Munich

Bavaria. Old Churches with Baroque interiors. Men in Lederhosen. Castles and Palaces. Museums. Theatres. Technological advances. Gemuetlichkeit. The Alps. Beer. Beer. Beer. Did I say Beer?

When people think of Munich there are tons of images that different people conjure up. But I didn’t go South to the Bavarian capital in order to join the hundreds and thousands of tourists who visit day in and day out to take in the sights. I joined some 120,000 people from across Germany (and obviously from across the world) for the 2. Oekumenischer Kirchentag (2nd Ecumenical Church Convention).

The “Kirchentag” is a peculiar German phenomenon. First started by the RC Church it spread to the Evangelical Church after WWII and soon became a huge thing, a movement within the churches… For decades now, this mass gathering of Christians gathers more than 100,000 mostly young people to a German city for 4-5 days of discussion, Bible study, prayer, political debates, information exchanges, networking, singing, celebrating, liturgy. And it is mostly lay-led!

The conventions usually alternate between the two main denominations: one year “Katholikentag” (the Roman Catholic version) and one year “Evangelischer Kirchentag” (the Protestant version). But seven years ago the Ecumenical version was born and this year Munich hosted the second Ecumenical Kirchentag.

Now, before we go any further with describing the events I have to do a little educating about German Christianity. So, please bear with me.

Germany traditionally has been almost evenly split between Roman Catholicism and the member churches of the “Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD).” However, there are large regional differences. While the North is traditional “evangelisch,” Southern Germans usually adhere to Roman Catholicism, with few, but prominent exceptions. Of course things have changed in this modern age. First, smaller denominations such as Methodists, Baptists, Bretheren, Old Catholics, and Pentecostals appeared. Secondly, secularism has been spreading all over Europe for many decades now and Germany is no exception. Thirdly, 40 years of Stalinism in the former German Democratic Republic has reduced the presence of the churches there to a minority status. And finally, immigration not only brought Islam to Germany, but also Eastern Orthodoxy. Today, the combined churches in communion with Constantinople form the third larges Christian denomination in Germany!

But, what on earth, you might ask, is the EKD? This is were it gets a bit complicated. Let me first talk about the name. There are two fairly similar words in German concerning Protestantism: “Evangelisch” and “Evangelikal.”

Only the latter word can be equated to Evangelicals elsewhere. The former is derived from the German (and indeed the Greek) word for Gospel: Evangelium. So, “evangelisch” literally means “of the Gospel” and today describes a union of 22 provincial church, who all are independent, who however chose to work together and who are in fill communion with each other. Of the 22 provincial church, 10 are Lutheran, two are Reformed, and 10 are “Uniert (United)” And while there are similarities to the United Church of Canada, “Uniert” in Germany describes a union between Lutheran and Reformed churches. This can be either an administrative union where Lutheran and Reformed congregations maintain their denominational character, but are administered by a central authority. But “uniert” can also mean that the Lutheran and Reformed churches joined and basically formed a new denomination. This all has historical reason and was forced to a large extend by the ever expanding Prussian kingdom. And it has to do with the close connection between the German state and a number of religious bodies in Germany (i.e. the EKD, the Roman Catholic Church, the Old Catholic Church, and the Jewish Communities). But I will spare you this part of the “lecture, ” especially since most Germans don’t quite understand it either.

However, the current situation in Germany can result in some curiosities: If, for example, a member of one of the EKD churches in Detmold (in Northrhine Westfalia) moves just a few kilometres down the road to Bueckeburg (in Lower Saxony), not only does she move from one state to another, but she changes provincial churches, and she changes denominations automatically, too. Why? Because the provincial church administering the territory around Detmold is Reformed, the one administering the territory around Bueckeburg, however is Lutheran. And if said Protestant moves from one city to another she also moves from being Reformed to being Lutheran… Confused? Don’t worry. It is very confusing. And most Germans wouldn’t quite know the finer details. They are either “katholisch” (meaning Roman Catholic) or “evangelisch” (meaning either Lutheran or Reformed).

But back to Munich after this rather longish excursion.

I have been to four “Evangelische Kirchentage,” but I did miss the 1st Ecumenical Kirchentag in Berlin. Some seven years ago What a great opportunity to do this while on sabbatical!

Let me say this: It was five days (12 May eve to 16 May morning) of excitement, profound spiritual encounters, surprising meetings, some frustrations, and a lot of fun. In the end it strengthened my faith… and it strengthened my Anglican identity more than I expected.

So, what is a Kirchentag?

