(May 15, 2010) Catholic and evangelical representatives have gathered for an ecumenical
conference in Munich, which includes music, presentations, prayer and fellowship.
The congress, which is being promoted by the Central Committee of German Catholics
and the German Evangelical Congress, opened Wednesday 12th of May and will
close on Sunday. Some 130,000 participants are registered for the event that has
as its theme "So That You Have Hope." On Wednesday night, 300,000 people formed a
human chain and prayed the Our Father together through the streets of the city. On
Friday, as part of the congress, participants gathered in Munich's Odeonsplatz for
the celebration of Vespers according to the Orthodox tradition. Then, the Christians
of different Churches sat outdoors at 1,000 tables, each with two benches to accommodate
10 persons. After singing hymns and offering prayers, they had an agape meal, in which
they shared blessed bread, oil and wine. The congress aims to promote reflection
on the way Christians can witness to their faith in modern secular society. This is
the second congress of its kind; the first took place two years ago in Berlin with
500,000 participants.