“I’m full of joy, redeemed, set free” is the slogan being used by the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland for the 500^th Anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. It is taken from the opening lines of a psalm-poem by the Rhineland cabaret artist and writer Hanns Dieter Hüsch (1925-2005).

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Discover the Church – also in English

“Welcome to the Evangelical Church” is the title of a new 40-page brochure in a pocket-sized format. It gives concise information about what there is to find in a church building. And right from the start it is multi-lingual: the first edition offers a choice of German and Arabic, or German and English.

Call for European distribution mechanism for boat refugees

Palermo‘s mayor and EKD Council chair issue joint declaration. Watch the video to see who is already supporting the Palermo Appeal.

Visiting Bossey: (from the left) Karla Unterhansberg, Günter Thomé, Christine Ahlhaus, Ekkehard Lagoda, Martin Ahlhaus, Stephan Scharf, Ursula Thomé, Maike Roeber, Jan Zechel, and Claudio Gnypek

“At the end of the day we’re all Christians”

“The ecumenical movement is about encounter. And that’s what we do here in Bossey.” This, in a nutshell, is the mission of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey of the World Council of Churches according to Rev. Dr Benjamin Simon, Professor of Ecumenical Missiology. The recent visit to the Institute by a group of theologians from the Rhineland and Westphalia became a special time of encounter indeed.

Bringing painful memories together before God

The Rhineland Church has welcomed its new partner churches in South Africa during the regional synod 2019 with a Ceremony of Remembrance, and has broached a difficult bit of history. Watch the video now, most parts are in English.

Closing press conference of the regional synod 2019.

More diverse and more agile

Fiona Paulus, co-president of the youth synod and vice-chair of Evangelical Youth in the Rhineland (EJiR), summed up events positively. President Manfred Rekowski, serving together with Paulus at the head of the youth synod, also gave a positive review of the week.

Delegates from the different Rhineland churches: (L-R) Terri Lynn Smith (RCSA), Ka Keung Chan (CRC), Joseph van Houten and Ashley Fransman (RCSA), Executive Minister Barbara Rudolph, Brenda Sass and Tommy Solomons (RCSA) and Kwan Ching Yu (CRC).

With confidence into the future

“Rhenish in the world” is the name of a new exhibition about the history and relationships of the Rhineland churches in Germany, South Africa and Hong Kong. The traveling exhibition had its opening during the regional synod 2019 in Bad Neuenahr.

President Manfred Rekowski gave his annual report to the regional synod.

“Speaking about what we care deeply about!”

Manfred Rekowski, president of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, has given his annual report to the regional synod in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. Christians must speak up more about the things they care deeply about, he challenged delegates.

Youth Synod

Working well together, on equal footing

The first-ever youth synod of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland concluded on 6 January in Bad Neuenahr with five resolutions for the regional synod beginning the next day. It proved a positive experience. The youth synod had given a “strong signal” for more participation by the younger generation, President Manfred Rekowski explained at the synod’s closing press conference.

At the press conference.

A premiere

It is a “premiere”, according to President Manfred Rekowski. For the first time in the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland there will be a youth synod. It is taking place on 4-6 January 2019. And what is exceptional is that half of its delegates will be youth and half will come from the regional synod.

Action rather than words, help rather than posts

In the Summer of 2017 Dr Christoph Zenses spent three weeks as a doctor on board the Sea-Watch rescue boat, and a year later he also got involved at the Moria refugee camp on Lesbos. These assignments pushed the doctor from Solingen to his limits. But he is planning to return there in 2019. From conviction.

Wonderfully made

In the beginning was the Word. The biblical Word. In this case, Psalm 139: “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” And such was the title of a parish project in Wuppertal: “Wonderfully made. Seniors of Uellendahl photographed by Andrea Rompa.” Photographed in the nude.

A completely different world

Learning from each other and building peace: For 16 years the secondary schools Bodelschwingh-Gymnasium in Herchen and the Goethe School in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia have been cultivating a close partnership. School director Dr Judith Pschibille has been awarded the Medal of Friendship at the Mongolian Embassy in Berlin for her engagement.

