A FRANCO-GERMAN CONTEMPORARY DANCE EVENING
AT THE MANOEL THEATRE ON SATURDAY, 19^th NOVEMBER AT 19.30HOURS

On the occasion of the 42^nd Anniversary since the signing of the Elysée Treaty, the German-Maltese Circle and the Alliance Française de Malte in collaboration with the Manoel Theatre Management are putting up a Contemporary Dance Evening at the Manoel Theatre with the participation of the German Dance Company ”Compagnie Fredeweß” who will be premiering in Malta their work “Body Motion” and the French Dance Company “Man Drake” who will be rendering their work entitled “Asphyxies”. 

In “Body Motion”, the German couple, Hans Fredeweß and Natascha Hahn present three concise dances, which show all facets of the unusual choreographic language of the Compagnie Fredeweß:  Beginning with natural movements of the body and without narrowing the focus to a narrative, the dancers invite the audience to an exciting play of the “E-motions”. 

A combination of writing and language, “Asphyxies” is a choreographic recipe with multiple ingredients where theatre and plastic arts do not barge their way in but come in willingly.  In this performance, the two French dancers Toméo Vergès and Alvaro Morell only rarely meet but they exchange a lot – including their clothes! 

NOT TO BE MISSED – TICKETS FOR THIS PERFORMANCE CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE MANOEL THEATRE’S BOOKING OFFICE IN VALLETTA OR ORDERED ONLINE ON THE WEBSITE: www.teatrumanoel.com.mt

Other Events 

Conference  EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY with special reference to MALTA
On Friday, November 18^th at 18.30hours
Chaired by Prof. Dr. Eckart D. Stratenschulte, Director of the European Academy in Berlin
in conjunction with the German radio station InfoRadio Berlin Brandenburg and the European Movement Germany

Some of the subjects to be discussed:
-  Malta's Accession to the EU, Results & Perspectives
-  European Neighbourhood Policy towards Eastern Europe,
-  The Bridge to the EU's new neighbours in the South, i.e. North African Countries.
-  The Barcelona Process - Challenges - Perspectives

Conference language: English
Venue:  Karm Fenech Hall – Messina Palace

30th November: Launching of the book "Malta - Prähistorische Zeit und Tempel" 
Written by Dr David H.Trump Photography by Daniel Cilia Publishers Midsea Books Ltd
Time: 19.00 hours
Venue: Messina Palace, Valletta

GERMAN LANGUAGE CERTIFICATE GIVING CEREMONY: The Certificate Giving Ceremony for successful students in our 2004-2005 German language courses will be held at the Circle on Wednesday, 7^th December.   Those students eligible for a certificate are being notified individually by post with more details. 

Mit einem Meinungsaustausch im Erzbischöflichen Palast, bei dem es auch zu einem Treffen mit dem Generalvikar, Bischof Depasquale, kam, wurde auch das Interesse der katholischen Kirche deutlich, die Erfahrungen aus dem Basisqualifizierungskursus für die Ausbildungspraxis der katholischen Kirche nutzbar zu machen. Der Botschafter Deutschlands in Malta, Herr Georg Merten, empfing seinerseits Dieter Windisch in seinen Amtsräumen in Sliema zur Entgegennahme des Abschlussberichts. 

Malta’s  Abendrot

In des Sonnenlichts
tagender Zeit
tanzen noch glitzernde Kristalle
auf schimmernd-blau wogendem Meereskleid. 

Ganz langsam senkt sich
in der Ferne
über der mächt’gen Felsenwand
der Sonne letzter Tagessstand,
erweckt in mir die stille Hoffnung,
das alles bleibt. 

Im Glutrot  des Horizonts,
geschwängert von apollinischem Nebeldunst,
reichst Du mir die Hand,
Zukunft verharrt unerkannt. 

Wie wärmt auf sonderbare Weise
der Naturzauber den Augenblick,
bewahrt mit freudiger Erregtheit
das Schöne
in unvergesslicher Ergebenheit,
wie in des Künstlerbildes Harmonie gespannt. 

Nie! Nie soll die naturgewachsenen Anmut
versinken in dunkle Unendlichkeit.
Ewig. Auf ewig bewahre der göttlich’ Anblick
den Augenblick – 
geheimnisvoll prägen das noch Verbleibende
in unserer Zeit.

Pfarrer Hans Ludwig Heller
Reverend of the German Protestant Congregation “Andreas Gemeinde”
Member of the German-Maltese Circle 
Interviewed by Ingrid. B. Kidder

Yes, there is a small Protestant Community in Malta, in German it is called “Deutschsprachige evangelisch-ökumenische Andreas Gemeinde”. Pfarrer Heller explained to me that as an ecumenical congregation it is open to all Christian denominations; however, the Sunday service is conducted according to Protestant rites. My first question concerned the use of the German designation “Pfarrer” (= Reverend) in comparison to the German word “Pastor” (also Reverend). He explained to me that in North Germany the word PFARRER is used for the Catholic priest, and the PASTOR is used for the Protestant reverend, while an exactly opposite use prevails in South Germany: the PFARRER is Protestant and the PASTOR is Catholic. But none of them really minds if the “wrong” form of address is used. 

Pfarrer Heller and his wife Susanne came to Malta in August 2004 for a maximum period of three years. Pfarrer Heller explained that, to be exact, due to very specific German laws concerning part-time employment after pension age, he had an original contract with the EKD – Evangelische Kirche Deutschland (Protestant Church of Germany) for a working period of ten months, to be followed by a stretch of two months of non-employment. This agreement can be extended twice. So, if we are lucky, Pfarrer Heller will be with the Andreas Gemeinde until 2007. The German term for this position is “Ruhestandspfarrer” – a pensioned reverend who is still serving. 

