Key points:
- Germany Regional Conference Bishop Werner Philipp has launched an initiative titled “Hope on the Way,” which is rooted in the everyday life of local congregations across Germany.
- Philipp will visit congregations in all three conference regions of The United Methodist Church in Germany each month for the next several years. At every stop, an apple tree will be planted — a sign of faithfulness, patience and God’s hidden work.
- On the second Sunday of Advent, the first stop of the tour took place in the Kiel/Flensburg district.
In challenging times for the church and society, Germany Regional Conference Bishop Werner Philipp has launched an initiative titled “Hope on the Way,” which is intentionally rooted in the everyday life of local congregations across Germany.
The focus is not on festival services or major anniversaries, but authentic encounters on site — right where church is lived. The idea emerged from Philipp’s inaugural sermon in February 2025. At that time, Philipp reminded United Methodists that God’s work often begins inconspicuously: “It may not yet be noticeable, but God is already at work. He lets hope sprout where we see no future.”
This quiet yet powerful growth is the guiding theme of the new tour, during which Philipp will visit congregations in all three conference regions of The United Methodist Church in Germany each month for the next several years. In Germany, there are approximately 150 church districts and regions, with about 360 congregations. At every stop, an apple tree will be planted — a sign of faithfulness, patience and God’s hidden work.
“A tree needs patience, care and trust,” Philipp said. “It is the same with hope. God gives the seed, and we are allowed to tend it.”
The logo for the initiative was designed by Johannes Fritz from the United Methodist congregation in Brombach, a small village near Frankfurt am Main. The familiar arc of The United Methodist Church in Germany symbolizes movement and unity, while the shepherd’s staff points to spiritual leadership. The three image panels — desert ground, a watering can and growing tree — depict the dynamic nature of hope, which springs from the cross and bears fruit.
The first stop of the tour took place in the Kiel/Flensburg district on the second Sunday of Advent. The congregation in Flensburg — the northernmost city in Germany — does not have its own building and meets in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Jürgen.
The bishop’s visit was experienced as an important sign of recognition.
“We are a small congregation with small strength, without our own church building and on the extreme edge of the conference region,” said the congregation’s pastor, the Rev. Gillian Horton-Krüger. “To realize that we are still seen and that the bishop and his wife simply made their way to us, it truly did us good.”
During the service, Philipp preached on the parable of the mustard seed from Mark 4. Hope, he explained, begins in small things and is “not an optimistic promise, but a journey of discovery that also takes the darkness seriously.” Growth happens where people faithfully take small steps, and where God adds His own, he said.
One member summarized the insight gained from the tree symbol: “A tree doesn’t grow to be admired but to offer shade and protection.”
Philipp also explained the spiritual symbolism of the four initial stops: Flensburg in the north, Wangen in the south, Thalheim in the east and Essen in the west form “a kind of cross of hope over Germany.”
After the service, the first Hope Tree was planted: a Gravenstein apple tree, well-suited to the German-Danish border region. Many hands joined in the work.
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Horton-Krüger highlighted one particularly moving moment, where a young man from a Ghanaian family and a 91-year-old Flensburg resident filled the planting hole with soil together. For her, it was “an image of hope that connects generations and cultures.”
The steady drizzle that accompanied the gathering became a gentle commentary on the day.
“That the seed of hope needs good watering, the liturgy mentioned that. The rain underscored the thought beautifully,” Horton-Krüger said.
The kickoff in Flensburg showed what the initiative aims to inspire: closeness, encouragement and an eye for the small and often overlooked. The young tree overlooking the Flensburg Fjord now stands as the first visible sign of this growing hope.
“Hope is not a delicate dream,” Philipp reminded the congregation. “It is God’s radiant gift for the night. When we pass it on, it becomes like a warming fire.”
Löffler is the theological director of the church office in the Germany Regional Conference and assistant to the bishop. Contact him at oeffentlichkeitsarbeit@emk.de.
News media contact: Julie Dwyer at newsdesk@umnews.org. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.
