A look at Brazil with Cristina Scherer

Cristina Scherer provides insight on the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil on 8 June.

At "For a coffee with ...", a new format of ELM, international employees report on "their" home church, their biography and their tasks at the ELM. After the kick-off event with Director Dr Emmanuel Kileo, there was now an opportunity to talk to Pastor Cristina Scherer from Brazil. She has been living in Germany since 2021 and works as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran parish of Fallingbostel and and parttime as an ecumenical coworker at the ELM.

After being welcomed by Ute Penzel from the ELM's Office for International Church Co-operation in Hanover, the group first enjoyed a hearty breakfast. Café Anna Blume not only offered a stylish ambience for this, but also the culinary ingredients. Then it was Cristina Scherer's turn to talk. She did so with an entertaining journey through theology, culture and everyday life in Brazil.

Under the heading "Three important Gs" in our church, she explained the building blocks "Living and experiencing faith", "Building and changing the church" and "Acting and thinking together". This is realised through "simple gestures, inviting, smiling, with ease, joy and friendliness".

"Meeting in small groups is very important to us," reported the theologian. They read the Bible together, eat - with everyone contributing something to the meal - sing and pray. Some groups do handicrafts or crafts for a good cause. For many people, these regular gatherings offer a welcome distraction from everyday life, its tasks and the often fixed roles ascribed to them. They can talk about problems or leave them behind. Cristina Scherer tells of a catholic woman who attended such a group for 20 years and said that she felt liberated from her everyday worries here.

The Brazilian woman takes a critical view of the church in Germany. "Everything has good structures here and the financial resources are better than in Brazil, but sometimes there is a lack of human warmth," she says, explaining what she believes characterises the people in her home country: "Spontaneity, lightness and the fact that they don't lose hope - despite the often difficult living conditions.

Of course, the dramatic floods in the south of Brazil are also a topic of discussion during the morning. Many of the participants have contacts in the country or have already been there themselves. For them, the images and reports of cities from which thousands of people had to be evacuated are hard to bear. Talking about it with people who also know the country and have relatives or friends there helps. One participant said at the end that the event had given him courage.