BarCamp Church online 2018 in Cologne – click on image for the photo story

Spotlight on digital

The voice search trend. Using chatbots. Podcast tips. Developments in digital learning. Latest discussion about virtual church. WhatsApp features. Lots of topics, lots of sessions, lots of sunshine: BarCamp Church online in Cologne brought together hundreds of church onliners and digital specialists. A photo story

Remembrance of the deceased refugees in Malta.

Understanding deaths at the EU external border as a humanitarian disaster and political responsibility

Church president and EKD migration expert Manfred Rekowski makes appeal in Malta to allow rescue ships to go to sea. He calls on governments and political leaders in Europe to stop breaking international law and criminalising civilian rescuers of persons in distress at sea.

“I will never forget their screams”

Sometimes the sea rescuers have to make horrible decisions: keep resuscitating someone or keep saving more people from drowning? Sea Watch crew member and physician Barbara remembers a night she will never forget. Watch the video where she pledges to fight on for the right to rescue.

Präses Manfred Rekowski after the Moonbird-flight - Screenshot from live-video

Flight ban for sea rescuers is an amputation of humanitarian assistance

EKD’s migration expert Manfred Rekowski warns: the first to die is the law and then the human being

Church president Manfred Rekowski visits Sea-Watch.

“No one should have to drown”

Sharp criticism of the charges against private rescue ships in the Mediterranean has come from Manfred Rekowski, president of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland and chair of the advisory commission on Migration and Integration of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD).

Photography: Carmen Lenk

Anyone who refuses people in distress at sea mocks European values

EKD migration expert Manfred Rekowski visits civilian sea rescue team in Malta

What awaits us in Nes Ammim? Berit Hoffmann, Daniel Friesen, Judith Cantu Flores Reimann and Paul Bochynek (L-R) share expectations at the induction seminar.

“Israel is just not a topic for small talk”

“I absolutely want to get to know all sides of Israel,” says secondary-school graduate Paul Bochynek from Cologne. Together with other young adults, he is starting a term of voluntary service this summer in the Israeli peace village Nes Ammim. Spots are still open for other interested youth.

Young adults in North Rhein-Westphalia with a church background are more heavily engaged in all areas of social involvement than the whole of their age group.

Youth work provides a valuable contribution to the community

A new study, entitled “Young – Active – Protestant in North Rhine-Westphalia!”, reveals that the Evangelical Church offers a valuable contribution to the vibrancy of the local community through its youth work and confirmation classes.

Call to prayer for Syria. Photo: VadimGuzhva - Fotolia.com

“Hell on Earth…”

The situation in Syria is becoming ever more dramatic, especially in Eastern Ghouta, where people are starving and dying and medical care has collapsed. The Rhineland Church declares its solidarity with the victims of the civil war and President Manfred Rekowski has issued a call to prayer for the people of Syria.

Closing press conference at the Regional Synod 2018: press officer Jane Peter Iven, predsident Manfred Rekowski, Miriam Lohrengel and Dr Ilka Werner.

Dialogue – both internal and external

The encounter with Muslims, the President’s own summary of the Synod and a look forward towards the Youth Synod in 2019 were the topics dealt with during the closing press conference of the 2018 Regional Synod meeting in Bad Neuenahr.

The Regional Synod agreed on the theological position statemant 'On Encounter with Muslims'.

New milestones for Muslim-Christian dialogue

The Rhineland Church has a commitment to Muslim-Christian dialogue and describes it as a “church task” which Christians need to acknowledge as bound up with their witness to Jesus Christ. This was affirmed by the Regional Synod in its theological position statement “On encounter with Muslims”.

Sculpture by Ernst Barlach as a memorial to the soldiers killed in action during World War I

Just Peace instead of Just War

On the occasion of the centenary of the end of the First World War, the Regional Synod has adopted a peace statement. This is to be discussed at all levels of the Rhineland Church, with the aim of becoming a ‘Just Peace Church’. It also includes demands for the removal of nuclear weapons and putting a stop to arms exports.

