According to the Protestant understanding, every church service is a public event. However, in the carefully prepared liturgical suggestions and sermons presented in this volume, the public is not only the place and audience but also becomes a topic in itself. How can we find words and prayers in the face of terrorist attacks, accidents, or the funerals of prominent individuals? Conversely, how can we handle positive emotions during carnival celebrations, inaugurations, or anniversaries? How can we appropriately commemorate our (more recent) history, with its shadows as well as its brilliance? In all these services and rituals that address a broad public, the church and its representatives are particularly in the spotlight.