WCC NEWS: Bishop Heike Springhart: “The world is coming to Karlsruhe!”

As Bishop Heike Springhart, bishop of the Landeskirche in Baden, looked out over the streets of Karlsruhe just before the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly began, she shared a sense of excitement. “The world is coming to Karlsruhe!” she said. Bishop Heike Springhart, bishop of the Landeskirche in Baden. Photo: David Groschwitz/EKIBA 28 August 2022 “Climate change, racism, war and peace, and other topics will be the subject of the World Council of Churches assembly here in Karlsruhe,” she said. “More than 4,000 Christians from all over the world are expected.” Springhart urged people to visit, iIn the days of the WCC 11th Assembly, more than 250 publicly accessible events offered at eight locations in Karlsruhe. “We have been preparing for such a long time,” she said. “The comprehensive programming is open to everyone and offers a chance for worship and discussion, for broadening horizons—a chance to be thrilled and moved.” Karlsruhe, in conjunction with the assembly, will feature international speakers from the ecumenical world on local stages. “I am impressed with how many people and initiatives from the region and the city of Karlsruhe are contributing to the multifaceted programming,” said Springhart. “With the assembly, a variety of voices and sentiments from global Christendom are coming to Karlsruhe.” Numerous special church services are planned in the city on 4 September, and the service in Friedenskirche will be broadcast on one of the main German TV stations, ZDF. “As moderator of the local committee for the WCC 11th Assembly, I want to welcome everybody to Karlsruhe,” said Springhart “This is a place that values dialogue.” She urged people to enjoy the concerts, creative youth programme, worship services, and workshops that will take place in Karlsruhe, on the stage of the Marktplatz and elsewhere.  “I expect that the WCC assembly will produce a testimony for reconciliation, unity, and peace in the world,” she said. “Due to the proximity to France, one wants to show how reconciliation processes can succeed.” Springhart added that she is looking forward to counting on a spirit of reconciliation. “In the current global context, this WCC assembly presents itself as more important than ever.” Information on the Karlsruhe local programme during the WCC Assembly available at www.karlsruhe2022.de. Learn more about the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland