The weather was awful, I did not know the language and my back was killing me but I still had the time of my life. From May 11th to 17th I was in Munich, Bavaria, at a huge event called Kirchentag, which translates as Church Day. The festival is an ecumenical feast with wonderful opportunities to listen and learn, worship and grow in fellowship. It is a hugely respected event in Germany, attended by hundreds of thousands and involving more as guests are welcomed into the homes of the local people.I was there with a group of fellow travellers from Milton Keynes. Some of my time was spent interacting with visitors who passed our Milton Keynes display and some just experiencing Kirchentag. The band, Testament, who mainly come from Woughton were also there playing at one of the events.
What of my disordered memories? Well, I can see brass instruments held high in the cold and wet open air worship of the last day; I can feel the urgency and the pain of listening to people whose lives are devoted to a living care for the planet; I can enjoy the delight at the smiles of excitement and recognition that finally came on the faces of the lovely people who stopped at the Milton Keynes exhibit as they came to understand what we were about.; I can hear the music of the African choir singing that they didn’t have time to die- they were too busy praising Jesus; I can taste the feast of a bottle of beer with the Bavarian meat loaf that the local churches gave to celebrate Kirchentag; I can feel the growth of friendship with Monica, my host, as we shared our hopes and fears with so few words to choose from.
I want to keep going back- it was so good to be among thousands of believers, to have politicians taking the faith seriously, to see the event respected and reported widely in the newspapers, to have the opportunity of listening to the wisdom of speakers from all over the world and to share the deepest understandings about God. If I do go back, I really need to educate myself and learn some German!