Centre for Christian Meditation and Spirituality of the Diocese of Limburg

Steeple building of the Holy Cross Church of the Centre for Christian Meditation and Spirituality

The Centre for Christian Meditation and Spirituality (German: Zentrum für christliche Meditation und Spiritualität) is an institution of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg, Germany. It is based at the church Holy Cross (German:Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche) in Frankfurt-Bornheim, dedicated to services, contemplation, meditation, retreats, counseling and other events such as concerts. The centre is located in the district Bornheim of Frankfurt in the 1920s housing complex above the Bornheim slope (German: Bornheimer Hang).

History

Auxiliary bishop Thomas Löhr during the fifth anniversary of the centre in 2012
Cretan style advent-labyrinth consists of 2500 burning tea lights at 15 December 2012 inside the church
"Tram of silence" with M-type railcar 102 in 2013
Compositions of light, words and music during the Luminale-festival in Frankfurt Cathedral in collaboration with the youth church JONA in 2014

When Franz Kamphaus, then bishop of Limburg, visited the parishes of Frankfurt in 2004, he met people who were searching an encounter with God and open for spiritual experience but not within the traditional churches.[1] He founded the centre in 2007. At 15 January he signed the charter of foundation for the theme church Holy Cross - Centre for Christian Meditation and Spirituality in Frankfurt-Bornheim. The charter of foundation was coming into effect at 1 July 2007.[2]

Like the church St. Michael in Frankfurt-Nordend where the Centre for Mourning Counselling (German:Zentrum für Trauerseelsorge) is located the Holy Cross Church is a branch church of the parish St. Josef Frankfurt. The centre is a pastoral institution of the diocese[2] and is subordinated to the head of department of episcopalian chair Thomas Löhr.[3] The centre is directed by the Franciscan Helmut Schlegel OFM,[4] who works with a team of contributors like for example of the order Medical Missionary Sisters (MMS).[5]

It was the first institution of its kind in Germany.

Program

Although the offerings of the centre are affected by Christianity the target audience includes humans of all Religious denominations, world views and cultures. The team[6] publishes annually a new program.[7] In and by the centre different kinds of church services are offered like for example with elements such as expressionist dance, moreover meditation courses, contemplative prayer, Zen-meditation courses, days of reflection, spiritual exercises, retreats, lectures of different guest speakers like Anselm Grün,[8] meditations with the Sōtō-Zen-priest and veteran of the Vietnam War Claude AnShin Thomas[9] and many different kinds of events are offered.

There are series of events, like for example days of exercises of christian mysticism, meditative singing, spiritual guided city tours in which topics by Frankfurt tourist guides are joined with spiritual topics or pilgrim hikes with a picnic and devotions. Different one-time events are part of the program like for example tram-rides with the slogan Tram of silence with an historic railcar of the Frankfurt tramway system with elements like silence with short thought-provoking impulses to the senses of seeing, hearing, feeling and smelling.

The dialogue between the cultures and major religious groups concerning meditation and spirituality is a further important aspect of the work of the centre. There are for example panel discussions with representatives of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christians about the meditation with personal field reports from the different religions. Other examples are courses in Yoga and Yoga nidra or dance performances of a Indian Jesuit padre who figures elements of traditional meditative dances such as Bharatanatyam from Hinduism as a kind of prayer to God.[10] To a spiritual lead to the third Sunday in Advent first time in 2011 a Cretan-shaped labyrinth consisting of 2500 tealights was formed which was also part of a service and could be used by the visitors.

During the Frankfurt Luminale Festival of Light in 2014 the team members of the centre offered in cooperation with the Youth Church JONA (German: Jugendkirche JONA in the Frankfurt Cathedral a meditation consisting of light, words, music and sound.[11]

Examples for concerts were until now performances of A German Requiem by Johannes Brahms or meditative music from the Middle Ages by Hildegard of Bingen, Peter Abelard and Rabanus Maurus.[12]

The centre of Christian Meditation and Spirituality also supports the Student Initiative Rahel (SIR) (German: Rahel-Bildungsprojekt) of the Institute for World Church and Mission (IWM), German:Institut für Weltkirche und Mission) which is part of the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology. The SIR supports with micro-scholarships disadvantaged youngsters in Adigrat in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during their time at school and university.[13]

Rearrangement

Until 2010 there were some slightly changes for the church interior. The old parish pews were removed and replaced by folding chairs which made are more flexible use of the interior space of the church building possible. The former main altar now is normally not used. A smaller altar made of wood is used instead. which forms a circle with the folding chairs. Because of a better accessibility stairlifts and ramps for wheelchairs were installed. The former crypt and the rooms of the former clergy house were transfigured for the use as a meditation centre. In the crypt the floor was parqueted with a wooden parquetry and the meditation area was bordered with textile panels made from linen. The entrance for this area is formed with a door case made from wood.

Church Building and Parish

The Centre of Christian Meditation and Spirituality is located on the parish area of the catholic parish St. Josef Frankfurt am Main which was founded as a parish of a new type at 1 January 2015. In the new greater parish area there are four churches located as church places (German: Kirchorte) and two churches as theme churches (German: Profilkirchen or Themenkirchen). One of the two theme churches is the Holy Cross Church which belongs to the meditation centre and is used for the church services and the further events of the centre. The buildings are administrated by the Catholic Church of the city of Frankfurt am Main. There is an active collaboration with the parish of St. Josef Frankfurt am Main. During the restoration period of the Church St. Leonhard in the Frankfurt Altstadt the church services of the International English-Speaking Roman Catholic Parishes Frankfurt am Main Area St Leonhard’s take place in the Holy Cross Church since 7 May 2011.[14]

Transport connections

The Holy-Cross-Church could easily be reached by walk in a few minutes from the tram stop Ernst-May-Platz of the tramline 14 of the Frankfurt tramway and the Stadtbahn station Eissporthalle of the line U7 of the Frankfurt light rail system (Frankfurt U-Bahn). Also not far away is the motorway exit of the Federal Motorway 661.

