As an American clergyman, now retired, it has been my pleasure to return to Wieseck and Michaelsgemeinde for a second visit, again as the guest of Pastor Frank Wendel, his wife Uta, and their three children. I was first their guest in 2007 under the auspices of an exchange program sponsored by the EKHN and, in America, by the United Methodist Church.

So what has changed and what are my impressions this time around? First, Katze is dead. (Katze was the Wendel's friendly cat, now replaced in the Pfarrhaus by Lilly and little Charlie, a wide-eyed, curious kitten.) What has not changed has been the incredible welcome I have received from the Wendel family. On the Sunday of my visit, not wanting to miss anything, I attended both Gottesdienst in the church and the children's activity program inside and outside the Gemeindehaus. (It was, after all, the afternoon of Germany's 4-1 victory over England!) There were fewer people in church that Sunday than I might have expected in my home church in Maine, but, despite understanding little German, I enjoyed singing the hymns and participating in the prayers. Later, in a celebration of African culture, I enjoyed watching the children and their parents make joyful noise together.

In my home parish, an American Baptist church in Portland, Maine, summer has also come, and many families who usually come to church Sunday during the school year, take advantage of the warm weather to enjoy the out-of-doors. My hometown congregation has about 150 members through which we support all of the work of our church: the pastor, organist, secretary, heat and lights, upkeep of the building (only 83 years old but built in the English Gothic style), and a program of education and community service that reaches into one of the most ethnically diverse and economically poor neighborhoods in Maine.

Here is my impression of the difference between your parish and the church of which I am a member: because your parish is partly supported by taxes, the Protestant Church is able to provide services - kindergartens, especially - that our small congregation is not able to provide. We - meaning my home congregation and American churches like ours - survive on contributions paid directly by our members in annual contributions and from the voluntary collection of money from those who attend church on Sunday morning. I greatly admire the new kindergarden and community building that your system makes possible.

Thank you for welcoming me back to Wieseck and to Evangelische Michaelsgemeinde.