Video: Maintaining peace

Ecumenical guests Pastor Suko Tiyarno of the East Java Christian Church and Bishop Dr Alex Gehaz Malasusa of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania explain to the Regional Synod how they encourage dialogue between Christians and Muslims in their countries.

President Rekowski gave his report to the annual Synod on the opening morning.

The Church must ask the questions that are relevant to society

President Manfred Rekowski reported to the Regional Synod on the events that had been of greatest importance for the church.

New report urges end to ‘pattern of invisibility’ of refugees and migrants in European media

“Making people visible”

“Refugee Reporting” is the title of an international survey on the representation of refugees in the media. One of the conclusions is that the voices of the refugees themselves are hardly ever heard, according to Ralf Peter Reimann, internet officer of the Rhineland Church and a member of the Steering Group for the project.

President of the Rhineland Church Manfred Rekowski and the Archbishop of Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki emphasised the unifying bond of baptism.

“No turning back on the way from conflict to community”

‘On the way together as Christians’. At an Ecumenical Service of Vespers on the occasion of Reformation Day in Altenberg Cathedral, the President of the Rhineland Church Manfred Rekowski and the Archbishop of Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki emphasised the unifying bond of baptism.

The comedian Hagen Range added his voice to Luther’s.

“Luther was a Düsseldorfer”

It was the biggest Germany-wide celebration for the close of the Reformation Anniversary year. The Gala held in the Bonn Telekom Dome included prominent guests such as the television presenter Ralph Caspers, Football League trainer Heiko Herrlich and comedian Willibert Pauels, all of whom were able to bear witness to the fact that Luther is still an inspiration for today.

At the the Church Online barcamp in Cologne.

“So many ideas, experiences and enthusiasm in one place”

An impetus for the Church in a digital age: the Church Online barcamp met last weekend in Cologne. A barcamp is an open conference with open workshops, the contents and procedure of which is developed and shaped by the participants themselves.

During pregnancy many couples long for protection and support, which they can find in the ecumenical services of blessing.

“It is good to have this special protection”

Ecumenical services are held four times a year for expectant parents in Essen under the heading “A blessing for new life”. They provide encouragement and support at a time which is often marked by mixed emotions.

Speaking about the future of Christian-Jewish relationships: the former Rhineland President Nikolaus Schneider, the President of the Union of Liberal Jews in France, Jean François Bensahel, and the Chair of the Council, Phil Cunningham.

Reviving our common hope

Calls for joint action came at the end of Conference of the International Council of Christians and Jews. Speakers at the meeting of the umbrella organisation emphasised that with regard to co-operation, dialogue was begun in the immediate post-war years and is still in its early stages.

Bishop Munib Younan and author Elan Ezrachi

The time is ripe for a solution

The Palestinian Bishop Munib Younan and the Israeli author Elan Ezrachi both grew up in Jerusalem. During a ‘fireside chat’ in Bonn they reported on their life in the divided city, on the unification in 1967 and their hopes for the future.

Biblical content and fun: after hearing about the Spirit of Pentecost the confi-starters make their water rockets in the Repair Café.

News ways of working with confirmation candidates

The basis for the idea of the “confi-starter” programme in the Emmaus Church in Aachen is that children will stay in the church so long as their interest in religious matters remains strong. Over the period of a year a group of eight-year-olds get to know their church community and gather positive experiences, four years before they eventually start their formal confirmation classes.

Joyful, redeemed, set free: the theme and the message of the Christ Festival was spread up to heaven and throughout the earth.

Witnessing together to faith in Jesus Christ

“I am overwhelmed by the joyful and warm atmosphere and by the huge interest in Christian issues of the day” stated OKR Barbara Rudolph, director of the department of theology and ecumenism in the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland. “Those who were here today saw ecumenism as a something to be taken as a matter of course”.

he first group of peacemakers trained by the Rhineland Church.

Achieving peace

Military intervention is not necessarily the appropriate option, since it may well be possible to resolve conflicts through peaceful means. The first group of peacemakers trained by the Rhineland Church have been learning about what sort of models there are for this. They have then been passing on their knowledge to school children and youth groups.