Camino de Santiago

Beneath the Bornheim slope (German: Bornheimer Hang) in the east of the meditation centre runs a branch of the German Camino de Santiago (=Way of St. James).[15] The route is based on the ancient trade route from Leipzig to Frankfurt am Main (Des Reiches Straße). The way starts in the bishop city Fulda, then it goes along Schlüchtern, Steinau an der Straße, Bad Soden-Salmünster, Gelnhausen, Langenselbold, Erlensee and Bruchköbel. The way starts in the bishop city Fulda and leads through Schlüchtern, Steinau an der Straße, Bad Soden-Salmünster, Gelnhausen, Langenselbold, Erlensee and Bruchköbel. It belongs to the net of main routes of the pilgrim of St. James in Europe which are leading to the grave of the saint in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. This branch which is 116 km long passes the Holy Cross Church and leads through the Ostpark and then passes the Seat of the European Central Bank at the former Großmarkthalle (=Wholesale Market Hall) on its route to the Main river and the inner city of Frankfurt am Main. It passes also the Eiserner Steg (a footbridge made of iron) and leads further to Mainz and afterwards to Trier.[16]

Literature

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Meditationskirche (Frankfurt am Main).

References

  1. ↑ "Meditationskirche Heilig Kreuz". Wege mit Franziskus (in German): 22. 2009.
  2. 1 2 Diocese of Limburg (1 February 2007). "Dekret des Bischofs Franz Kamphaus vom 15.01.2007 über die Errichtung der Profilkirche "Heilig Kreuz – Zentrum für christliche Meditation und Spiritualität" (=decree of bishop Franz Kamphaus from 15 January 2007 concerning the foundation of the theme church "Holy Cross - Centre for Christian Meditation and Spirituality")" (in German). Parish of St.-Josef Frankfurt. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Diocese of Limburg. "Diozösankurie (=curia of the diocese)" (in German). Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  4. ↑ Beate Hirt. "Katholische Kirche im hr – Helmut Schlegel" (in German). Hessischer Rundfunk. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  5. ↑ Medical Missionary Sisters. "Missionsärztliche Schwestern in Frankfurt (=Medical Missionary Sisters in Frankfurt)" (in German). Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "Team von Heilig Kreuz – Zentrum für christliche Meditation und Spiritualität (=Team of Holy Cross - Centre for Christian Meditation and Spirituality)" (in German). Heilig Kreuz – Zentrum für christliche Meditation und Spiritualität. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Heilig Kreuz – Zentrum für christliche Meditation und Spiritualität – Programm September 2016 bis Juli 2017" (PDF) (in German). Heilig Kreuz – Zentrum für christliche Meditation und Spiritualität. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "Heilig Kreuz Kirche wird zur Galerie (=Holy Cross Church becomes a gallery)" (in German). Frankfurter Neue Presse. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "Meditation mit einem Zen-Mönch - Claude AnShin Thomas kommt nach Bornheim (=meditations with a Zen-monk - Claude AnShin Thomas comes to Bornheim)". Bornheimer Wochenblatt year 20 No 42 (in German): 8. 19 October 2016.
  10. ↑ "P. Dr. Saju George SJ – Indischer Jesuit und Bharatanatyam Tänzer (=P. Dr. Saju George SJ - Indian Jesuit and Bharatanatyam dancer)" (PDF) (in German). kirche-und-dialog.de. 5 March 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  11. ↑ "JONA bei der Luminale 2014 (=JONA at the Luminale 2014) on Flickr" (in German). Jugendkirche JONA (=youth church JONA). 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  12. ↑ Stephanie Haas, Christoph Haas. "Ensemble Cosmedin" (in German). Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  13. ↑ Rahel-Team (June 2015). "Rechenschaftsbericht seit Start der Überweisungen (=statement of accounts since the beginning of transfers) in: Rahel - Ein Bildungsprojekt für Adigrat - Festschrift der Studierendeninitiative – Ein Blick durch die Zeit: 2010–2015 (=Rahel - An education project for Adigrat - Festschrift of the initiative by students - A view through the years: 2010-2015)" (in German). Rahel-Bildungsprojekt (=Student Initiative Rahel) (SIR) / Institut für Weltkirche und Mission (=Institute for World Church and Mission) (IWM): 16–17.
  14. ↑ St Leonhard’s & St Mary’s (2014). "International English-Speaking Roman Catholic Parishes Frankfurt am Main Area St Leonhard's & St Mary's". Diocese of Limburg. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  15. ↑ rmv.de (11 April 2011). "Rhein-Main-Vergnügen – Jacobsweg (=Frankfurt Rhine-Main-enjoyment)" (PDF) (in German). Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  16. ↑ rmv.de (2014). "Rhein-Main-Vergnügen Wanderkarte: Der Jakobsweg von der Fulda an den Main (=Frankfurt Rhine-Main-enjoyment map of trails: The Camino de Santiago from the Fulda to the Main)" (in German). Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund. Retrieved 27 November 2016.

Coordinates: 50°07′37″N 8°43′06″E / 50.1269°N 8.7183°E / 50.1269; 8.7183

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