WEEKLY UPDATE #44

Dear Friends, Happy Easter and - Chag Sameach - Happy Passover!  Today we will celebrate both holidays together in our church in a worship service, as they both fall on the same day, just as we read in the Gospel of John. I think this day is very special.  I just returned from Belarus, where we had memorial events and a conference. Before the war, 50-80% of the population there was Jewish. 150.000 of them were brutally killed in the extermination camp "Maly Trostenets", where we visited the memorial with our friends and with Holocaust survivors. Descendants of Nazi perpetrators were able to ask for forgiveness right there.   We cannot undo history and the atrocities that happened there - but as descendants of the perpetrators we have a responsibility: with our request for forgiveness hearts can be healed and reconciliation can happen. It is a great privilege to do this, even if it is very painful.   I wish you all blessed Easter and Happy Passover!