12-17-2015, 01:59 PM
DEC 17 2015, 4:30 AM ET
by ANDY ECKARDT
MAINZ, Germany —
A church will host an unusual pre-Christmas service on Sunday — with the "Star Wars" films put at the center of their worship.
Members of the congregation at Berlin's Zions
Church will be greeted with the theme music from the blockbuster series and can expect to hear about "the juxtaposition of good and bad, light and dark" during the one-hour event,
church minister Eva-Maria Menard told NBC News.
Short excerpts from trailers and the George Lucas movies will be shown on a screen below the pulpit. Vicar Ulrike Garve said that the service will expose "the theological motives and parallels in the Star Wars episodes."
![[Image: 151215-zions-church-berlin-yh-1120a_ac99...00-700.jpg]](http://media4.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2015_51/1340811/151215-zions-church-berlin-yh-1120a_ac99dc7ac2b4a6ab1470bb73419933e9.nbcnews-ux-600-700.jpg)
The Zions Church in Berlin, Germany.
Stefan Melchior / Courtesy of Zionskirche
Garve and colleague Lucas Ludewig plan to
highlight Romans 12:21 from the Bible, which
states: "Do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome evil with good."
"Luke Skywalker does not give in to the dark
side, the Emperor or Darth Vader, and even
puts down his lightsaber in the end," Garve said. Menard added: "The 'Star Wars' movies
create an anticipation of whether the good
will prevail. And the Advent season is also a period of anticipation before
Christmas."
![[Image: berlin-church_d862c2049b8f212be9700582b2...20-320.jpg]](http://media3.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2015_51/1340286/berlin-church_d862c2049b8f212be9700582b23806b2.nbcnews-ux-320-320.jpg)
An ad posted on Twitter highlighting the "Star
Wars"-themed church service being held this
Sunday in Berlin, Germany.
@gttsdnst / Twitter
The Protestant church hopes to attract "curious visitors" as well as "die-hard Star Wars fans" but Garve and Ludewig admitted they were uncertain about how the service would be received.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" opens in
German cinemas on Thursday and the two
vicars Garve said they would be watching
through "the eyes of fans and theologists."
![[Image: tdy_joe_starwars_151215.nbcnews-video-reststate-320.jpg]](http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Video/151215/tdy_joe_starwars_151215.nbcnews-video-reststate-320.jpg)
Crowds out in force at 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Hollywood premiere.
by ANDY ECKARDT
MAINZ, Germany —
A church will host an unusual pre-Christmas service on Sunday — with the "Star Wars" films put at the center of their worship.
Members of the congregation at Berlin's Zions
Church will be greeted with the theme music from the blockbuster series and can expect to hear about "the juxtaposition of good and bad, light and dark" during the one-hour event,
church minister Eva-Maria Menard told NBC News.
Short excerpts from trailers and the George Lucas movies will be shown on a screen below the pulpit. Vicar Ulrike Garve said that the service will expose "the theological motives and parallels in the Star Wars episodes."
The Zions Church in Berlin, Germany.
Stefan Melchior / Courtesy of Zionskirche
Garve and colleague Lucas Ludewig plan to
highlight Romans 12:21 from the Bible, which
states: "Do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome evil with good."
"Luke Skywalker does not give in to the dark
side, the Emperor or Darth Vader, and even
puts down his lightsaber in the end," Garve said. Menard added: "The 'Star Wars' movies
create an anticipation of whether the good
will prevail. And the Advent season is also a period of anticipation before
Christmas."
An ad posted on Twitter highlighting the "Star
Wars"-themed church service being held this
Sunday in Berlin, Germany.
@gttsdnst / Twitter
The Protestant church hopes to attract "curious visitors" as well as "die-hard Star Wars fans" but Garve and Ludewig admitted they were uncertain about how the service would be received.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" opens in
German cinemas on Thursday and the two
vicars Garve said they would be watching
through "the eyes of fans and theologists."
Crowds out in force at 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Hollywood premiere.