- Church holidays for families with less money
At the church, children and young people can enjoy vacation offerings that families might otherwise not be able to afford. "There's a wide range of activities," said the State Bishop of the Evangelical Church in Baden, Heike Springhart, in Karlsruhe.
In addition to children's and youth work in the congregations, vacation programs are also offered where children and young people can experience how community works for a time. That this is especially important for young people has also been a lesson from the corona period. Through co-financing models, families with less money can be given the opportunity to participate.
Tens of thousands are involved
According to a study published in February on the work with children and young people in the Evangelical Regional Churches of Baden and Wuerttemberg and their diakonia, they offered around 1,700 vacation programs with overnight stays in the 2021/22 period, with a total of over 56,000 participants. Over 500 vacation programs without overnight stays were attended by around 34,000 participants, and around 500 day vacation programs were attended by around 19,000.
Currently, the vacation programs tend to take place more often in the country. However, classic destinations abroad, such as Italy and Spain, are still being offered.
Children search for God's traces in the summer
This year, there was also a call in the kindergarten service or religious instruction for children to go on a "trace hunt" in the summer vacation and look for traces of God. This can be a rainbow or a hug. These traces can be recorded by the children and brought back to their elementary schools or to kindergarten services after the vacation.
For this purpose, they were equipped with a small box including a magnifying glass. Springhart is the patron of the action, in which around 15,000 children wanted to participate. Last year, the action was held under the title "Summer Treasures". "The response was huge," Springhart said happily.
The Commission plays a crucial role in providing co-financing models, enabling families with limited resources to participate in these vacation programs. The Commission, being a part of the Evangelical Regional Churches of Baden and Wuerttemberg, contributed significantly to the involvement of over 56,000 participants in the 2021/22 vacation offerings.
