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Winnipeg Free Press
13 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Berliners are rediscovering their faith outdoors through local pilgrimages
BERLIN (RNS) — A dozen walkers, many of them retirees in wool hats and fleece jackets, gathered in a silent circle in the Grunewald forest, just outside Berlin. 'Walk silently through nature and notice what you observe,' read Stephen Lemke, an adviser for senior citizens for the evangelical church in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough of Berlin, on a Wednesday in March. He leads these 'silent pilgrimages' once a month for anyone interested in exploring the connection between religion, nature and self. The group bowed their heads. 'I hear the sound of the wind. I feel the sun on my skin. I enjoy the moment,' Lemke read. 'But at the same time, I realize that this moment cannot be captured.' After the meditation, they began an hourlong silent walk through the park. Around Berlin, Christian pilgrimage walks led by various organizations are open to locals and visitors nearly every week. They aim to offer a way for people of all ages to engage with their faith — and community — without stepping foot in a church. Some are guided by pastors with an interest in the outdoors, while others are self-guided with stops at churches or other sacred sites, like the Spandau pilgrimage. Some last an hour, while others are multiweek expeditions. ___ This content is written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. RNS and AP partner on some religion news content. RNS is solely responsible for this story. ___ Pilgrimages, which have gained popularity in the last couple decades across Europe, especially in southern Germany, provide a way for people in an aging and increasingly secular society to reconnect with their Christian faith. 'A lot of people won't go to church anymore, but they still are religious,' said Nicolas Budde, pilgrim pastor of the Kladow borough parish in Berlin. 'I think the church has to think about ways to talk with people about religion, and I think that pilgrimage is one way to do it.' In the 1500s, devout Catholics took long, arduous walks to visit sacred relics. Making the journey to a sacred destination such as Santiago de Compostela in Spain was an expression of Christian devotion, intended to prove one's worthiness before God and cleanse the soul of sin. But in 1520, Martin Luther, the German theologian and leader of the Protestant Reformation, criticized the practice. He argued pilgrimages had no basis in Scripture and were part of the greed and commercialism in the church that he detested. Luther believed God could be found anywhere and there was no need to visit a sacred site. Pilgrimages fell out of favor. 'In the Middle Ages, (pilgrimages were) more of an outside thing — you really wanted to know something from God, you wanted to praise him or you wanted to get forgiveness,' said Bettina Kammer, the public relations officer for the Protestant church in Berlin's Spandau borough. 'Nowadays, it's more personal — people have this feeling that they're looking for something, but they can't quite put a finger on it.' Pilgrimages have also gained popularity through movies such as ' I'm Off Then,' a 2015 German film, and the 2010 film ' The Way,' starring Martin Sheen. Both are about the world's most famous pilgrimage, the Way of St. James, or Camino de Santiago. In 2020, the Berlin suburb of Spandau launched its own 75-kilometer loop inspired by the Camino de Santiago, connecting two dozen Protestant churches and two Catholic ones. Berliners and tourists can walk, bike or canoe along color-coded routes linking the churches. Pilgrims can collect stamps at each church they visit. A pilgrimage can spark a spiritual experience, Kammer said. 'People begin just by walking, and then they sit down in a church and say, 'Well, it's starting to move me. I feel something. It's really a religious experience,′' she said, adding that these experiences are often reflected in churches' guest books. Budde, who pastors along the Spandau pilgrimage route, said that while a hike is the external act of walking a trail, a pilgrimage is an internal journey: 'One walks with feet, but one makes a pilgrimage with one's heart.' Thomas N.H. Knoll, another pilgrimage leader in Berlin, founded and runs the information office at the St. Jacobi Pilgrimage Center. Visitors can stop by for pilgrimage passports, stamps and a travel blessing before setting out on a pilgrimage in Germany or abroad. These types of journeys can help people find the courage to move forward physically and emotionally, especially when one is facing a tough life situation like a loved one's death, an illness, a conflict or a job loss, he said. Knoll also touts being 'transformed by experiencing nonavailability'— or spending time without one's phone. This can lead to deeper connections with nature and, therefore, God, he said. 