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The altar of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin - Photo: Horst Milde
Ecumenical MARATHON PRAYER for the 50th BMW BERLIN MARATHON – “run.breathe.trust” – Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 4 p.m. – INVITATION
For decades, the world-famous church was just behind the finish line on Kurfürstendamm before the marathon moved to the Brandenburg Gate.
We invite you again!
For the 50th time the Berlin Marathon and for the 38th time the ecumenical marathon prayer directly along the route: the blue line and the blue light converge in the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Once again, people from 161 nations will start the race and make the marathon a sign of peace.
We support that!
We celebrate a service with God and runners. Before the start – and in the midst of life. We come to rest, sing and pray, feel community and take the joy – with us at the start.
We warmly invite you to take a break before the start
run.breathe.trust, this triad will guide us.
Runners feel their breathing. They know about the effect of running: when the pace is right, body, mind and soul find a good rhythm. It has been proven that runners often feel more relaxed and creative. Especially during long runs, there is space for new thoughts and previously unimagined solutions to problems.
And yet every marathon requires more than that: the confidence that I will reach the finish line; the confidence that I can meet the difficult challenge of the 42 km with my preparation, although I can’t really imagine it…
The two marathon-running pastors Peter Burkowski (retired, left) and Dr. Lars Charbonnier – Photo: Horst Milde
Faith is an apt word for trust. Those who trust in God in the “race of life” also know ups and downs, exhausting and difficult stretches, and also the easy run through a good time. Trust in God encompasses body, mind, and soul – it means the whole person.
We look forward to celebrating the service with many runners again and praying together for peace and trust in life. We come to rest, sing, feel community and take joy and blessings with us to the start.
You are warmly invited!
The service will be jointly conducted by:
Dr. Sarah-Magdalena Kingreen, Pastor Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church Berlin
Horst Milde, founder of the BERLIN MARATHON,
Jutta von Haase, winner of the first Berlin People’s Marathon in 1974
Ute Szameitat, volunteer at the BERLIN MARATHON, runner and walker
Dr. Helmut Jansen, Catholic theologian – supervisor – triathlete, www.lauf-rat.de
Dr. Lars Charbonnier, Protestant pastor and runner
Peter Burkowski, retired Protestant pastor and runner
The collection is traditionally for the Fürst Donnersmarck Foundation in Berlin, which supports severely ill children.
Horst Milde
YouTube video of Prof. Helmut Winter with Horst Milde about the history of the BERLIN MARATHON (1974) and the cross-country race at Teufelsberg (1964):
Klaus Feierabend+ pastor in Spandau – On the race of life – 27 sermons on the BERLIN MARATHON from 1986 to 2013. Klaus Feierabend and his sermons captivated runners from around the world for decades. Unforgotten!
