A 600 year old church recently experienced a Taylor Swift takeover, as a special Sunday service hinged on the Shake It Off singer’s Anti-Hero album encouraged young fans to visit
As Taylor Swift’ s sell-out Eras tour continues to dazzle audiences around the world, more and more die-hard Swifties have been seeking ways to incorporate a little more of the singer’s trademark razzle-dazzle into their lives. Whether it’s copying her iconic style with her effortless outfits, snacking on her favourite foods, or even recreating her flawless barnet, many of us have all been searching for a little more Taylor in our day to day lives.
Yet it appears it’s not just fans that are hoping to capitalise on the phenomenon that is Taylor fever – as a centuries old church in Germany recently decided to add a little Eras flair to its Sunday service by featuring the star’s most popular tunes!
The Church of the Holy Spirit, a 600 year old historic church in Heidelberg, Germany recently made the most of Taylor’s popularity when they hosted a service titled “Anti-Hero — Taylor Swift Church Service” over the weekend in an effort to entice young people to visit, according to Deutsche Welle (DW).
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“The Church of the Holy Spirit has always been a place of encounter and exchange. That’s why a pop-music religious service fits so perfectly,” Pastor Christof Ellsiepen told the outlet. “With it, we are giving space to the questions and issues that occupy the younger generation.”
The service is said to hinge on a number of “strong christian themes” which feature in Taylor’s music, and directly address hot-button topics such as women’s rights, racism and gender equality.
So far, two Sunday services have been held in the church revolving around Swift’s tunes, with the attendees typically being young and female. Although the church was originally built to cater for “Gregorian liturgical music and not for Taylor Swift,” the unexpectedly positive response to the service led the pastor to reveal how he had “stared into beaming faces” and watched as a roller coaster of emotions gripped the congregation.
In particular, he cited the song ‘Soon You’ll Get Better’ which was specifically written for the singer’s mother as she battled cancer, before explaining how many attendees had “tears in their eyes” as they listened to it.
The unique church service and positive reception is a stark contrast to criticism the singer has received in the past from several evangelical pastors who slammed the star and her music for being “Anti-Christian,” before accusing the star of mocking God and Christians with her lyrics.
Former Boyzone star Shane Lynch even accused the Shake It Off singer of “implementing hidden satanic rituals” in her tour shows!
“I think when you’re looking at a lot of the artists out there, a lot of their stage shows are satanic rituals live in front of 20,000 people without them realising and recognizing,” Lynch told Ireland’s Sunday World.
“You’ll see a lot of hoods up and masks on and fire ceremonies. Even down to Taylor Swift — one of the biggest artists in the world — you watch one of her shows and she has two or three different demonic rituals to do with the pentagrams on the ground, to do with all sorts of stuff on her stage. … But to a lot of people it’s just art and that’s how people are seeing it, unfortunately,” Lynch said.
