In Mialet, the history of hymns at the heart of the Desert Assembly

The hymns of yesterday and today will be highlighted for this Sunday gathering. Midi Libre – ALEXIS BETHUNE

Faithful to tradition, Protestants meet at the Soubeyran farmhouse.

For Protestants in the Gard, the weekend is busy. After the inauguration of the Anduze temple this Saturday, this Sunday the traditional Assembly of the Desert is held, bringing together several thousand faithful.

“This year, we even have Americans who have made the trip, rejoices Denis Carbonnier, curator of the Desert Museum in Mialet. The weather should be good. In case of bad weather, we would have had to fall back on the temple of Saint-Jean-du-Gard, because the one in Anduze, although finished, is not yet soundproofed."

For this new edition of the Assembly, there will be a lot of singing. The theme chosen for the celebration is also “Cantiques au Désert”. “In the 18th century, Bénédict Pictet, a famous theologian of the time, was the first to challenge the monopoly of the Geneva Psalter, that is, the 150 psalms of David set in French verse by Marot and Bèze, explains the curator of the desert. He created his own hymns and thus expanded the collection of songs. The evolution continued in the following century with new melodies from the various currents of Protestantism: Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists…

For this 2024 Desert Assembly, under the canopy of the trees, all the space will be made for the hymns of yesterday and today.

The worship program

Traditionally, worship begins at 10:30 a.m. The organizers emphasize the possible difficulties of access to Mialet, in particular increased traffic on the small roads of the Cévennes to arrive on time, and therefore ask the faithful to make their own arrangements.

The service is presided over by Pastor Ingrid Prat of the United Protestant Church of Montpellier and surrounding areas.

The afternoon is devoted to the historic speech by Professor Alice Tacaille of the University of the Sorbonne.

Then, Daniel Jublin, still in connection with the theme chosen this year, must perform for a musical evocation “From the galley slaves to the Galilean”.

The final message is delivered by Pastor Marcel Manoël.