'Humans are part of nature,' Knoll said. 'When we had a closer connection with nature, the spiritual was also present in everyday life.' Pilgrimages can also offer a chance for new friendships, especially among seniors, who often experience isolation. 'It's helpful for the elderly to not only keep moving physically, but also to connect with others in a meaningful, spiritual way,' Lemke said. From a religious perspective, these walks can serve as 'new temporary forms of congregations.' Young people who want to stay connected to their religion but don't feel at home in a traditional church can also benefit. Two years ago, Alexander Steinfeldt founded Berlin Pilgrims, a group for young people interested in hiking and reflecting on philosophical and spiritual topics. A lifelong member of Germany's Protestant church, Steinfeldt started the group when he was feeling disconnected from both community and faith. 'A foundation was missing in my life,' he said. When starting the group, he 'rediscovered both hiking and religion.' Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. The hikes start with a prayer and encourage spiritual reflections throughout. But, he said, 'You don't need to be very spiritual or religious to feel the changes in you when you enter the outdoors.' After the silent pilgrimage in Berlin's Grunewald, Lemke's group paused for reflection. One participant noted the subtle changes in the scenery that came with each passing day. Others agreed, speaking of the signs of spring — new buds on the leafless trees, bird song, a slightly warmer breeze. Someone else looked forward to a cup of coffee. By the end, the participants, some approaching 90 years old, had all met someone new or found a quiet moment of connection with God. Lemke closed with a prayer. 'Stand in the sun and feel its warmth. May the Lord be with you, like the ground that carries you,' he said. 'May the Lord be with you, like the air you breathe … like the bread that strengthens you … like the sun that makes your day warm and bright.' For some, these short prayers are a return to religion. 'Sometimes people come to me and say, 'Wow, that was my first prayer in 10 years,'' Lemke told RNS. 'So maybe it's a small way back.'
The Guardian
5 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Cambridge University appoints first Jewish professor of Hebrew
When Henry VIII established a royal professorship in Hebrew nearly 500 years ago, the idea that a Jew would fill the role at Cambridge studying the ancient language of the Israelites was impossible. 'It's not surprising, if you know that at the time of Henry VIII Jews were banned from England. So that was quite a technical obstacle,' said Prof Aaron Koller, who later this year will become the first Jewish occupant of the post since 1540. Henry's motives for founding the Regius professorship of Hebrew studies read like a chapter out of Wolf Hall, bound up with the aftermath of his divorce from Catherine of Aragon and England's break with the church of Rome. Koller suspects Henry wanted to boost England's intellectual firepower after the rupture with the papacy, with Hebrew a critical tool for retranslating sections of the Old Testament and offering competing interpretations to those used by the church in Rome. 'I need to learn about the Tudor background to this, but about 10 years earlier he and Catherine had been tangling over the interpretation of Leviticus [a book of the Bible and the Torah] and whether their marriage was legal or not,' said Koller. 'For the papacy, Jerome's Latin translation had taken pride of place as the Bible. But as part of the Protestant reformation – [Martin] Luther was very big on this, and in England it happened as well – the thinking was: we have to go back to the original, so we want to read about it in the Hebrew and the Greek.' Royal attention could also be dangerous. After Mary I acceded to the throne, the body of one of Koller's predecessors as professor of Hebrew was dug up, charged with heresy and burned, in a sign of her regime's displeasure. But Koller said Henry's decision also reflected the status of Hebrew alongside ancient Greek and Latin as a classical language of scholars. Studying Hebrew allowed intellectuals to tap into thousands of years of literature spread across the world. Koller, who teaches at Yeshiva University in New York, said part of his new role will be 'convincing the British public that Hebrew studies is of broad interest,' regardless of background or religion. Koller said: 'One of the challenges we've had, politically and educationally, is that the idea of Hebrew has been tied in with a particular nation state in the past 75 years. 'While that has some advantages – suddenly you have 10 million native speakers of the language – it also has educational disadvantages because people are thinking, Hebrew is quite a political thing. Whereas no one thinks that about Latin, it's easier to sell it as politics-free than Hebrew, which immediately makes people think: what am I doing with this country of Israel? Do I like it? Do I want to go there? 