- It is people coming together to seek God and one another.
- It is a church within the church.
- It is overcrowded churches and convention halls. Unlike so many churches on a Sunday morning, churches were packed to the rafters with young people. People were eager and excited and wanted to know and experience more and they wanted to be challenged with meaningful services, cutting edge theology, authentic spirituality, radical answers to the global problems, honest prayer opportunities, exciting music, new program-ideas, and much, much participation of those who come. Often venues had to turn people away.
- It is over 600 pages of program.
- It is known and unknown theologians, clergy, lay people, artists and (yes!) politicians (I myself saw the federal minister of justice shortly after I had observed the vice-president of the German parliament walking around eating an ice cone!) talking and discussing with the participants all kind of topics, some religious, some more secular.
- It is street musicians on every corer singing familiar and not so familiar songs, again, some religious, some more secular.
- It is parties till the wee hours.
- It is overcrowded public transport with smiling people inside spontaneously intoning such classics as “He’s go the whole world in His hands” – sometimes well done, sometimes not so much.
- It is sleeping in schools (or at the homes of relatives (which I did)), eating passable food, meeting exciting people from around the world, learning and enjoying one self.
- It is walking for hours through convention hall after convention all filled with all kinds of booths by church organisations and parishes offering all kinds of things:
o insurance for church employees,
o Lutheran-Anglican dialogue,
o innovations in children’s Bible studies,
o ecological awareness training,
o peace and justice in Palestine,
o religious communities,
o tools for Evangelism,
o creating your own Labyrinth,
o workshops for women’s spirituality,
o what is the Independent Lutheran Church of Germany, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the Church of the Bretheren, the Old Catholic Women’s Network?
o What is Centering Prayer? What is the “Jesus Prayer?”
o How do you incorporate yoga into you church?
o Etc., etc. , etc.
- It is experiencing church service of traditions that might never not have heard of before.
- It is experimental liturgies and challenging discussions.
- It is experiencing church-bliss one second, and utter frustration with your fellow Christians the next.
- It is meeting God in many diverse and beautiful people.

Here are some highlights from my time at the Ecumenical Kirchentag:
- “Movie service”. Yes, there is such thing. Organised by a Lutheran pastor in one of the Lutheran churches in Munich we gathered at 10pm (!!!) for a worship service. When you walked into the church, you knew something was different: The pews had been arranged in a circle (huh, what an interesting idea, eh???!!!???) and there was all kinds of equipment inside, including a huge screen, some 3 meters by 6 meters. The service started fairly traditionally: Welcome, hymn, scripture reading… However, than it all changed. Instead of a traditional sermon, there was a homily/mediation using clips from the movie “The Bucket List.” It is a fantastic movie and I can only recommend it. The movie deals rather creatively with the issue of death and dying , and this was of course the main theme of the homily/meditation/ or whatever you would call it. The format was thus: Two speakers would talk for a wee while about death and dying and interlink it with life and Holy Scripture, and then we would watch a bit of the movie. It really was well done and my explanation doesn’t do it justice at all. In fact, I was moved to tears…
- I spent some good time in the Centre “Homosexuality and Church” – now a traditional component of the Kirchentag. In a seminar on same-sex blessing I heard of struggles and joys. I also watched a wonderful movie about the ministry of the main gay rights’ group within the church in Germany. It was a subtle reminder how much this still is an issue. And let’s be honest, sometimes we in Canada in general and in the Diocese of New Westminster forget how much this is still an issue for so many. We forget that for many same-sex relationships is an abomination. And we forget that there is lots of work to do in praying, in listening to each other (and learning even from those, who disagree with us), and in supporting those who are in the midst of this struggle. I am always willing to stand corrected by God, but for now I believe God’s will is for GLBTQ folk to fully claim that identity. But I also believe that as GLBTQ Christians our witness is also to the GLBTQ community with a clear ethical mandate that includes the affirmation of stable, monogamous, and faithful relationships. I do, however, realise that we might have lost the ear of both the larger church and the ear of the GLBTQ community… which might just be the place of a prophet…!
- A bible study with the Coptic bishop of Germany. While I didn’t agree with everything the bishop said, I have seldom met somebody who was so grounded, so genuine, so holy (in the best sense of the word), and whose smile lit up a room as wonderfully as his. The Coptic church, like most (if not all) Middle Eastern churches, is a persecuted church. And it would be a good thing for us in the West to not only back the Middle Eastern peace process, but also to prayer for, stand behind, affirm, and support our Christian sisters and brothers in the Middle East. I am glad that St. Paul’s gets to experience this first hand while I am away on sabbatical. After all my “stand-in” is Palestinian. And he has much to teach the church on the Canadian West Coast.
- The “Meisen-Declaration Service.” The “Meisen Declaration” is a document outlining Eucharistic hospitality for members of the Church of England and the Evangelical Church of Germany (EKD, see above). Even though I am neither, it is good to participate in the celebration of any Lutheran-Anglican ecumenical agreement. And it is a subtle reminder that we have still much to do in our ecumenical relationships. After all, a divided church not only impairs our mission and ministry, it also pains the heart of God… Which is why I did attend and rejoiced in the
- Old Catholic – Anglican Eucharist. The Anglican Communion has been in full communion with the Union of Utrecht (Old Catholic Churches in the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, and a few other countries) since 1931. In fact, I am blessed to know a couple of my priestly colleagues, who were deaconed my an Old Catholic bishop and priested by an Anglican bishop (or vice-versa). And I met Yazeed (my stand in) at a seminar for Old Catholic and Anglican young theologians. Of course, it is wonderful to have this kind of relationship, but it must also be filled with life: for the sake of the church and for the sake of the world. But I will report more about the Union of Utrecht, once I will talk about the Old Catholic Conference in Zurich, which I attended.
- And of course, there were a number of connections, that celebrated the beauty of God’s people and that taught me about the diverse presence of God’s Holy Spirit among God’s people. Yes, I had great conversations (sometimes over a beer or two…) with fellow attendees of the Kirchentag, both lay and ordained, and from various denominational backgrounds.


