Editha Geschichten

Thank goodness for Stuttgart’s public transport system. The Heilandskirche (Church of the Redeemer) in the city was holding a service on Sunday evening, and: “For the sermon we will have a theatre piece: ‘Tamariska’” The theatre piece was to be presented by an organisation called "Editha Geschichten" (“Editha Stories), a christian storytelling organisation which despite being only ten kilometres away in Degerloch, were a complete mystery to me.

I’ve been suggesting/pushing for/whining about this in our church –and this blog- for some time, so the chance to see how other people would do it was too good to miss. I had no idea where the Heilandskirche was, but a quick look at the map found it in a corner of Stuttgart, and three minutes on the Transport Authority website gave me directions door to door. One bus and two metro trains later, I was walking up the road to the church.

One thing that Editha Geschichten have is a wide age range: The leader/ director and scriptwriter is a sprightly 84 year old, and the youngest team member on Sunday was about 16. Their style is probably about as far as you can get from Xpresso, which is not a criticism- there’s nothing like variety, and means they can reach a totally different audience from us. In contrast to our very minimal approach, the Editha setup included a small lighting and sound rig, a cast of 9 with more in support, a wide range of properties and full costuming. They also include some dance elements and singing.

On the other hand they share Xpresso’s value of community, and it shows in the way the team works together on and offstage. They are also open to new methods and ideas, and their leader is also something of a rebel: she gets frustrated at the slow pace of change in the church, and yes I am talking about the 84 year old. She’s also very enthusiastic: After a brief phone call this morning, she’s planning to come over and see Xpresso in action on Sunday evening when we have an Abend(B)rot.

Are you reading this Simi, Judith and Markus?