The entire period of the Jubilee 2025 is characterised by a rich calendar of religious, cultural and social events. The Holy Year programme includes several ‘jubilees’ dedicated to different categories of people, identified according to their profession or their role within the family, the Church and society. The two days of 8 and 9 March are dedicated to the world of volunteering, as a reminder of the role played by non-profit organisations, NGOs, social workers and volunteers from all associations working for the benefit of the community.
Today we also want to remember and thank all the volunteers with whom we continue to work on various projects.
We do so with an article by our sister Elisabeth Biela, who has left her role in the Karlsruhe community as leader of the refugee ministry in collaboration with many other Christian and lay associations. Here are her thoughts on the occasion of the Jubilee of the World of Volunteering
Building Bridges: Churches Unite for Refugee Awareness
In my volunteering work as the outgoing coordinator of the refugee pastoral care I had meetings with those responsible at the archdiocese for months. We worked together with committed Volunteers of the parish team and Volunteers of the Protestant church. Thanks to the good cooperation, an interesting programme was put together.
The ecumenical commemoration of refugees was organised by the Archdiocese of Freiburg and the Protestant Church in Baden on Thursday, 20 June, to mark World Refugee Day.
Of course, we volunteers were actively involved in the preparations and realisation.
Bridging Cultures and Compassion: Encounters with volunteers from Refugee Support Organizations
In the afternoon before the service, Archbishop Burger visited a centre in which several volunteer organisations such as Friends of the Asylum, Lernbox, the Human Rights Centre and the Association for the Support of Traumatised Migrants, to name but a few, have their offices. The head of the Garden of Religions, a Buddhist lady, was also invited to the meeting. The talks were very informative for our archbishop. He was visibly affected by his visit.
Let’s hear him for ourselves:
‘I saw highly motivated people who are committed to helping refugees and who experience the whole problem of refugees at first hand, but who also realise inwardly how limited their own resources and possibilities are. This raises the question for me: How can society as a whole, how can politics continue to support this? But also, the question: How can we as churches get even more involved here? It is a very important aspect for us not to leave people alone in their commitment. That’s why we need to look again at where better networking is possible in society as a whole. After all, beyond questions of faith, there is a common commitment that connects people.’
The Protestant Lady Bishop visited the centre for particularly vulnerable refugees, the Christian-Griesbach-Haus. This centre is run, with volunteer help, by the Red Cross, Caritas and Diakonie (the protestant Caritas) to support the people in all matters such as paperwork, applications, interviews, etc. In addition, a psychotherapist comes to the house, as do staff from the Justice Project, as many women come to Germany through human trafficking.
We, from the Lavigerie community, accompany some of these women and others in cooperation with all these organisations.
During her visit Bishop Heike Springhart was very impressed by the commitment and serenity with which work is carried out there. As an aside, it was mentioned that 7000 applications have been processed there in the last three years for people who needed to see a doctor. She said in the sermon: ‘The staff didn’t complain, but it shows what they achieve there.’ She was also very moved by her encounters with refugees.
Bishop Heike Springhart also took with her one sentence from the visit to the Christian-Griesbach-Haus, which was subsequently repeated in her sermon at the festive service and which clearly shows the dedication with which the work there is carried out:
‘People are here for as long as they are here. And as long as they are here, we are the community of people who live here together.’
A Reflection on Refugee Experiences
The subsequent church service was nourished and characterised by the impressions of the clergy of both denominations. The Word of God was recited in different languages. Father Bona, also from Haus Lavigerie, read in Kirundi.
During the service, a refugee woman from Ethiopia, who I have accompanied for several years, gave a testimony about her flight and the difficulties she also encounters in our country. She was deported from Germany to her country of first entry in hand-and-foot cuffs. Her words: ‘I felt like a serious criminal.’
She concluded by saying:
‘Because I believe that God is always by my side, I can bear anything that is difficult.’ The congregation was deeply moved by her words.
As a lasting ‘memorial’ to this day, a signpost was erected after the service in the presence of the Lord Mayor, pointing in all directions of the city to the Volunteer Organisations that were committed to helping the refugees. Our home, Haus Lavigerie, is also present.
Municipal and Religious Partnerships
The Lord Mayor recognised the churches’ and volunteers’ commitment to the refugees: ’It is a very important contribution that the refugees have the chance to arrive here in the city at all. As municipal departments, we can clarify all the legal issues with great difficulty. Even considering our sometimes-limited staffing levels, we can’t also take care of people emotionally.’
He is pleased that
’such a great volunteer network has developed and that it is a bit of a counter-model to the heated political discussion about refugees, which is currently reaching new heights.’
Bridging Cultures: An Interfaith Celebration
After the service, it was naturally time for a cosy get-together with dishes from different countries. The interfaith women’s group, led by our good friend from Tunisia, Najuah, provided the necessary entertainment. Father Bona, Missionary of Africa also joined the group. The evening ended in the church with an acted dialogue in which various situations of refugees were discussed. This group is travelling throughout Germany and spreading the message of the dignity of every human being to the four winds.
I was very moved by the day. It was a good farewell to my role as a refugee’s pastoral worker in Karlsruhe.
