After today’s church service in Dormagen we had a potluck dinner and a film evening.

The winter months provide an opportunity for an evening activity after church services, since the day ends early. (Sunset here in January is before 5 p.m.) We have a snack table after every service, but for today’s activity we had a potluck meal after services with the usual dessert table of delicious pastries. The "offerings" for the main meal were just as good, too! Most of the people who stayed for the potluck meal also stayed to watch the film. We showed "The Blind Side" in German (the audio synchronized version), the story of American football player Michael Oher. The movie got mixed reviews from our audience. The younger people enjoyed it and even recommended it for showing in our other congregations, even though some of them were not familiar with the rules for American football. They appreciated the movie’s story showing what is possible when someone is given a chance to succeed who otherwise would not have the opportunity to do so. There was also a comment or two about the film being "too American" or with too much "Hollywood" with the pace of events at times being hard to follow.