Fritz Baltruweit writes Kirchentag song 2025 – farewell gift

Hanover. When Fritz Baltruweit thinks back to the last Kirchentage (church days), he literally waxes lyrical. The atmosphere of tens of thousands of people singing together touches him – and Baltruweit is only too happy to slip into the role of the one who inspires everyone to sing together. For almost five decades, the Protestant pastor and songwriter has been at the forefront with his guitar, singing catchy Christian songs. He even composed several of them himself.

Now, from April 30th to May 4th, the time has come again: Around 100,000 participants will travel to Hanover for the major German Protestant gathering – and will also sing the new Kirchentag hymn there. It takes up the event's motto, "Courageous, strong, courageous," from the first letter to the Corinthians, and the melody is once again provided by "Mr. Kirchentag," Fritz Baltruweit. The 69-year-old bears this unofficial honorary title because he has already actively participated as a musician at an impressive 29 Kirchentag events – both Protestant and ecumenical. The Hanover Kirchentag will be his 30th and is intended to be the crowning conclusion, he says with a laugh.

In a sense, his farewell gift to the large Christian lay movement that is organizing the event is precisely this motto song, which will most likely be heard again and again in the opening and closing services, as well as in the days in between. He says he doesn't know exactly when it will be sung. One thing, however, is unshakeable: "It's important to me that people can sing along." And indeed, the melodies of Baltruweit's songs are often very catchy and easy to learn. However, coming up with these harmonious sequences of notes is anything but easy, he says. "But then all of a sudden a melody just comes to me," says Baltruweit, describing how his songs come about.

Classically trained musicians initially cast disparaging glances at the composer-pastor. That has changed, at least since Baltruweit's hymns began appearing in hymnals. And not only in those of the Protestant and Catholic churches here, but also abroad: Some popular songs from the nearly 1,100-title collection have been translated into English, Spanish, Czech, Bulgarian, Japanese, and Korean. Sometimes the songwriter himself rubs his eyes in amazement: "You never know exactly which songs will work; it's impossible to plan," he says.

He certainly succeeded in doing so with his song "God Gave Us Breath So We Can Live" – arguably the best-known song Baltruweit released in 1982. International acclaim is also associated with "Friends, May the Almond Branch Bloom and Grow Again." Here, he created an extremely catchy melody based on the 1942 text by the German-Jewish religious philosopher Schalom Ben-Chorin.

The Church Congress is taking place again in Hanover – and tens of thousands are expected in the Lower Saxony state capital. Our photo shows the then Hanover Regional Bishop Margot Käßmann at the closing service of the 30th Church Congress in 2005.

Source: Kay Nietfeld/dpa

The son of a deacon and former Boy Scout, Baltruweit wrote his first songs as a teenager in the 1970s. His time as a boy choir singer had influenced him, and he had also taught himself to play the guitar. This instrument would soon become his trademark. The father of two also enjoys being accompanied by harp, violin, piano, and percussion at his performances. "In these times, which are anything but easy, I'm happy when people go home with a smile," says Baltruweit, who sees himself as a songwriter in the tradition of Hannes Wader and Reinhard Mey.

With a smile, just like two decades ago, when the Kirchentag last visited Baltruweit's hometown of Hanover, where he, together with the then regional bishop, Margot Käßmann, established the beautiful tradition of the evening blessing. Tens of thousands of Kirchentag attendees had gathered on the banks of the Leine River, he recalls. "Everyone was murmuring to themselves, and I wondered how I would get the crowd to quiet down." But then he simply began to hum the well-known evening hymn by Matthias Claudius, "The Moon Has Risen" – and suddenly, there was complete silence. "And everyone hummed along."

Baltruweit is looking forward to the evening blessing again this year, and at the same time, he hopes that the Kirchentag can once again provide important input to society. Among other things, "Mr. Kirchentag" would like to see clear statements from the church's perspective regarding the state of democracy in Germany and the issues of war and peace in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Accordingly, he is already looking forward to the Bible study with EKD Council Chair Kirsten Fehrs, for which he will provide the musical accompaniment. How could it be otherwise? Church Day music is exactly his specialty.