Bishop Rose, Archdeacon Will and Youth Enabler Georgina Hedley-Smith went with a group of adults and teenagers from around the Diocese of Canterbury to visit southern Germany between 29 September and 3 October.
The Diocese of Canterbury has long-standing links with the German Protestant Church (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, EKD) through our partnership with the Church Districts (like our deaneries) of Markgräflerland in Baden and Zossen-Fläming in Brandenburg, south of Berlin.
This visit, to Markgräflerland, nestled between the borders of France and Switzerland, follows a visit by our German friends to Canterbury in 2022.
The group of young people from England and Germany enjoyed a programme of activities in the Black Forest. The adult group saw various parish projects, including the rebuilding of a church complex to provide community space in Lörrach and a rural multi-parish group facing many of the same issues as rural benefices in Kent. Bishop Rose preached at a service in Schopfheim on Sunday 1 October.
On the Monday the groups joined together to visit a foodbank, where Bishop Rose and the young people helped collect harvest festival donations from parish churches for distribution by the food bank.