Confidence in the future in the digital modern age

adminonDecember 20, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

Confidence in the future in the digital modern age

Cross on an altar © Markus Nowak (KNA)

All three living former and the incumbent Federal President will be invited to the 37th anniversary celebration. German Protestant Church Congress in Dortmund to be a guest. This was announced by the organizers on Monday in the Ruhr metropolis.

The incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier will discuss future trust in the digital modern age with former Vatican ambassador Annette Schavan and science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar. In addition, the predecessors in office Horst Kohler, Christian Wulff and Joachim Gauck would be expected in Dortmund. The 37. Protestant church congress of 19. to 23. June will take place under the motto "What trust".

In total, just over 2.000 events to the program, which Kirchentag President Hans Leyendecker, General Secretary Julia Helmke and the President of the Westphalian Church, Annette Kurschus, presented 100 days before the start of the Protestant meeting in Dortmund on Monday. "Every event has something to do with trust," Leyendecker said. "With trust in God, the question of trust in the church, in society, in politics, and in the future."

Disinviting the AfD

The Kirchentag wants to set an example against division and polarization in society, against the brutalization of language, against resentment and xenophobia. Leyendecker stressed that the Kirchentag was sticking to its invitation of AfD functionaries. "Representatives of this party are not invited to podiums this time," Leyendecker said. The discourse remains important, but one does not want to give space to the functionaries of the party. Instead, they want to talk to sympathizers, he said.

In Dortmund, there will be more interactive and participatory events than ever before, said General Secretary Julia Helmke. So they plan in the middle of the city a large workshop house with more than 160 events. He said there should be a "StartUp Church" with new ideas for the church and speed dating with new democracy initiatives. Climate change is also among the important ies, he said. Representatives of the "Fridays for Future" youth movement would also speak at the church congress.

View of the 3. Ecumenical church congress

In addition, the Kirchentag will celebrate its 70th anniversary and the 40th anniversary of the so-called "Feierabendmahle" (evening celebrations). "The theme of the Lord's Supper will also make the Kirchentag more interesting with regard to the 3. accompany the Ecumenical Church Congress 2021 in Frankfurt am Main," said Helmke. In Dortmund, there will be a special theme day on this topic.

The program also includes a panel on dealing with sexual abuse in the church, in which Hamburg Bishop Kirsten Fehrs and Marburg educationalist Sabine Maschke will participate. "Anything else would seem strange," Kurschus said. "After all, we have made it very clear, both as a Catholic church and as a Protestant church, that we will do everything in our power to take a stronger approach to the ie."

Four years ago, Melin Kesmen printed "I love my prophet" on a T-shirt. With it, the Muslim wanted to make a peaceful statement about his religion. The T-shirt became an international German-Muslim fashion label. Proof that lifestyle and living Islam are not mutually exclusive.

Photo shoot with a prayer rug? A young Muslim woman wearing a headscarf poses with a bag made from a prayer rug. She beams at the camera, showing off the dark bag with the bright green embroidery. The shots Kesmen wants to use for his new campaign are to be taken in a backyard. An oriental rug is attached to a shoulder bag made of black truck tarpaulin with Velcro fasteners. How used oriental carpets are turned into "To Go" prayer rugs. They are unique pieces, suitable for praying, picnics or as a bag. Kesmen has already sold a few hundred bags, and the trend is upward.

In his thoroughly styled office in Witten, the graphic designer works on new ideas. Soft jazz music blares from the speakers. Kesmen wears the T-shirt that started it all a few years ago. "I love my prophet" – for him, it's an expression of living his religion. "If Islam claims to be timeless and universal, then part of that is that Muslims in the 21st century want to be. Kesmen wants to live out the 21st century through the channel of streetwear fashion."For him as a designer, fashion is the bridge between cultures and religions.

"Little room for violence and coercion"
The 35-year-old was living in London when the Mohammed cartoons were published in 2005. "Who needed them?", he asks today. But he also calls the reactions of Muslims "stupid, excessive and just as unnecessary". He defines himself through the love of the prophet, with little room for violence and coercion. This is what he wanted to wear on the street with the T-shirt. In the subway, in restaurants he was approached and developed further T-shirts with slogans such as "Headscarf – my right, my choice, my life". This was the birth of the family business "Styleislam". In the meantime, he has a few employees and sells all over the world via the Internet. The label has stores in Medina, the city of the Prophet Mohammed, and in Istanbul.

But what makes Muslim fashion so special? "The T-shirts are not meant to emphasize sexuality," says Kesmen. The clothing should be beautiful, but not so conspicuous that it attracts everyone's attention. Currently working with two Turkish designers. The idea is to create a streetwear collection for women, which many customers have asked for. The fashion is also aimed at non-Muslim women. "Not everyone wants to display their body in public," he says. Wide tunics with an Asian touch should be there, the designer does not want to reveal more.

