Church no longer a spiritual source

More and more people are leaving the traditional churches in Germany. When asked why they are doing so, the answer is often: “What am I supposed to do there? The church no longer speaks to me”.

At the same time, the overall range of spiritual offerings in our country is growing. Not only have other world religions such as Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism found their social niches, but ancient paganism is also experiencing an astonishing rebirth 1.  It is obviously not religion or spirituality that people are abandoning, but the institution of the church. They find it too dogmatic, too detached from real life, and in many cases even hypocritical. The countless scandals of recent years, especially those involving sexual misconduct by clergy, have contributed massively to this.

For several years now, traditional churches have been striving to improve their tarnished image among the population. Several initiatives outside their traditional four walls are beginning to bear fruit. One idea that is being implemented in several cities across our country is the so-called blessing office. This is a deliberately neutral spiritual service for people who no longer attend church, but still wish to participate in certain spiritual rituals of the church. These include, for example, baptisms, weddings, blessings in times of crisis, and the like. It is worth taking a closer look at these projects.

Blessing Office: experiencing God's love outside the church

Hätzjeföhl, meaning “heartfelt” in the Cologne dialect, is the name given by the Protestant Church to the Cologne Blessing Office. It is open to anyone, who longs for God's blessing but no longer trusts the church itself or does not yet trust it.

In the Blessing Office, everything is less formal, i.e., low-threshold, and no overly personal questions are asked. Whether it's baptism, marriage, blessing of children, or simply comfort in the loss of a close relative, the staff at Hätzjeföhl, ordained pastors of the church, are there to support those seeking blessings. If desired, they also offer longer-term support such as pastoral care or help with integration into the church community 2.

The Blessing Office operates outside traditional church structures and opens the door to the gospel and God's assistance for people. Of course, assistance with integration into a local church community is also offered. The Blessing Office in Berlin 3, Essen 4, and the Blessed Team in the Palatinate 5 and several other locations in the country operate in a similar manner.

With its blessing offices, the Protestant Church is responding to the increasing distancing of the population from the Christian faith and the church. Despite this growing distance, many people seek the blessing of God and the church in special situations in their lives, especially in times of transition and crisis. However, traditional rituals and forms of church blessing have long since become foreign and largely incomprehensible to them. It is not uncommon for them to desire God's blessing in a language and form that they can understand.

Church blessing offices operate outside of established church services, are largely flexible, and can therefore more easily adapt to the wishes and ideas of those seeking blessings.  Where and in what form the blessing is performed is less important than the fact that it is offered 6. And so baptisms and weddings can sometimes be performed in the most unlikely places. Blessings are given wherever those concerned express a need for them. This means that pets, dogs for example, can also be blessed if this is important to them 7.

With its blessing office, the church wants to meet people where they are and thus possibly overcome the gap that has developed between the church and society in Germany. Experience so far shows that the offer is being accepted, and here and there it is even succeeding in bringing people closer to God and the church again.

Overcoming evangelical reluctance

Evangelical blessing centers are hard to find in Germany. Serving others is obviously not so closely associated with blessing. The warning from the Apostle Paul to Timothy seems to have had an effect here. In 1 Timothy 5:22, Paul writes: “Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, lest you become a participant in his sins. Keep yourself pure”. And for evangelicals, purity is sacred.

The question, however, is whether Paul's warning was fundamentally meant to refer to blessing itself. Interpreters tend to agree that his recommendation to Timothy referred to the appointment of leaders to their ministry as pastors and deacons. According to this, they should be careful not to bless anyone into ministry lightly.

Blessing as a request to God for his gracious attention to people in need is really not the same as consecration to service. Jesus, for example, blessed children, turned to them, laid his hands on them, and assured them of their belonging to the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17).

The Apostle Paul even calls on the believers in Rome to bless their persecutors (Rom. 12:14), that is, to wish them God's gracious assistance. How much more can and should this be done for people who desire God's blessing?

No, it would not be a problem even for evangelicals to establish blessing centers outside their normal church programs. Surely it would not be possible to offer baptisms here right away, but why not blessings for children, assistance in times of crisis and joy?

In my ministry, I have married many couples who did not consciously adhere to the faith. The wedding ceremony, with its appropriate preparation, gave me an excellent opportunity to talk with the couple about their lives and also about their relationship with God.

And how wonderful is it to be invited into a young family and pray for the newborn child, blessing the parents and child? Or to come to a person's deathbed and bless them for their final journey on earth? Blessing someone at the end of their life is an extremely important service for them and their loved ones in a world where more and more people are becoming lonely.

Or how about the dedication of a new house, the start of a new career, or even coping with a life crisis? People need blessings and they seek blessings, as the church blessing offices show. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case in the traditional church. So the church must go out to where the people are and bring them closer to God's presence.

This is exactly what we call evangelism. A blessing center in the middle of the city is therefore an excellent tool for evangelism. So, dear sisters and brothers, don't be shy: let's establish blessing centers. People are waiting for them.

Johannes Reimer, Prof. em. of Mission Studies and Intercultural Theology and former General Director of the World Evangelical Alliance.

Notes