“Before your face we pause,” said Vice Dean Amina Bruch-Cincar from the Evangelical City Deanery of Frankfurt and Offenbach on Friday evening in the Frankfurt Römer in her opening prayer. The Working Group of Christian Churches Frankfurt (ACK) and the Evangelical Alliance Frankfurt had invited to a prayer for and with the politicians of this city in the town hall.
Almost all seats in the Römerhallen were occupied that evening, representatives and members of various churches and associations took part in the prayer, but a large number of politicians also took part. The ecumenical Ruben Widarto Band provided music beyond the usual, even if familiar hymnbook songs were in order.
City council leader Hilime Arslaner was among those who took the floor that evening: “May it be a peaceful year” – with this sentence she certainly spoke from the heart of many. She expressly thanked the people in this city who are providing support to the numerous refugees. Her Green party colleague, Elke Voitl, head of the social affairs department, mentioned in her speech that since the attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, almost 250,000 people have found a first point of contact at the ecumenically run Bahnhofsmission in Frankfurt. Whether Arslaner or Voitl, both spoke of times of crisis. Wars, global warming are two of the catchwords.
In these troubled times, prayer should strengthen. This should strengthen people “who take responsibility,” said David Schultze, pastor of the Free Evangelical Church in Frankfurt’s Nordend. Politics is represented across party lines, Schultze mentioned, and believers across denominations. Among other things, Old Catholics were present, Pastor Christopher Weber represented them. Together with the evangelical pastor Annegreth Schilling, he heads the local ACK. Father Maurice Bassili was involved for the Copts on the Main. He spoke Psalm 85, entitled “Request for a new blessing”, two representatives of the community “Source of Life” in Riederwald recited it after him, one in Russian, the other in Ukrainian.
Christina Seekamp, Deputy Chairwoman of the Evangelical Alliance, represented Bernd Oettinghaus from the Alliance that evening. In her prayer of repentance she took up the concept of “healing of memories” – behind this is the idea that we have hurt each other and that the memory of it may heal. Daniel Schröder, head of the Arche Frankfurt, reminded in his prayer of repentance that the current crisis is not least affecting children and young people: those who “do not feel the warmth of their nests”, whose stomachs are still growling at noon. Corona has affected many young people, isolating them
Among those who stepped forward in the Römerhallen were the mayoral candidates Uwe Becker (CDU), Mike Josef (SPD) and Daniela Mehler-Würzbach (Die Linke). Pastor Schultze moderated this round. 2023 must be a year of change, postulated Mehler-Würzbach. Uwe Becker would like to contribute his 15 years as a city councilor, 14 of them as a church head, at the head of the municipality, he wants to “be there for people,” said the European State Secretary. Among other things, it is about “taking away people’s fear of change”, according to SPD chairman and planning officer Mike Josef. He recalled his migration history, as a child he came to Germany from Syria with his Christian parents. The candidates stood side by side – a signal that hatred and hate speech should not have a chance on this evening, but also on other days in local politics.