Sigrid Rother is a German pastor serving as minister in a UCC congregation in Ohio.

Concern for social justice

President Donald Trump is splitting American church congregations. Some support his policies while others protest against them – such as the United Church of Christ (UCC). During a recent visit to Germany Sigrid Rother, a German pastor serving as minister in a UCC congregation in Ohio, spoke about the concerns of liberal Christians.

Panel discussion in Düsseldorf: Agnieszka Godfrejów-Tarnogórska, Petra Schulze, Dr Dace Balode and OKR Barbara Rudolph.

Every woman a priest

In the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland the fact of women in ministry is taken for granted. In some East European churches however, women’s ordination is still not possible or has even been withdrawn. How do those women who are affected deal with this? At a meeting in Düsseldorf two women theologians exchanged their views with OKR Barbara Rudolph.

Induction of the new members of the church executive board in Düsseldorf.

Turning God’s grace into a living experience

At a festive service of worship in the Johanniskirche in Düsseldorf, President Manfred Rekowski inducted into office those members of the executive board of the Rhineland Church who had been newly elected by the 2017 Regional Church Synod, along with those who had been elected for a further term of service.

Dr Claudia Janssen was appointed Professor of Feminist Theology and Theological Gender Research at the Wuppertal/Bethel Theological College in October 2016.

“Passive tolerance is not enough!”

Federal German laws bear witness to tolerance in respect of gender justice. But society is lagging behind. Dr Claudia Janssen, Professor of Feminist Theology and Theological Gender Research at the Wuppertal/Bethel Theological College speaks about feelings of insecurity, fears and hate-mail.

Protestant Churches in Germany and Namibia want to work together in contributing towards a broad-based healing process, for “many Namibian descendants of those people still bear the burden of that experience”.

Big breakthrough in reconciliation process

Representatives of Protestant Churches in Germany and Namibia met at the end of January 2017 in the city of Okahandja in Namibia, to commemorate the genocide committed by the German colonial troops against the Herero and Nama people during the years from 1904 to 1908.

1. Opening of the new Naomi Project for refugees, with Doris Peschke (CCME, from left) and Kirchenrat Rafael Nikodemus, among others.

Opening of new Naomi Project

Going beyond the need for emergency aid, there is now a move to establish ongoing assistance for refugees who are stranded in northern Greece. This is being made possible with support from the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland.

Signing the joint declaration: President Manfred Rekowski (Düsseldorf), Bishop Dr Franz-Josef Overbeck and Vice President Albert Henz (Bielefeld).

“Being Church Ecumenically”

Three representatives of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, the Evangelical Church of Westphalia and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Essen signed a joint declaration and agreed on concrete forms of co-operation in local community development, as well as working together in a variety of different fields of church activity and areas of responsibility.

Welcome to our English website!

The Evangelical Church in the Rhineland is a church linked by a global network to many different international partners abroad as well as within Germany itself. From now on everyone will be able to get immediate information about us on our new English-language website, including information about our history, our structure, what we do and what we believe.

President’s conclusion

At the closing Press Conference, President Manfred Rekowski gave a summary of what were for him the most important aspects of the Regional Synod 2017.

The newly elected church executive board.

Newly elected church leadership

The new composition of the church executive board, with one substitute representative. Nine members were elected or re-elected. The remaining members did not stand for election according to the rules of rotation. Those elected will take up office at their induction on 5 March.

Anyone who denies a place in German society to both Judaism and Islam, will provoke massive opposition from the Evangelical Church, said President Rekowski in his report.

Speaking of a more cohesive society

Topics covered by the President in his Presidential Report included the Reformation anniversary, faith and ecumenism, continuing development of the church including new styles of local church congregations, social justice, terrorist attacks, and statements from the Alternative for Germany (AfD).

“I’m full of joy, redeemed, set free” is the slogan being used by the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland for the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.

Full of joy, redeemed, set free and ecumenical

“I’m full of joy, redeemed, set free” is the slogan being used by the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland for the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. It is taken from the opening lines of a psalm-poem by the Rhineland cabaret artist and writer Hanns Dieter Hüsch (1925-2005).

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