Church and youth in Hesse:

At the Jugendkirchentag in Gernsheim am Rhein, many young people are concerned with celebrating and the future of the church – not only in Hesse.

Does church still have a future? We asked young people how they would like their church to be. One thing is clear: some things have to change.

Youth Church Day in Gernsheim am Rhein. The Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN) invited. 4000 children, teenagers and young adults are expected from Thursday to tomorrow Sunday. Countless little groups are on the move between the banks of the Rhine and the old town, many wearing fisherman’s hats, which are fashionable again for young people, black or white with a yellow youth church logo above their foreheads. The Rheinstraße connects the venues, is lined with the purple flags of the EKHN. The mood is exuberant, something of a school trip and a pop concert. The central Friday service has just ended.

Chill out on deckchairs

Lukas and Maxi have found a shady spot under a large plane tree in one of the deckchairs that invite you to chill out. The two are still very enthusiastic about the liveliness of the service, which was so completely different from most that there is otherwise. “The music was really good, the language simple and clear, you felt addressed directly,” reports Lukas (19). “Everyone is in a good mood here, it’s a real togetherness, faith unites us,” agrees Maxi.

The two came to Gernsheim as group leaders with 17 young people from the Nassau region. “One of my confirmands said, oh, that was a service, he was so surprised,” says Maxi.

The 20-year-old says that at an event like the Jugendkirchentag, one can again become aware of how important charity and community are. He wishes that the Church were so open to new things everywhere. After all, in his home parish the relationship with the pastor is good. And something has already happened. “We have screens in the church and projectors to show films, we are online, church is not just what is in the parish letter, which the boys don’t read anyway.” There are cinema evenings, and when there are If there is an evening service with an artist, the church is full, including young people. God can also be important for young people. “I know there is someone who holds me, I’m never alone.”

Preach about environmental protection

“The sermons should also be about environmental protection, social media or queer people,” says Lukas. One of his confirmands wrote that the pastors needed modern clothes, not so old-fashioned things. He would also like it if church services were offered in the evenings rather than on Sunday mornings. His faith is important to him, a great support. “I feel loved and accepted,” he says. That must apply to everyone. So he cannot understand why the Catholic Church still refuses to bless homosexual couples.

When it comes to questions of equal rights, the Protestant Church comes across as much more modern than the Catholic Church. Women can become bishops here, homosexuals can marry. For young people these seem to be important points.

There are countless pavilions on the Kirchentag grounds that invite you to take part in a wide variety of activities. You can dress up and slip into other roles, design the city of the future together, symbolically fish garbage out of the sea or drive an e-kart. There’s even a pool, which is jam-packed in the hot weather.

Bless gay couples

At a tent opposite, the rainbow flag is about equality. There’s a lot going on here, too, and there’s a lot of interest. Franziska (16) stands in front of it and is stunned. “It’s totally crazy, homosexual couples have only been able to marry here since 2017 and transgenderness has only been considered a mental illness since 2022,” she says, outraged. The church in particular must do a lot to ensure that nobody is excluded, no matter where he or she comes from and who he or she loves. “That’s what charity is all about,” she says. Although the Protestant Church has already changed a lot, far too little is being done in the Catholic Church, and too little is being done in many Protestant communities for the inclusion of all. “No wonder so many are leaving the church,” she says. Even if that’s a shame.

Kathrin Walldorf looks after a stand at the Kirchentag. The 30-year-old from the Protestant Youth Office in Wiesbaden says that many of the young people who came to Gernsheim are interested in faith and community. You shouldn’t lose her. Kathrin Walldorf is counting on the fact that many pastors would take something from the Jugendkirchentag to their parishes and make the church more lively. Anyway, there are plenty of ideas.

See interview with state youth pastor Bach-Licht: “Not just praying together”

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