Church in the Black Forest National Park

The logo of Church in the Black Forest National Park.

Church National Park Black Forest , also ö kumenisches N etwork K hurch i m N ationalpark S chwarzwald ( ÖNKINS ), is a network of churches, at the National Park Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg adjacent. The Archdiocese of Freiburg , the Evangelical Church in Baden , the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart and the Evangelical Church in Württemberg have joined forces for the network . The network was founded in 2014 and has been a partner of the Black Forest National Park since 2018. It complements the offers of the national park with events for visitors interested in Christian spiritual content. In addition to church services in nature and (individually planned) hikes with spiritual content, “Church in the National Park” offers an annual program as well as various print and online materials. Other tasks are the care of the chapels in and around the national park, as well as the preservation of creation (through the promotion of nature conservation and nature education ).

Content focus

Preserving the diversity of creation

“The basic concern of the national park idea, to protect the processes in nature, coincides with the basic concern of our biblical faith. In the Bible, in the first creation story after the creation of the world, we find the wonderful promise: 'And God saw that it was good' (Genesis 1:31). In countless psalms and prayers, starting in the Old Testament through to Jesus' parables of nature, love for nature runs through the Jewish / Christian and also Islamic faith tradition. [...] When we speak of nature as creation, we mean that behind everything beginning, behind everything that can be discovered in the universe, we [see] a great, loving power. This loving power, which we call God, stands behind everything, [and] was there above all [...] ”.

Ecumenical orientation

"[...] Christians from the four large regional churches are involved both in the full-time staff and in the management team. The network now includes around 50 committed Christians who are committed to a church offering in the national park area. In addition to the outdoor activities, this also includes supporting the chapels in and around the national park ”.