The Church

A place that has a quality I cannot yet grasp: St. Josephskirche (St. Joseph's Church), a Catholic church. It is right at the corner of Great Freedom and Schmuckstraße near the Reeperbahn, right at the corner of on one street with strip clubs en masse and another that is widely known as the 'Transenstrich', basically the alley in which transsexuals offer themselves at night.

I went there during the day and I strolled past it at night. At its gate it says 'There is nothing that Jesus can't cope with'. Strolling past it, I had to think about when it was the last time I went to church and I came to the conclusion that it had been a loooong time ago. Last time, I can remember, it was a couple of years ago during a holiday trip to Lake Como, Italy, with my girlfriend. We went into this small church and I lit a candle - lighting a candle in a church has always given me some sort of peace that I cannot explain, even though I am not really a religious person myself; at least not in the traditional sense of Christianity and all the other religions. I do believe in something, don't get me wrong here; it's just something that I cannot grasp really, at least not yet.

So, basically what I did was, I went to a service the first time in I can't say how long. As I expected, there weren't a lot of people in there. Apart from the pastor and a nun, we were only six altogether. It was a celebration of the Last Supper, a Holy Communion...I don't really know what the exact English term for that is...and it doesn't matter really. What matters is the fact that, to me, it was a very good experience. I noticed again this very sublime and noble character that churches have always had for me, a place that gave me some sort of peace that I could feel deep down in my belly...and one I can't explain either. It's just there whenever I enter a church. And even though there were only very few people there, they all had such a positive and peaceful aura.

After the service, I lit a candle again and decided that I should do this more often; it doesn't have to be a service or anything, just sitting there and experiencing the peace of it, which kind of feels like a time-out from everything that happens in the world outside.

Heading outside then, an old lady had trouble getting down the stairs with her wheeled walker. A black lady and I helped her. I don't want to sound too sentimental now, but sometimes, it really is the simple things in life that can just make you feel a bit better...