Pfarrer Heller told me that the Andreas Gemeinde has about eighty registered members in Malta and Gozo. They are mostly of German nationality, but also Swedish, Dutch and Maltese, who meet for the Sunday services, special events and festivities. Another group of church goers are tourists, happy to find “their Church” for a service during their holidays or even just socialising with members of the community.  As a Protestant Reverend he carries out all pastoral duties expected by the EKD, mainly the services on Sundays, christenings, marriages and funerals. Other tasks are the individual pastoral care and guidance, and the very diverse work within the congregation. Here he mentioned preparations and running of all sorts of activities, as for example Easter Celebrations, Whitsuntide, Thanksgiving “Erntedankfest”, Literature Circle and children’s gatherings. His wife Susanne helps a great deal and makes the necessary arrangements especially with the care and entertainment of the youngest members of the Parish. 

And then there is the Weihnachtsmarkt – the Christmas Bazaar, always taking place on the first Sunday in Advent, this year 27^th November, at the St. Andrews Church in Old Bakery Street, Valletta. Most items sold there are hand-made by members of the community following old German traditions. The proceeds provide urgently needed funds for the parish. Pfarrer Heller told me that the EKD covers only 30% of the total cost of the congregation’s requirements, housing, and other expenses. The remaining 70% have to be borne by the members. He emphasized the point that he himself is not paid out of these funds but by the EKD directly. 

Pfarrer Heller’s further engagements in Malta are of a more interdenominational nature: He serves on the Board of the Maltese Bible Society as well as on the Maltese Ecumenical Council. The latter institution offers Prayer Services and Public Dialogues to which Maltese and foreigners are invited. Usually 50 – 100 people of many denominations are present for these meetings, discussing each time a different preconceived subject.  

Before he came to Malta, Pfarrer Heller had been on pension already for two years, resting at his and Susanne’s home in Kronau near Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg after a long and eventful life as a Christian cleric for people in need of religious and psychological guidance and help.  

Hans Ludwig Heller was born and brought up by very religious parents in Wuppertal in North Rhine-Westphalia. He studied Protestant Theology and Germanic Philology in Erlangen (Bavaria) and Münster. After graduating, he worked for eight years at the Institute for Scientific Research of Texts of the New Testament in Münster.  

Only then, at the age of 34 he was ordained as Reverend and served in the Black Forest. From 1977 he worked in the German Protestant Military Chaplaincy. This time, as well as a later period, from 1998 to 2002 when he occupied the post of Military Dean (Dekan), was a very decisive phase for his own life’s philosophy. Originally he began his work at the army camps within Germany and in neighbouring European states. But in 1997 he was deployed to the peacekeeping troops in Sarajevo. And from 1999 to 2002 he had to accompany several times the soldiers who participated in the Kosovo war.  

I could not help asking him what kind of assistance could he offer especially during the worst times in war ridden Eastern Europe. He told me he was consulted by soldiers who suffered from guilt for acts they were commanded to carry out, or who suffered excessively from fear of dying, soldiers who even then had their own private problems with partners, parents, superiors – and their finances. To give this assistance could not have been easy for a Reverend whose original vocation was to preach The Word. What helped Pfarrer Heller for this posting was the valuable experience he gained during the years with the German Military Troops and, of course, working for the Military Administration in Bonn and Bruchsal, where he was in charge of the Office for Military Chaplaincy. Here he had already been confronted with the manifold problems facing young soldiers away from home, an experience which came in good stead when he was transferred to Eastern Europe. 

In the year 2002, when Pfarrer Heller had reached pension age, he started enjoying this new state of life very much. He plays the piano, spends time reading about wide-ranging subjects, loves travelling with his wife Susanne seeking out places of special architectural beauty especially in Burgundy and in Italy and admiring remnants of the classical antiquity wherever they happen to be.  Pfarrer Hans Ludwig Heller is a very convivial person of a most jolly nature who simply radiates joy, and who says his dearest wish is to bring the church so close to people that it can be a home for himself and for every fellow Christian.

innovation and connection – Malta and Hessen

So as to set a mark for mutual activities in today’s times within Europe - this time between the German State of Hessen and Malta – the intercultural project "innovate – connect" has taken place between 30^th September and 2^nd October 2005 in Germany near Frankfurt under the management of the project partners "Music in Management" and "Lather® Kommunikation".   

The three-day event  was designed to promote inter-cultural communication and cooperation between people of varying cultural, commercial, political, scientific and religious organisations.  An International Management Forum with speakers and participants from Malta, UK, France, Germany, USA, Korea, Denmark and Austria provided information about management and leadership in other cultures, as well as an academic research overview of inter-cultural comparison of management in Europe. Simon Alden, Managing Director of Bavarian Technology Systems, Malta, explained what is typical of "Management in Malta" and what a foreign manager should know in Malta. Other events included a Political Gala Reception attended by over 120 persons led by the Hon. Dep. Prime Minister Tonio Borg and by the Hon. Minister for Justice of the German State of Hessen, Dr. Christean Wagner, a sold-out Charity Concert held in the production hall of Lather® Kommunikation featuring the Student-Symphony-Orchestra Marburg in cooperation with the Young Symphony Orchestra Wetzlar and the Orchestra of the Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen conducted by Mro. Joseph Sammut who premiered his work "Music in Management Symphony", an informal Get-together party featuring a Maltese Jazz Band made up of Tony Sammut (piano), Simon Sammut (Bass), Sammy Murgo (Saxophone) and Noel Grech (drums), an Art Exhibition of the internationally renowned artist Ursula Reindell and an Ecumenical Church Service.

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