Caroline, you will be the new Secretary for LWF Youth starting in November this year. What makes you excited about LWF Youth?

You are right, I am really excited and joyful about this.

What makes me come to the LWF Youth is most of all: the community and the priorities.

I have known LWF youth for two years more closely when the LWF Pre-Assembly Youth Conference was hosted in Dresden. What a joyful, creative, courageous group of young people! Meeting for the first time, but being one in spirit and heart. I found a true global Christian community here.

The priorities of LWF youth for the coming years are very meaningful to me:

Sustainability- This is crucial for our future. Churches should have a clear position here. And it is also a question for every one’s own life style. We have already tried to bring forward this topic within the Evangelical Youth of Saxony. And I was lucky to learn a lot at the RIO+20 conference (see our video blog ), the LWF virtual conference and in our national Christian committees for sustainability.

Gender justice - only with a sharp eye on true equality we can live and work together. That means for me to aim for full respect and giving dignity to each other and ourselves.

Visibility of the LWF- Here I am eager to learn more about the work of the LWF- and what it means to the Lutheran churches worldwide. I think it is very important to listen carefully to the grassroots communities and to link their ideas.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. How have you been involved in youth ministry and global work?

Being a teenager, I was a volunteer and youth leader in my home parish for many years. When it came to the point of choosing a path for the future I listened to God and to my heart and decided to become a professional youth worker.

After my studies of religious education and parish work I worked three years as coordinator for intercultural youth work in my church. This brought me into contact with different partner churches and NGOs. We organized international youth exchanges (have a look at www.intercultural-youthexchanges.com) and exchanges of youth workers. It is wonderful to work with international partners, to visit them with groups but also to host them.

I want to open doors for young people so they can look into the world and build bridges with others. The future generation is the key: they can make peace and a sustainable world possible, if they have true relations and compassion for others.

Young people do all have their special talents and passions, which can connect them. That is why we organized inspiring exchanges about arts, music or dance theatre (see one example here)

But we also invited many groups to join big church events in Dresden like Kirchentag or the Eva Peace Academy- here they could share their expertise and their faith with other youth groups.

What do you believe is the most important contribution young people can bring to the global church today?

Oh, many things! I hope you can agree with me, that young people are not only the future, but also the present of our churches.

They share courage, energy, critics, compassion and dedication, knowledge, straightforward communication and networking skills. Just to highlight some talents…

To approach my work, I often pose myself this question: How can we connect the dynamic of the young with the wisdom of the older generations?

Let’s see how we can bring them into intergenerational listening and learning.

And now a less official question: What do you enjoy doing on a Friday evening?

Friday evening should be spontaneous, but relaxing. I would be cooking with some friends, visiting the theatre or just reading a novel. Even more important for me is a free Saturday morning – than I enjoy a late breakfast with coffee and my favorite news paper on the balcony!