From September 23rd to 26th, part of the team of "Fountain of tears" under the direction of Maria Hoffmann and Kerstin Kluge went to Poland. They went there to receive groups in Birkenau in the future and explain to them "Fountain of tears" by artist Rick Wienecke from Israel. To do this, they met with the artist in the pavilion of the artwork for a whole day.
He showed the group this special dialogue of the suffering between Jesus on the cross and a survivor of the Shoah. The beginning with Gethsemane (English: oil press) made a particularly strong impression: Here Jesus comes closest to us as human being, where he sees directly the torment of the cross for our guilt and the separation from God. Especially in the situation where he panics and the battle of emotions becomes so fierce that sweat drips from his forehead like blood, he asked for support from his disciples - and they leave him alone. With his will, Jesus decides to accept this cup of suffering. That leaves the question for us: Do I choose what is convenient for me to save myself, or do I listen to God and walk His path - as a daily challenge? The work of art is like a living speech from God. Many questions were asked by the group, which the artist patiently answered.
Moved by this, the group prayed while walking through the Auschwitz-Birkenau labor and extermination camp and stopped at individual stations. This visit made the suffering of the many Jews and other peoples alive. A special time was meeting Mark and Cathy Warwick at the Living Stones House of Worship in Birkenau, in front of the camp's main entrance. There the group had an intense time of worship.
Also impressive for the group was the encounter with Dorota Leszcynska, who has accompanied the creation of the artwork and the exhibition pavilion of “Fountain of tears” as a Polish artist since 2012. We are so grateful to have a partner who is walking a path of reconciliation with Germans and who will lead groups together with us.
On October 11th, Rick Wienecke visited the Jesus Brotherhood in the monastery of Volkenroda. Together with Matthias Krones from the Saxon Friends of Israel and Maria Hoffmann, who translated the artist, he presented "Fountain of tears". This evening was very special for those involved, as none of them had yet made a connection between the crucifixion of Jesus and the suffering of the Jews in the Shoah.