Dear Reader,

Every now and then I go to a café where I sit at the window front, drink a hot chocolate and write. Sermons, articles (like this one) and a lot of emails have been created like this. I like to look up from my computer and watch the world go by, finding inspiration in the continuous flow of life. On every face, young and old, life has left its traces. Every person has a story to tell. Our stories are interwoven and we are part of one big narrative: that of humankind.

The story of humankind seems to be at a low point. Many people feel that the world finds itself in a downward spiral, an on-going mess of violence, egotism, destruction and regression. The flood of information that reaches us every day from around the globe is impossible to digest and so hugely complex that we risk to either ignore it all together or to come to a rush conclusion based on doubtful information. Things are getting out of control and this perceived loss of control is traumatising for many. However hard we try to fix things, it seems we are only just about able to patch up the symptoms but fail to get to the roots and change things around for the better. Governments are visibly overwhelmed with the tasks ahead of them. Somehow we sense that we haven’t hit rock bottom yet and that there is more to come. The world changes at a speed that makes it impossible to predict the consequences for our lifestyle. We will have to find new ways to make things work and we might do well to ready ourselves for more big changes.

Easter is approaching and I believe that the symbolism and message of Easter is today just as important as 2’000 years ago. Good Friday is the day when we remember that God has sacrificed his own flesh to die on the cross and suffer the pain of the world alongside humankind: the pain of despair, destruction, loss and death. Without the experience of Good Friday, there can be no Easter joy, without the reality of death no appreciation of the deeper meaning of life. Both are part of the same narrative. We know deep in our hearts that the deepest lows and highest highs are both part of our individual stories as well as of the story of humankind. Flowers blossom in the desert, whilst rain forests are being destroyed. Love flourishes in war times, newborns die in their parents arms. Seemingly unsurmountable walls are broken down, new ones are built. Soldiers ready to shoot suddenly hesitate, people we trust turn against us. This is our story. This is the Easter story.

I wish you all that the hope of Easter will prevail over the feeling of despair. I would like to announce recent changes in our team. The Swiss Church team are looking forward to welcoming back Anina Smith who was on maternity leave for one year and will return to work two days a week as administrator and accountant from February. Sadly at the same time we will have to say goodbye to Colin McIntyre who covered for Anina during her leave. It was a pleasure to have him on the team. We will miss you! We want to thank Colin for his dedication and friendship and hope to see him back often.

I wish you, dear readership and friends, that you will never lose sight of hope in the ups and downs of life and that you will always be surrounded by people and communities who carry you through the rocky stages of life. Happy Easter!

Yours,
Rev. Carla Maurer

Find out more and read Swiss Church news here >