by Phaskal Barus from Indonesia

 

We had another big festival, this time in the city of Nuremberg, but it is somehow different from others because this festival is very special because it was about church.

But first I want to give you an idea of what the Kirchentag is. The Kirchentag is a church event that always takes place every two years in a different German city and this year it took place in Nuremberg. And what was it like in Nuremberg? The visitors got to know Nuremberg as hospitable, warm and cozy, the people of Nuremberg as peaceful and cheerful. According to the organizers and the police, there were no incidents worth mentioning. This also had a positive effect on the character of the Kirchentag. And this year the theme was „Now is the time“. The Kirchentag had chosen this motto because the condition in the world is getting worse and worse, and the Kirchentag says that we have to be the change to save the world. This year, about 70,000 people participated.

We started our trip to Nuremberg by bus and it was nice because we could have a view through many beautiful landscapes along the roads and highways. in Nuremberg we lived together with other volunteers and young people in a school. Being in Nuremberg in the first days, it was quite confusing because we didn’t know the city yet, and the local transport there was a bit different than in Dortmund, so we were late for a workshop and couldn’t participate. But still we had a good time and could laugh about it as well.

On our second day in Nuremberg we started with breakfast in bright sunshine, and then we went to many places like the Nuremberg Fair and the Youth Center. Here we participated in some workshops.

The wonderful Kirchentag imparts a lot of knowledge in the form of workshops and seminars. Especially we from the United Evangelical Mission offered our own workshop about climate change. Climate change is a big issue all over the world, considering how much global warming is increasing. And we participated in a workshop by BfdW (Brot für die Welt), which is a Berlin-based organization that works in the social sector and their focus is to support projects in the countries of the Global South. When necessary, they also support them by sending professionals and volunteers. Through lobbying, public relations and educational work in Germany and Europe, they try to influence political decisions in the interests of the poor and to raise awareness of the need for sustainable living and economic practices.

Oh, it was nice to see the culture of action at the Kirchentag. And it opened my mind about the state of the church in Germany and I’m really impressed by the amount of people who came to the Kirchentag to find a common solution. We learned a lot, for example, about social work in Germany and how people are really engaged against climate change, for example.

We spent the days having fun and laughing together until it was time to leave.