Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia, Bishop Dr. Dr. h. c.

Markus Dröge
Opening of the refugee church
8 October 2015, St. Simeon Church at Berlin-Kreuzberg, Psalm 36:7

“How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their
trust under the shadow of thy wings.”

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy
Spirit rest upon this assembly. Amen!  

I.
Coaches as far as the eye can reach. Otherwise nothing but open field. In the middle of the
wasteland, somewhere at the border between Greece and Macedonia - a passage by now being
declared as a legal border crossing point. Who knows how long? But one thing seems certain.
If the barrier is closed, people will go elsewhere in order to cross the border. The routes of the
refugees vary but hardship lasts, crying to heaven.
Neither can I forget these pictures nor the people we have met over the past few weeks,
particularly when we were in Greece and Italy. Ulrich Lilie, President of the Protestant Social
Service, Prelate Martin Dutzmann, representatives from politics and society and me were
staying there for a few days to understand the situation of the refugees.After leaving the
coaches the people are divided into groups of 50 persons. Then they are led to a barbed wire
fence, to the border. On the Greek side of the border, the refugees are told to turn to the left
behind the barbed wire fence, to head for the railway tracks and to walk some kilometres into
Macedonia to the nearest station. Every quarter of an hour one of the groups is allowed to
cross the border. It is not only young men arriving. There are many families as well. Women
carrying babies in their arms. We begin a conversation with one of the women. She tells us
her child was born on the run. I do not know: Is it a child of hope or of lasting distress? I ask
some refugees where they want to go to. The answer is: to Germany, Sweden, Finland, Great
Britain. And why? Because there is peace and human rights are

II.
The pictures and people accompany me. And of course, all questions and challenges
concerning the situation of the refugees we have to react to in Germany and the church.
Today, I have brought all these aspects with me to this place: the questions and the
helplessness as well as hope and confidence in our strength to jointly move things – within
society, within the church and not least by opening this refugee church this evening.
This church shall offer a place accommodating all our questions, our hope and our efforts.
Where the distress of the refugees finds a voice. And where hope is provided that our church
and society are on the way together with the refugees and do not leave them alone. This
church is a place where our faith and our practical help go hand in hand. Where we betake
ourselves into God's stream of hope and into His staying power of love. I hear the staying
power of hope in Psalm 36:

“Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy
righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep. […] How excellent

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is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow
of thy wings.” (Psalm 36:5-7)

A prayer of hope. Spoken by a man being persecuted. He flees to the shelter of the temple and
gains new hope there. For God's goodness extends to the greatest heights and His justice to
the deepest depths. He who speaks the prayer hopes that everything is permeated by the
presence of God. In the temple, the persecuted man exceedingly experiences the presence of
God. He feels secure like under the open wings of God. The image of the cherubim stands
before our eyes - the angels of God who spread their wings over anyone running for shelter,
provide refuge and defend him against his opponents.
Already many decades ago, the famous German Old Testament scientist Gerhard von Rad
described the biblical image of the wings' shadow offering refuge to man as asylum
confession. God sticks by anyone persecuted or taking refuge. For our church it is not a new
fact or a new interpretation of biblical texts. Not at all. For thousands of years, it has been
preserved in the psalms that God supports all human beings without a home and that He
advocates for those being put under pressure.

III.
The words of the psalms are a prayer of hope. Not least for us, since we all are like children
needing protection and proximity. And therefore, this refugee church is not a place where
refugees stay amongst themselves, but where we together express our hope that we mutually
need and care for each other. We are a “church with refugees”. That is how we call the
concept of our church to care for refugees. By opening the refugee church we want to
emphasize our conviction and give it a face.
Thus, we deliberately looked for a suitable church building. As with a church we enter the
space of hope created by faith that the psalm prayer speaks of and which is of crucial
importance for our caring for refugees. A church transmits the staying power of God's hope
extending beyond our life. We often see only things being before our eyes, but by establishing
this church we position ourselves in a broader context. Our view is lifted, we look beyond our
own matters and affairs here and now and sense ourselves as a community of mankind all
over the world. And we are absorbed in the staying power of God across time. That becomes
clear by the psalms: verses, although being thousands of years old, that have not lost their
power and intensity; words which have been passed on, believed and hoped for from one
generation to the next. Words letting us look beyond ourselves and the space limiting us.
Words letting us share in the staying power of God's hope.

“How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their
trust under the shadow of thy wings.”

That is the staying power of God's hope. Especially in our times, we need it more than ever
before. We do not need a short-winded rhetoric of scaremongering and panic that our society
is overstrained by the refugees. However, we need staying power that allows us to say with
confidence: “Yes, we see the challenges. But we will make it.”

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It cannot happen overnight. The challenge is not to provide emergency shelter for a short time
but to integrate the refugees. We need staying power to introduce the new citizens into our
society, to help them to learn our language and to make them familiar with our differentiated
und often complicated social life.
The refugee church is a symbol that the care for refugees does neither depend on the present
moment nor on the moody rhetoric of political propaganda, but that it is a part of our church
and an elementary expression of Christian faith.
Living with refugees will soon go beyond the scope of the church. This church is also a
symbol radiating into society. It shows that dealing with strangers belongs to our duties. We
are justifiably proud of the human rights that have developed over the course of the centuries
and under the impression of historical disasters and that are established in society now. These
human rights are not only a cultural property of the Western World. They are the heritage of
all mankind! This is testified by their significant influence throughout the world. We have to
preserve this heritage. It has to prove its value when dealing with strangers, with those who
come to us and those who seek our protection.

IV.
We need staying power. And we have it. For the opening of the refugee church is in no way
the starting point of our care for refugees. Our church looks back upon a long tradition in this
field. Therefore, I am particularly pleased that the organisation “Church Asylum” cooperates
with us at this place. The history of “Church Asylum” is proof of the fact how the hope for
justice is associated with the protection area the church offers. We all can learn from this
staying power.

We need staying power. And therefore, accommodating refugees does not rank first in this
church. It is true that we have to think about it, especially as it is becoming colder now. We
have to consider where parishes can open their gates to provide emergency shelter for
refugees. However, it is as least as important to look ahead. That is why this church will be a
place of consultation. For refugees. And for full-time and honorary staff. There shall be
apprenticeship and in-service training. And it shall be a public place in every respect. Here
and by our work with refugees we can make clear to society what it means to live together
and to take over responsibility for one another. Anyone entering this church shall sense the
presence of God who patronizingly spreads His wings over us.

The refugee church is a spiritual place. A place of prayer. A place where people can ask or
thank for something and express their doubts or sadness. Here, people having lost relatives on
the run shall be able to mourn. Here, there shall be prayer for those being on the way and
those having remained in the distant homeland and being further on threatened and fearing for
their lives and limb. But, above all, hope and gratitude shall find a home here. At this place,
people shall meet – people who enrich our life and let us once again look at ourselves.

V.
One more time, I remember the woman with her newborn child. Where can she be? Will she
find a new homeland some day? Will she later be able to tell her child what happened then?

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How the barbed wire fence opened and that the long and winding road led to a good
destination after all?
I bear her in mind. And I pray for her. Representatively. And when I think of her I feel my
own boundaries. But I develop strength too. Such as Hilde Domin expresses it in a poetical
way:

… then small, aching wings

grow out of my heart,
and I feel its impatience
in my throat.

A heart with wings – even though they hurt with impatience because not everything succeeds
we have set our minds on. As the world is not the one we are longing for. However, the heart
is there - and the wings! People within church and society who spread their winged heart over
other people looking for shelter: That brings hope to me.

“How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their
trust under the shadow of thy wings.”

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.”
Amen.