Angel at the end of the road

Angel at the end of the road, © Christine Meyer-Seifert

The road runs straight towards a wall. The direct path ends here, it seems. But where there is no progressing for some, new paths open up for others. In the winterly darkness, invisible from afar, the path continues, right and left along the wall, around the grounds of the Chemnitz Church of the Redeemer (Erlöserkirche).

For two years now, even during the darkness of December, it has been visible to all: there is a path. In the light of a soft illumination, angel wings and a halo of rays shimmer on the wall exactly where the path seems to end. 

Angel at the end of the road, © Christine Meyer-Seifert

The pastor of the Church of the Redeemer in Chemnitz, Christine Meyer-Seifert, thought up and set up this light installation. An angel now waits at the end of the street during the Advent and Christmas season. He or she not only gives light. The angel carries hope into a world that needs hope in times like ours. However, it is dependent on interaction: Only the entry of a human being into the installation completes it, wakes the angel from its sleep. Whether angels appear in profane or religious contexts, whether they are visible temporarily or all year round, the delivery of the message must always be followed by an action. Otherwise the message remains just that: inconsequential. 

Marlen Wagner