Inspiring gift of the joy of faith
Inauguration of Regional Bishop Marianne Gorka in Lüneburg.
"You have the gift of joy in faith and that is inspiring", Bishop Ralf Meister described the new regional bishop in his address, "The Lüneburg district is looking forward to welcoming you. A warm welcome!".
Bishop Meister described Gorka as a person who can look at people with lenience, even when they are exhausted. Her sermon fit perfectly with this. Following the lines of the song "Very Easy" ("Ganz leicht") by Sven Regener, frontman of the band Element of Crime: "Corpses in the basement, concrete in the mind, ...Very easy, very easy ... It won't be", she described many challenges and mentioned, for example, a feeling of alienation among many people, the cracked foundations of democracy and dealing with sexualised violence in the church. She added the word "nevertheless" as a word of faith. "Nevertheless, we pray, we call on God, even if we don't understand many things." And, conversely, we also believe that God always remains with us. It doesn't have to be easy, but it is necessary and turns hardship around, because God gives us a future and hope."
Gorka concluded: "May we be a church in which we live into diversity, respect strangers, and learn to be one world." It is worth working for God's sake - because he has thoughts of peace."
Regional Bishop Gorka was accompanied at the installation by three assistants, including ELM Director Dr Emmanuel Kileo. In his welcoming address, he invited Dr Gorka not only to be a bridge builder in a diverse parish, but also in a diverse international ecumenism.
Dr Kileo thanked Dr Schaede for his work on the Mission Committee and invited him to continue the exchange in his new role as Vice-President of the Church Office of the Evangelical Church in Germany and head of the VELKD department, especially since he will remain close by with his office in Hanover.