'But part of my role is to say: Hebrew has a massively and really fascinatingly long history, and has nothing to do with the nation state that happens to exist today in the 21st century. 'You can study medieval Hebrew and be enthralled by the poetry and the philosophy without coming across as taking a stand on a contested issue.' Cambridge's archives include the priceless Genizah Collection of nearly 200,000 books, letters and documents, written mainly in Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic, retrieved from a Cairo synagogue's storeroom at the end of the 19th century. Koller's own research has included an ancient Hebrew text discovered in a cave in Dunhuang, western China, alongside 40,000 Buddhist manuscripts. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Even during the centuries when Jews were banned from Britain, Koller said there were scholars of Hebrew working on medieval manuscripts in college libraries, although Jews were barred from academic posts until 1871. Geoffrey Khan, Cambridge's current Regius professor, said that until the 1930s the holder had to be an ordained Anglican, and until Khan's own appointment in 2012 the holders had been primarily biblical scholars. Khan said it was 'important to see Hebrew in a wider perspective, including ancient, medieval and modern manifestations,' alongside related Semitic languages and cultures. 'Aaron Koller has a similar interest in taking a wider perspective in his work. I am very happy with his appointment,' said Khan. 'This wider contextualisation of Hebrew in the broader cultures of the Middle East is, I believe, a key change to the profile of the Cambridge professorship of Hebrew that is significant for the history of the post.' Koller said: 'One of the things that attracted me to the job is that Hebrew, as conceived in the position, is not religiously aligned. It's a world cultural language, it's alongside Farsi, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic. 'The same way that we have classics – where we teach Greek and Latin because there are sources and texts that need to be accessible and of interest to all people who are interested in humanistic inquiry – the same is true of Hebrew, and Farsi, and Chinese. And that's how I see my role.'
The National
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Orange Order 'not divisive', says Tory Hamilton by-election candidate
Richard Nelson, who is running for the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse seat, insisted that he could represent all constituents despite his affiliations, also confirming he was a member of the Apprentice Boys of Derry. Both groups have long been accused of sectarianism. In an interview with BBC Radio Scotland, Nelson confirmed his membership of both organisations and was asked whether they were compatible with holding elected office. He said: 'We are law-abiding organisations. We pledge allegiance to His Majesty the King. And, you know, we are not divisive at all, and people have their right to their own religion.' Pressed on whether he would be able to represent everyone in the community, Nelson said: 'I always do. I always have. Last week, I met with the parish priest in Larkhall – not just the parish priest, but also another priest. READ MORE: Nigel Farage accuses Anas Sarwar of 'sectarianism' as he doubles down on 'racist' ad "We sat for an hour and spoke about the local community and the things that have been happening in the community. Everybody that comes to my surgery or contacts me – I do not ask what religion they are.' He added: 'People always try and target organisations with a bad brush, but we are not. The things that we do for the local charities, the local communities… that is the part that is missing with all of this.' Nelson's entry on South Lanarkshire Council's register of interests shows that he has been a member of the Netherton Covenanters Loyal Orange Lodge 233 since 2019 and is currently listed as secretary of the Scottish Amalgamated Committee of the Apprentice Boys of Derry. He is also a member of the Sir William Johnston Memorial Royal Black Preceptory 634. Between 2012 and 2023, he was a member of the Carluke No Surrender Apprentice Boys of Derry. READ MORE: Anas Sarwar ad is not racist, says Reform by-election candidate The Orange Order claims that it is 'the protection of the principles of the Protestant Reformation', which historically included the persecution of Catholics, and its modern-day critics point to its frequent marches through Irish Catholic areas and allege it promotes bigoted attitudes towards that community. Nelson also has a side-line as a comedy hypnotist and was revealed to have sworn at audience members under his spell at an event in Penicuik. Footage obtained by the Daily Record showed him shouting at participants: 'What are yous daeing, you d**k? I'm in the middle of a show here. A****holes. You and all.'