I did talk about frustrations earlier. And, yes, there were some.

First of all, it is a scandalous beyond words that we cannot break bread and share the cup together. And it is not just our Roman Catholic sisters and brothers, but also Orthodox and some Protestant Christians, who refuse to celebrate the Eucharist, except with those who are in full communion with their church. I will for ever remember a sermon by the late Old Catholic bishop of Germany, the Rt. Rev. Sigisbert Kraft, who linked an Hebrew Scripture story to the Eucharist: Just like the angel did not say to prophet, walk and than eat, but eat and than walk, so we must start to celebrate Holy Communion together and than walk to clarify our theological differences. Prophetic words! And I want to add: While on the way together, nurtured by Christ’s body and blood, we can work together in mission and ministry.

Secondly, I was rather frustration by the perception (by most participants, politicians, and the media) that ecumenism in Germany is to be considered only by the Roman Catholic Church and the EKD, as if there is nobody else around! Granted, both the RC Church and the EKD make up 40-45% of the German Church EACH! However, there are now other Protestant denominations (such as Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, etc.), the Old Catholics, some Anglicans, and there are especially now Eastern Orthodox Christians. However, these groups largely get ignored. But can the Church in Germany really afford the arrogance of the larger denominations in a time when fewer and fewer babies are baptised, when people leave the church in droves, and when the former East Germany is mission territory. Maybe Methodists or Eastern Orthodox Christians might have insights into the re-Evangelism of Germany… Equally, I hope and pray that the Old Catholic and Anglican churches will form mission partnerships all over Germany!!!

Thirdly, I found myself annoyed at times with my sisters and brothers of the EKD, even though we seem to agree theologically. The problem is this: It is easy these days to criticise Rome for not allowing other Christians to receive communion and (more importantly) for stating that Anglicans and Protestants really aren’t churches. Even many Roman Catholics agree these days that Rome needs to change sooner rather than later. It just cannot be that Rome’s idea of ecumenism is all about proselytising, i.e. becoming part of the RC Church in some form or another. That is not dialogue and I believe it is counteracting the movement of God’s Holy Spirit in the churches. However, equally, Christians of the EKD-churches need to understand that ecumenism cannot be about accepting the EKD’s ordination theology. That’s not exumenism either… When I listen to some statements, though, it seems that there is at best a lack of understanding of Catholic (i.e. Roman, Orthodox, Old Catholic, Anglican…) ecclesiology, and at worst a strong hostility towards the sacramental character of ordination and any form of sacramental episcopé. There is more to say about this, and I hope one day I will be able to organise my thoughts more clearly.
(NB: Sometimes I do wonder, if we Anglicans need to be firmer on this issue and need to reclaim more forcefully the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral in our ecumenical dialogues with Reformed, Lutheran, and United churches. The historic episcopacy is an important element in our ecclesiology!)

But all in all, these frustrations did not overshadow the event. It was really amazing!!! And I am thankful for the experiences I was able to enjoy. I learned a lot and saw the Spirit at work.

And if you want to see some pictures, you can find great ones here or see videos here: