In English!
Service of the Reformed Church Zurich
Our home on earth is a mere tent – but one filled with bagels, hymns, and good company.
Once a month, the Reformed Church Zurich holds an English-language service at the Enge Church (Kirche Enge). Our services are part of a broad range of English-language worship opportunities in the city of Zurich. Rooted in the Swiss Reformed liturgy, we seek to bring together music and prayer with an open-minded, justice-oriented theology for our time. We welcome people of all backgrounds and orientations!
Coffee and bagels at 10.00 AM
Services begin at 10.30 AM
Would you like to volunteer and help prepare our services? We look forward to hearing from you!
Church address (except Christmas and Easter): Church Enge | Reformierte Kirche Enge, Bürglistrasse 15, 8002 Zürich
Francesco Cattani, francesco.cattani@reformiert-zuerich.ch, 044 492 17 00
Interview with Pastor Tania Oldenhage
There are already English-language services offered by other churches in the city of Zurich. Why should there now also be English-language services offered by the Reformed Church?
In our local churches, we have repeatedly met people who would like to join the Reformed Church but do not speak German or are just beginning to learn German. Others are attracted by the music or art in our churches and are also interested in our specific Reformed church culture. However, German-language services are not accessible to them. There are members of the Reformed Church of Zurich who have English-speaking partners. The services are intended to give such intercultural couples the opportunity to celebrate together. I also know newly arrived families who want to get involved in neighborhood life with their children but do not (yet) speak the language. Refugee migrants from different backgrounds are also part of our networks. The community we have in mind is therefore diverse, and we hope that the new service format will do justice to this diversity.
What can people expect from an English-language Reformed service?
We want to adhere to our Reformed liturgy. The services will therefore not be based on Anglican tradition or copy other Protestant liturgies from English-speaking countries. Instead, we want to be recognizable as Zurich Reformed pastors – with all the diversity that belongs to us. At the same time, we are in the process of determining common English-language recurring elements so that service attendees do not have to reorient themselves again and again. We are also working on a collection of English-language hymns that have a connection with our Reformed Church. We hope that the English-language services will also be joined by some German-speaking people who enjoy being in an English-speaking context.
Does the Reformed Church of Zurich also offer English-language weddings, funerals and baptisms?
Reformed weddings, funerals and baptisms already take place on an ad hoc basis. We hope that our team will be able to strengthen this offering.