Teach us to pray.

Positive points: the word of God is proclaimed. Praise draws us closer to God. The music is catchy. The number of people. The mass attracts the mass, and there are definitely people in the mass who truly turn to God.

Negative points: the music was too loud. The crowd of people and no one came to talk to me. I have been a visitor at a church a few times and people normally come to talk to me. The population categories are poorly balanced. There were many young people and few old people. I like balanced churches with young and old. The form can take too much importance over the content. A worship service that resembles a concert.

Conclusión

The C3 Church of Lausanne is the only bilingual church that attracts a lot of people. It's an opportunity to learn English. The word of God is proclaimed and God is praised there. Even if it's not a perfect church or one that I would attend regularly, it suits some people and the gospel is preached there, which makes me happy. I want to leave the negative points and keep the positive. A church for young people that is dynamic, in short, a flashlight church.

I like the web as it was. The surprise to discover randomly something written differently by human. Recently I discover a new blog.   I see a picture that catch me. A stunning picture. It looks like my everyday walk to my work.

This picture

Parc de Milan in Lausanne. 

Someone took this real picture. Not a picture created by a machine or a picture from an other blog. This picture was like honest unique and real. I know this place.

This blog is written by "American originally from the United States currently living in the French-speaking part of Switzerland." according to the about page. 

I added the Mastodon account and deceded to follow because I consider it interesting. How american feel about switzerland and specialy west part.  Unfortunatly this blog was not usable with Activitypub. I know that this plugin is now usable and it allow any fediverse user to follow any blogs and comment.

American originally from the United States currently living in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

Comments is not permitted on this blog yet. So I suggest to comment on @chris@tooting.ch

A few days in Berlin allowed me to discover this dynamic city. I was a little disappointed by how little remains of the former East Germany. Only 500 meters of the wall remain, which has been repainted by artists. It's hard to imagine what it was like. The Wall Museum was also disappointing because it features four black rooms with videos. The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin's emblem, is smaller than expected. The Reichstag is imposing, but it was too crowded and you had to book a tour.

Public transportation is complicated because the metro and S-Bahn map doesn't include the tram, which made us waste time figuring out how to get to our tram. But if you know it, it's efficient. The center seems reserved for certain vehicles. Car traffic seems very limited.

The distinction between east and west no longer exists. It's an interesting city to visit in three or four days, but in spring or summer because the wind can be cold.

2030-10-08

France is a complicated country. People say hello with kiss. But you never know how many kiss you have to give. Sometimes 2 sometimes 3 or 4. You just have to observe others and do the same.  Usualy you can give a kiss when you have a good friendship relationship. You don't kiss stranger. A woman kiss an other woman. Men and women but rarely men. If you give your hand to say hello it is never wrong. Do not kiss if you are uncomfortable.

Here is a map that could help you