International partnerships as a source of inspiration

The new event format "Inspiration at 11" focusses on how international church partnerships can have an impact beyond the circle of their active members.

Some of them have existed for decades and enrich the participants in the Global South as well as in Germany: international church partnerships exist between parishes and church districts. They enable us to "think outside the box", which runs like a common thread through the entire work of the Ev.-luth. Mission in Lower Saxony (ELM) in the form of projects, events and exchange programmes. Naturally, reciprocal visits are at the centre of the church's international partnership work. But how can what those involved experience and learn through their partnership work also enrich the local congregation or church district?

Ideas that provide answers to these questions were discussed for the first time via Zoom in December 2025. The two partnership officers of the ELM, Marlene Altebockwinkel and Nina Roggenbuck-Bauer, invited Peter Meißner from the Evangelical Agency of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover as a guest speaker. He presented the "Mitten im Stadtteil - Sommer auf dem Platz" project, with which the Christophorus parish in Göttingen created targeted contact areas in public spaces for the first time in 2024.

"Church in the social space, that's my topic and also one of the future topics of the regional church," explained Meißner. In Göttingen, a square in front of the church became a meeting place for a few weeks for the second time this summer. Following a participation workshop initiated by the community, a colourful programme was put together together with organisations, associations and cultural workers from the neighbourhood, which the speaker described as "meet, experience, play, enjoy, celebrate". Participants included a Catholic parish, a Muslim and a Korean community, sports clubs, bands and theatre groups.

"And what does that have to do with our international partnerships?" one or two participants in Zoom may have asked themselves at first. In the course of the subsequent discussion, however, it became increasingly clear that working in their church community and the surrounding social space is a challenge for many partnership activists. "We are in our bubble, the community is not that interested," one participant said during the introductory round. "We need to develop skills, regardless of travelling," the same participant concluded at the end.

This is exactly what the two ELM speakers want to convey. "Partnership activists often have their thoughts in the Global South, where their partners are. But they could also ask themselves: Where can we apply the input we receive through our partnership here locally? Which groups here might be working on the same issues?" explained Marlene Altebockwinkel. The aim is to draw inspiration for a vibrant community from the partnership.

Nina Roggenbuck-Bauer believes that "being approachable and visible" is essential in partnership work. The example from Göttingen offers many ideas for this. "Look for fields of activity, network and organise partnership work in the church district" is the motto for all those who have been inspired by "um 11".