c. 2006 Religion News Service

BERLIN _ Soccer is religion in some places. But German churches are stepping forward to make sure people don’t forget the real thing during the World Cup tournament.

While fans race from one game to another across Germany, a host of German churches is on the sidelines to make sure that anyone who needs some time to talk to God, meditate or just think about religion has a place to go.

“We want to do what we can,” says Bernhard Felmberg, who organizes sports programs for the Evangelical (Protestant) church in Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg. “We wanted to experience Berlin’s World Cup motto _ `The World as a Guest Among Friends’ _ in our own congregations.”

Hospitality is the theme of many church soccer programs. Most events are organized at the local level, and they range from giant religious celebrations in Munich to services in multiple languages in Hamburg to a new chapel in Berlin’s Olympic stadium. (Church and soccer officials, however, are feuding about why the chapel must be closed during the games for security reasons.)

Religion has colored much of the planning for the games and, indeed, much of the games themselves.

Secular European audiences have been fascinated by the open group prayers of teams from African countries.

Press reports highlighted the difficulties some German hotels had in preparing for soccer teams from nations with different cultural standards.

A hotel in Bad Nauheim, for example, had to clear alcohol out of the mini bars and block any remotely pornographic content in anticipation of the Saudi Arabian team’s extended visit. Near the Swiss border, the chef in a hotel in Schnetzenhausen has had to exclude pork _ a staple of German cuisine _ from his culinary repertoire while the Iranian team stays there.

Meanwhile, churches that want to show the games _ a welcome alternative for families that do not want to take their children to bars or the gigantic nightly fan party in front of the Brandenburg Gate _ have to make sure they are not slapped with viewing fines by the Federation International de Football Association.

American Christian groups, meanwhile, continue to make an uproar about legalized prostitution in Germany, a government stance that does not exactly blend well with German efforts at Christian outreach.

Still, the programs continue.

Visitors to Berlin’s churches might find themselves in the middle of a sermon tying soccer concepts (fouls, second chances) to Christian precepts (forgiveness, reconciliation).

The sermons, which run throughout the World Cup, are called Half Time Devotionals _ even if they do not necessarily coincide with halftime and, at times, even conflict with the game schedules. The Devotionals are at noon in the Berlin Cathedral and at 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. in the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in both English and German. As a bonus, cathedral attendees get to see the church without paying the usual tourist’s entrance fee.

The goal is to provide some spiritual connection between the games and everyday life, but without proselytizing.

“We want to offer something that we can offer better than everyone else,” says Carsten Schwarz, a pastor at Berlin’s Kaiser Wilhelm Church. During a recent lecture on fouling, Schwarz and a colleague broke out soccer balls and play-acted at fouling each other to make their point.

After the 15-minute service, Schwarz relaxes in a rest station outside the church sponsored by Berlin’s Evangelical churches and staffed by volunteers from as far away as Texas and Ireland.

Little offerings, like the sermons and the free water at the rest stations, can give the church a presence without seeming heavy-handed, says Schwarz. “People say, `Water for free? That would never happen back home.”’

Roland Herrpich, who preached at the Berlin Cathedral during the first week of the games, takes a similar approach. “I just think it’s important that we speak to people.”

He has no illusions that such gestures will increase church membership or lead to spontaneous conversions. But he said it would be irresponsible if the church did not take the opportunity to showcase itself.

Felmberg says the city will be full of events, including a special service on July 9, the day of the final World Cup game.

In Hamburg, the situation is much the same. Protestant and Catholic churches joined forces there for the games’ kickoff to host a Festival of Peoples and Cultures, drawing in 15,000 guests.

Things have been toned down during the games. But Claus Everdiking, who heads the pastoral services department of the Catholic Archdiocese of Hamburg, says there’s still plenty going on _ volunteers hosting a mission in the city’s train station, many churches offering space to see the games. Services are being offered in foreign languages to match the nationality of the teams playing in Hamburg that day _ Czech language services when that team played in Hamburg on Thursday (June 22), or Ukrainian when that team played Saudi Arabia on June 19.

It’s all part and parcel of combining soccer and religion for Everdiking.

“I’m a soccer fan and a Christian,” he said. “People like that have a lot to give to the sport.”

KRE/PH END SORRELLS

Editors: To obtain photos of an ecumenical soccer service and a Half Time Devotional service, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.