Evangelical Church Day
Church Congress: Bedford-Strohm calls for “listening”.
The Evangelical Church Congress will take place from June 7th to 11th, 2023 in Nuremberg. photo
© Daniel Karmann/dpa
“Now is the time” – that is the motto of the 38th Evangelical Church Congress in Nuremberg. State Bishop Bedford-Strohm hopes for a signal for a more respectful public discussion culture.
According to the Bavarian Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, the Evangelical Church Congress in Nuremberg can send a signal for a more respectful public discussion culture. The message is: “That we don’t get mad at each other, that we don’t focus on extremes in our Internet bubbles and sow hatred, but that we listen and take care of each other,” said the former council chairman of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) of the Germans press agency.
“I believe very strongly that this will be one of the most important messages of the Kirchentag: You still listen to very different opinions. You don’t just want to get rid of your opinion, you want to listen,” Bedford-Strohm continued. “That’s the spirit in which we go into the discourses. That’s built into our faith: loving God and loving our neighbor. If I’d like someone to listen to me, then I’ll listen to them too.”
The 38th German Evangelical Church Congress begins next Wednesday (June 7) in Bavaria’s second largest city. Bedford-Strohm will preach at the opening service. More than 2,000 events are planned up to June 11, including round tables on current political issues.