"A mix of East and West"
The target group is young adults. Kesmen, who was born in Germany and describes himself as German with Turkish blood, knows from his own experience how important identity-shaping moments are for young people. His fashion could be a help. Meanwhile, the businessman himself is a sought-after ambassador. He gives lectures for foundations and associations to help young people in particular find their identity.

Already after the attacks on 11. September 2001, Kesmen sensed the general suspicion that Muslims were under. Neighbors' views changed. With his T-shirts, bags and accessories, he has freed himself from this impotence. Nevertheless, he receives threats that he wants to Islamize the country with his fashion. "Nonsense," says Kesmen. His success with customers speaks for itself. More than a quarter of his clients are non-Muslims, he said. For them, he says, slogans like "Terrorism has no religion" are appropriate. Kesmen texts the slogans in English, often combining them with Arabic symbols that Muslims know from the Koran. For Kesmen, his fashion is a mix of East and West: "The lifestyle is a reflection of the Muslim zeitgeist of the 21st century. Century."

Great anticipation despite social problems

In Panama, even the poorest are preparing to receive guests for World Youth Day. Around a quarter of a million participants are expected in January – and pose logistical problems, not least for the country.

In the remote village of Santa Rosa in the middle of the Panamanian jungle, there is usually not much going on. The bustling capital Panama City is more than an hour's drive away. Instead of high-rises, coffee and banana trees line the street here. But for several weeks there has been nervousness among the 500 or so residents: guests from abroad have announced their arrival for the upcoming World Youth Day.

The villagers do not yet know how many of them there will be and where they will come from. Nevertheless, almost everyone has agreed to host pilgrims. "I want to show people our village," says Ingris. The 35-year-old is a single mother of six children. Their house has just two rooms. "But there's room next door at my mother's house, too."

"Days of encounter" in host families

World Youth Day, which Pope Francis is also expected to attend, will be held in Central America for the first time at the end of January. First, participants spend a few "days of encounter" with host families throughout Panama, as well as in Costa Rica, Mexico and El Salvador.

The highlight and conclusion of the world meeting will then be the days of 22. to 27. January in Panama City. While World Youth Days in European countries are often drowned out in the abundance of large-scale events, the anticipation in Panama has already swept the entire country. The blue and red logo of the event is stuck on many cars and adorns the flags that are hoisted in front of almost all the churches in the country. Even at the airport it is emblazoned on large posters: "Te esperamos" – "We are waiting for you", is written next to it.

Panama with social problems

The meeting also brings Panama's social problems into focus: Although the capital, with its skyscrapers and large canal harbor, conveys an image of wealth and economic success, the country's social and economic problems are also in the spotlight. Nevertheless, a large part of the country's population of about 3.6 million lives in poverty.

Young people are often denied access to education, and some slip into crime. Many can not raise the 250 dollars for the participation in the World Youth Day. Organizers say solidarity fund will ensure no one remains excluded.

Longing for change in the church

Many young people in the strongly Catholic country are looking forward to meeting the Pope. "He is very popular," says 26-year-old Yithzak. The young man helps to organize the "Days of Encounter" in the diocese of Colon in one of the poorest areas of the country. "In the current situation where Pope Francis is being blamed for the abuse cases, we want to tell him that we are behind him."

Nevertheless, the Panamanian youths also longed for changes in the church: "It must find a way to adapt its teachings to the reality of people's lives." Yithzak sees a need for reform, especially in the role of women and sexual morality.

"The meeting will help young people believe in their potential," Archbishop of Panama City Jose Domingo Ulloa is convinced. "Pope Francis deliberately chose Central America as the venue for World Youth Day because he wants to go to the margins of society," he says, not without pride.

Preparations well on track

Ulloa sees preparations well on track. Circa 209.000 pilgrims have already registered, most of them from Latin America, but also a good 2.200 from Germany, significantly more than expected in this country. In total, the organizers expect a quarter of a million participants. At the World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in 2013, despite significantly lower registration numbers, about 1.5 million people came in the end.

Among other things, the postponement of the final service at short notice and a breakdown of the subway had caused chaotic conditions there. The major event will also be a challenge for Panama City, with its chronically congested transportation network. A second metro line and a new airport terminal to transport pilgrims are currently under construction.

Archbishop Ulloa is nevertheless calm: "It is the adults who always and everywhere see difficulties, for the young people all this is no problem."And Ingris in Santa Rosa, a good 50 kilometers away, also has other worries at the moment: Until the guests arrive, she wants to do some major cleaning and tidy up the house in any case.

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