Day 9 - July 17th Visits in pairs: Pardubice and Hradec Kralove

After a refreshing morning swim in the lake, I packed my things and cycled the final 18 km to Pardubice, as I wanted to make it to the 9 am church service. On a smooth road and with a bit of tailwind, I was able to save some time and even had breakfast by the Elbe River before. After a short detour, I reached the Protestant Church of BB, which is located as a 'corner building' between two streets (photo) and is easy to overlook. At the entrance, I was kindly welcomed by a woman. Apparently, I was visibly unknown to some, as a man in the front row even greeted me with a handshake. When the organ started playing, the conversations of the approximately 35 churchgoers fell silent. About a quarter of them were younger families with children. I found it astonishing that there were two Bibles available for reading in each row of benches. I didn't understand the short liturgy, nor the sermon, which started after only 10 minutes. However, I could infer the approximate content from a blackboard that displayed the two Bible texts for the Sunday. What struck me in particular was that people stood up more frequently during the church service than what I am used to. The service ended after only 40 minutes. A younger man explained to me afterward that the preacher today was 'only' a guest pastor because the responsible pastor was currently on vacation. Furthermore, he told me that about 450 people belong to this church community and that normally around 50-60 visitors come when it is not vacation time. Regarding the keywords 'current challenges', he mentioned the church council's plans for a new community center. As a second challenge, he mentioned the possible merger of several congregations if Pardubice becomes something like a main site. Then he invited me to the community center, which was just about 150m away, for church coffee, as it would be easier to talk there. When I arrived, a larger part of the churchgoers was gathered for coffee and cake. He showed me the different rooms like the kitchen, children's room, etc. and then said goodbye because his wife wanted to leave with their toddler. In the meantime, others had also noticed that I was a visitor from Germany, and a couple - where the woman spoke some German - asked interestedly about my journey and were amazed by it. I was also introduced to the curator, the chairperson of the church council (photo). Another younger man showed me on my map where there were other Protestant communities with a pastor. After more than one hour after the end of the church service, the last younger churchgoers left the community center. They told me that this is more or less how it always is. Very nice, I thought.

In a cafe in the city center, I recharged my devices, and in the early afternoon, I cycled to Hradec Kralove. Unfortunately, I was not able to establish telephone contact with the pastor there. On the way to the city, which is about 27 km away, I passed the beautifully located Elbe Castle Ruby (photo) and above Pardubice I also enjoyed the view of the Elbe, which here can still be a 'real' river with a current and sand and gravel banks. More than 30 years ago, I paddled this section and remembered the castle.

At around 5 pm, I arrived in Königgrätz, as Hradec Kralove was called in the past. I quickly found the Protestant Church, which is located on a busy street (photo). The local pastor (photo) even had some time on Sunday evening and showed me the interior of 'his' church (photo). A new building from 1912, a time when there were many more Protestants in the city. Today, the community has about 450 members, of which around 150 are 'somehow' active. Around 40-50 visitors come to the church service every Sunday, if I understood correctly. Besides the organ, there are usually other instruments playing during the church service as well. The church, the community center, and the pastor's residence are architecturally integrated as one unit. In this community as well, there are regular activities during the school year, and Ukrainian refugees have also been accommodated here. He hesitated to talk about the 'challenges' because this 'big thinking' is not his approach. It is important to him to preach the word of God and to strengthen people in their faith. He believes that sometimes the church hinders people on their personal path to God rather than fostering it. We had an interesting conversation about tasks and perspectives on how to encourage people to believe and how to shape the community work. Ukrainian refugees are also accommodated in his community. It was astonishing that there is even a second female pastor in the community. In the end, he invited me to stay in the children's room of the parsonage, where I could also take a shower. I gladly accepted the offer and fell asleep contentedly, reflecting on the course of this Sunday.