Violence and Abuse in Christian Environments

On January 28, 2023, the SDA congregation of Lübeck experienced a Sabbath under the topic: Violence and Abuse in Christian Environments with Eri Dan as the guest speaker.
In the worldwide campaign Enditnow® we deal with the reality of violence in our own families and communities.
Our Lübeck "activists" prepared the decorations and an information booth for this information and sharing event, where interested people could look at and order books, magazines, and brochures on the topic.
The event began with the worship service and a sermon by Eri Dan. He made it clear in speaking about Matthew 18:1-11 that Jesus uses the example of innocent children to explain how important it is to Him to protect the weak and innocent. There is nothing worse than inflicting harm on a fellow human being, whether young or old, woman or man, in body, soul, or spirit. Violence and abuse of power is a taboo that nevertheless happens even in our church environment. We must learn to look and perceive, listen and believe. Decisions and consequences must be made when dealing with perpetrators.
After a convivial potluck with an abundant variety of good food and time for personal conversation, there was an amazingly well-attended information and discussion session in the afternoon. We exchanged personal experiences from everyday life in a society that is characterized by sexualized media and fashion and in which violence and assaults are presented and experienced in many forms. It became clear that we have to prevent violence by educating ourselves about risks that we can minimize through our behavior. Where we recognize violence, professional help is important in dealing with victims and perpetrators. We can help by looking, noticing, and listening.
After almost two hours of lively and moving conversations, we ended the Sabbath with a colorful cake buffet and many more personal conversations.
As reported by Renata and Marius Grebe