A community where every color has its place
We’ve been an inclusive Christian community at La Riponne for over 150 years. Inspired to follow a new direction, we have rethought our way of being a church. Convinced that we are called to engage wherever we find ourselves, we favor activities that promote unity in diversity, especially those in which we co-create together. We are inspired by our Methodist traditions of grace for all and “social holiness” – which means both social justice and right relationships.
The grace and love embodied in Christ produce:
Because it takes a village to raise a child. Because in a village, every person matters and brings something unique and essential to the community. A village needs a variety of skills and interests, as well as goodwill and openness to dialogue.
Our texts and traditions remind us that we are all interconnected (1 Corinthians 12:12–27). We believe that Christ calls each of us to recognize the sacred value of every human being, to live in solidarity, and to support one another in realizing the potential God has given us to help transform the world.
Because we all have unique shapes, colors, and textures that, when brought together, create a vibrant work of art. We celebrate the diversity given to us by God and believe it should be honored accordingly.
The name also refers to the city’s artistic identity with visible mosaics in Vidy, as well as mosaic-inspired pieces like those in Chauderon and the Parc de la Brouette.
Born into a Thai Buddhist and American Christian family, Erika Stalcup grew up in a rural town in Kansas, USA. After studying music at the conservatory in Prague and at Emory University, Erika earned a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School in 2007 and a Ph.D. in the history of Christianity from Boston University in 2016. After serving in seven Methodist congregations across the United States, Erika worked as pastor of the Lausanne United Methodist Church from 2015 until the community chose to renew itself by supporting the creation of the Village Mosaïque in 2022.
Erika especially feels that ministry is meaningful when it helps someone think in a new way, to understand a former idea through a fresh lens. She sees Christ as a bold advocate for social justice who, at the same time, gathers people together and breaks down the barriers that keep us from authentically living as God’s beloved children. For her, the church is a community where we learn to put our convictions into action through how we live and the choices we make.
Erika is a member of SafePlace, a network of pastors who offer space to discuss issues related to sexuality and spirituality.
Born into a Methodist family in Winterthur, my path led me to an apprenticeship in technical drafting at Sulzer in Geneva. Together with my husband, I spent more than 30 years working in a metal construction company. After raising my children, I became interested in university studies and decided to pursue them to nourish my intellectual curiosity. Eventually, I took on the challenge of studying theology, which brought me great joy and satisfaction.
The freedom I discovered in God gave me the courage to get involved in the church. That’s how I began, in 2019, as a pastor in St-Imier.
Convinced that the church must evolve and adapt to society, I am deeply committed to this “Church Otherwise” project here in Lausanne.
I am also involved in broader levels of the Methodist Church as a member of the Swiss Council and treasurer of the Central Conference.
What I love most are connections and discussions, reading, playing games, singing, and dancing!
Through his monastic experience and his travels in various cultures, ideologies, religions, spiritual approaches and natural therapies, Claudio likes to promote, in his life as in his work, the priority of cultivating healthy relationships with ourselves and with others, as well as with the life around us. His paternal grandfather was a Methodist pastor in Angola, and his maternal grandfather a Reformed pastor in Bern (Wohlen).
Father of two, Life Coach and certified preacher at the United Methodist Church in Princeton (USA), he is currently pursuing pastoral training at the University of Geneva and within the Swiss United Methodist Church.
After living in Angola, Sweden and the United States, he joined the co-creation of Village Mosaïque in 2022. “We relate therefore we are” is his motto. Mosaic Village offers a wonderful opportunity to live the body of the universal (Christ), the church of flesh, to follow the Living God, who protects, nourishes and releases the life force everywhere and at every moment of our lives.
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Here, diversity is a source of richness, faith an open path and a shared mission.
The Village Mosaïque welcomes you, whatever your background or beliefs.
IBAN:
CH30 0900 0000 1000 2814 0
EEM Lausanne
Badenerstrasse 69
8004 Zürich
