Today I learned about an interesting chapter in the career of Marcel Pradervand who served as the first General Secretary of one of WCRC’s predecessor organizations, the World Presbyterian Alliance. (Later this merged into the World Alliance of Reformed Churches).
Rev. Pradervand, a Swiss pastor, served the Swiss Church in London (1929-1932 and again from 1938 to 1947) before moving to Geneva in 1948 to work with the World Council of Churches as it was being created. In 1954, he took up the challenge of heading the initiative of creating a global Presbyterian organization.
In my interview this morning with Pradervand’s middle son, Pierre, I learned the story of his father’s service to the Swiss Church in London during the Second World War. I spoke to him in preparation for writing a story about the church’s history linked to the upcoming celebrations of its 250th anniversary. See www.swisschurchlondon.org.uk for information.
Pierre told me that for six years from 1939-1945 his father worked alone to serve the francophone congregation as no-one from Switzerland could come to replace or assist him. This meant that he performed every baptism, marriage and funeral in that time and preached every Sunday – except those when the church had been damaged by bombing! As soon as temporary meeting space was found or repairs made, the church services would resume.
During the bombing of London, the Pradervand family’s home was destroyed twice and damaged a third time. At the time, Marcel and his English wife had three very young sons to care for in addition to helping members of the congregation whose homes had been hit or who had lost family members. It was a time of incredible demands on Marcel Pradervand yet Pierre does not remember his father ever complaining.
Pradervand also dared to speak up on behalf of the Allies in an article published in a newsletter for Swiss congregations in the United Kingdom. His outspokedness earned him the rebuke of the Swiss ambassdor and a warning that because he had broken Swiss neutrality, his safety could not be guaranteed if the country fell to the Germans.
Diaspora churches such as this one in London often play a central role for expatriates. But mercifully, it is probably rare that a minister serve as Pradervand did under such demanding circumstances. In any case, Pradervand came to Geneva well-equiped for the challenge of being an ecumenical pioneer in a world where rebuilding relations among former enemies was to be a major focus for decades.
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