{"id":10487,"date":"2024-05-15T09:41:20","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T13:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=10487"},"modified":"2024-05-15T18:05:25","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T22:05:25","slug":"well-known-german-church-holds-worship-service-featuring-taylor-swifts-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2024\/05\/well-known-german-church-holds-worship-service-featuring-taylor-swifts-music.html","title":{"rendered":"Well-Known German Church Holds Worship Service Featuring Taylor Swift’s Music"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Adobe Stock | Inset: DFree \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A centuries-old church in Germany attracted more than 1,200 people during worship services featuring music from Taylor Swift. The Church of the Holy Spirit, a well-known church in Heidelberg that meets in a 600-year-old building, recently put on a service called \u201cAnti-Hero \u2013 Taylor Swift Church Service\u201d in an effort to draw young people\u2019s interest, according to Deutsche Welle. Pastor Christof Ellsiepen told the outlet, \u201cThe Church of the Holy Spirit has always been a place of encounter and exchange. That\u2019s why a pop music religious service fits so perfectly. With it, we\u2019re giving space to the questions and issues that occupy the younger generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The service focused on the supposedly strong Christian themes in Swift\u2019s music that address hot-button issues such as women\u2019s rights, racism and gender equality, according to the pastor. Parish Pastor Vincenzo Petracca acknowledged that Swift has\u00a0taken flak<\/a>\u00a0from some Evangelical faith leaders for her music, especially in the United States. \u201cTheologically speaking, she points to the justness of God,\u201d Petracca said, adding that Swift\u2019s \u201cfaith knows doubt and inner conflict.\u201d He said, \u201cFor her, faith and action are inseparable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two Sunday services in the historic church featured Swift\u2019s tunes, which DW noted were attended by an audience that skewed young and female. A rainbow banner behind the musicians noted that the church welcomes \u201call sizes, all [colors], all cultures, all sexes, all beliefs, all religions, all ages, all types, all people.\u201d While noting that the church was \u201cbuilt for Gregorian liturgical music and not for Taylor Swift,\u201d Petracca maintained that the response to the modern, pop-themed service moved him. \u201cI stared into beaming faces \u2014 and during the song that Taylor wrote for her cancer-stricken mother, many had tears in their eyes,\u201d he said, referring to the song \u201cSoon You\u2019ll Get Better.\u201d<\/p>\n