New Year's reception in Burscheid: Community celebrates community and democracy

New Year's reception in Burscheid: Community celebrates community and democracy

On January 24, 2025, the Evangelical parish of Burscheid organized its New Year's reception. The event was aimed at the members of the community and committed citizens of the city. Among those present were Mayor Dirk Runge and representatives of the Burscheider parties. Headmistress Angelika Büscher and Armin Busch also contributed to the festive atmosphere.

The hosts of the evening, pastors Annerose Frickenschmidt and Katrin Friedel, theologian Sylvia from Holt, church music director Silke Hamburger and youth leader Anke Theron-Schirmer, designed the event with a cultural item on the program. Silke Hamburger played a Sonatine by Aram Chaschaturjan on the wing and thus set musical accents for reception.

important topics and concerns

Frickenschmidt spoke about the annual solution for 2025: "Check everything and keep the good!". She emphasized the importance of networking within the community and thanked various institutions for her support. A remarkable topic was the first demonstration against the right in Burscheid in January 2024, in which around 800 participants took part.

In the context of the upcoming Bundestag election in February, the need to go was underlined. Both the Evangelical and the Catholic Church are committed to democracy and against extremism. In order to support the citizens in their commitment, Doris Sandbrink was invited to offer argumentation aids against regulars' slogans on March 31st.

community connections and future prospects

Another point of the agenda was the announcement of a parish at Witzhelden and Bergisch Neukirchen until 2030. Frickenschmidt named financial problems and the lack of young people from church musicians and pastors as reasons for this measure. She was optimistic about the conscious cooperation between the communities.

The reception ended with lively conversations among the guests who took the opportunity to network and exchange ideas. The Protestant community is not only part of the city of Burscheid, but also has a story that goes back to the 11th century. Today around 19,000 people live in Burscheid, around 4,700 of whom belong to the Evangelical Church. The municipality is divided into three districts and has two churches with corresponding parish houses in Burscheid and Hilgen.

This connection between religion and community is also strengthened in the Burscheid where new members are warmly welcomed. The Evangelical Church has increasingly campaigned for democracy and against extremism in recent decades. This is shown in its clear attitude that has developed since the Reformation. In the past 40 years, the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) has anchored its positive attitude towards democracy in the memorandum "Evangelical Church and Freedom Democracy".

The speech of the church representatives and the commitment of the community reflect the efforts to take responsibility in society and to promote democratic discourse. The accented words on the subject of responsibility are not only a call to participate in elections, but also an expression of the community obligation to support the development of human dignity in the community. The ekd has greeted this change towards an active participation in social life and encourages its members to actively contribute.