Essen (dpa/lnw) - On Christmas Eve this year, the churches are focusing on current developments such as the Ukraine war, an impending division in society and the tense situation in the children's hospitals.
Ruhr Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck, for example, warned of increasing polarization in his Christmas message. "The intensity of the disputes in our society and in our church is increasing more and more. We're more likely to drown in loud accusations and suspicions instead of making positive progress together," said Overbeck, according to the diocese of Essen.
The chairwoman of the council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Annette Kurschus, thinks of the current emergency situation in the children's hospitals when listening to the Christmas story. The story of the baby Jesus in the manger is more relevant than ever, she said after an EKD statement.
"I can hardly hear the familiar sentence from the biblical Christmas story in these pre-Christmas days without the news from the emergency rooms of the children's hospitals in my ear," said Kurschus, who wants to preach on Saturday evening in the Zionskirche in Bielefeld. Many children's practices and children's wards are currently extremely overcrowded. There are also shortages of some medicines, including fever syrup for children.