The Herald Scotland
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Tory candidate defends Orange Order and Apprentice Boys links
Asked whether these affiliations were compatible with elected office, Mr Nelson said: 'We are law-abiding organisations. We pledge allegiance to His Majesty the King. And, you know, we are not divisive at all, and people have their right to their own religion.' READ MORE Explainer: Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election Swinney: Reform UK Facebook ad against Sarwar was racist Labour by-election candidate responds to 'invisible man' Reform jibe Pressed on whether he could represent everyone in the community, Mr Nelson responded: 'I always do. I always have. Last week, I met with the parish priest in Larkhall — not just the parish priest, but also another priest. "We sat for an hour and spoke about the local community and the things that have been happening in the community. Everybody that comes to my surgery or contacts me — I do not ask what religion they are.' He added: 'People always try and target organisations with a bad brush, but we are not. The things that we do for the local charities, the local communities… that is the part that is missing with all of this.' Mr Nelson, a councillor for Larkhall on South Lanarkshire Council, lists his affiliations in the local authority's register of interests. He has been a member of the Netherton Covenanters Loyal Orange Lodge 233 since 2019 and is currently listed as secretary of the Scottish Amalgamated Committee of the Apprentice Boys of Derry. He is also a member of the Sir William Johnston Memorial Royal Black Preceptory 634. Between 2012 and 2023, he was a member of the Carluke No Surrender Apprentice Boys of Derry. The Orange Order states it is committed to 'the protection of the principles of the Protestant Reformation', but critics point to frequent parades through Catholic communities and allege that the organisation promotes anti-Catholic sentiment. Mr Nelson has also faced scrutiny over his sideline as a comedy hypnotist. Footage from a show in Penicuik, seen by the Daily Record, shows him directing a stream of profanities at participants while they were under hypnosis. In one clip, he can be heard shouting at volunteers: 'What are yous daeing, you d**k? I'm in the middle of a show here. A****holes. You and all.'
Daily Record
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
Orange Order is 'not divisive' claims Tory candidate in Hamilton by-election race
Larkhall councillor Richard Nelson was formerly a member of the Carluke No Surrender Apprentice Boys of Derry. A Tory candidate in the Hamilton by-election race has claimed the Orange Order is "not divisive at all". Richard Nelson today defended his membership of the organisation and confirmed he was also a member of the Apprentice Boys of Derry. The Larkhall councillor insisted both were "law-abiding organisations" and said he already represented people of all faiths with his work on South Lanarkshire Council. The Record previously revealed how Nelson also performs as a foul-mouthed stage hypnotist who shouts abuse at his punters. He is running to become an MSP at next week's Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election where the Tories are expected to finish a distant fourth behind the SNP, Reform and Labour. During an interview with BBC Radio Scotland, the Scottish Conservatives candidate was asked about his membership of the Orange Order and the Apprentice Boys. Nelson said: "We are law-abiding organisations. We pledge allegiance to His Majesty the King. And, you know, we are not divisive at all, and people have their right to their own religion." Asked whether he could represent everyone in the community, the councillor added: "I always do. I always have. Last week, I met with the parish priest in Larkhall — not just the parish priest, but also another priest. "We sat for an hour and spoke about the local community and the things that have been happening in the community. Everybody that comes to my surgery or contacts me — I do not ask what religion they are." He added: "People always try and target organisations with a bad brush, but we are not. The things that we do for the local charities, the local communities… that is the part that is missing with all of this." Nelson was formerly a member of the Carluke No Surrender Apprentice Boys of Derry. The Orange Order states it is committed to 'the protection of the principles of the Protestant Reformation'. The Record previously told how Nelson humiliated one man during his stage act by mocking him as an "a***hole' and made others believe they had soiled themselves. The councillor has a side job as a so-called comedy hypnotist who turns the air blue. A number of his shows are no longer available on social media, but some clips are still online. At a show in Penicuik, Nelson hypnotised a group of men who jumped around like kangaroos when the music started. The men took their seats when the music stopped and Nelson unleashed a verbal tirade against them. 'A***hole, sit doon,' he can be heard saying. He added: 'What are yous daeing? What you daeing, you d**k? I'm in the middle of a show, here. A***holes. You and all.'
