Cantrell, BethKemp, Ute2019-09-252019-09-252017-05-021995http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12424/164626"It remains to be seen whether the pastors and the people of the former East German Protestant Church will be able to maintain their old commitment to a human-oriented, non-institutional community, or whether they will find themselves swallowed up by the mighty machine they perceive the EKD to be. As we inter- viewed pastors and laypeople, our sympathies were roused for those who have still not given up hope of being listened to and who see it as a matter of the greatest importance to make themselves heard. To ignore their voices would be a criminal waste of the strengths which the East German churches developed at such cost under communism, particularly their concern for a fairer deal for the less fortunate mem- bers of society. It is to be hoped that those pastors in the West who are in sympathy with their eastern brethren will strive to speak with them with a common voice. The church could achieve so much by tapping into the vast resources of available experi- ence and energy, and by harnessing them for the right cause."engWith permission of the license/copyright holderEastern GermanyProtestant church pastorsGerman identityRight-wing ExtremismReligious EducationPolitical ethicsCommunity ethicsEducation and ethicsIntercultural and contextual theologiesEuropean theologiesPractical theology and theological educationArticle