The three major cities of this Euregion are Maastricht, Aachen (in Germany) and Liege (in French-speaking Belgium). Maastricht is the smallest of the cities, with just 120,000 inhabitants. Liege tops out at about 200,000 and Aachen is the most populous with 250,000.
But these are only the cities most directly within the Euregion. Within an hour of Maastricht are Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium, Eindhoven in The Netherlands, and Cologne in Germany. This last city is well-known for its cathedral and its scent. Yes, the term “cologne” or “eau de cologne” comes from this city (water of Cologne is a literal translation). The name of the city seems to have come from its Roman origins as “Colonia” - a colony.
From the beginning of our time working with the church here, we have had a connection with the brothers and sisters in Cologne. They have a connection to the German Bible camp in Gemünden (about 2.5 hours from us) where we have often attended Bible study weeks. When our singing group Listen Up! was active, we often sang at German church activities, including a few times along the Rhine river in Cologne.
More recently the church in Maastricht and Cologne planned a yearly get-together to sing and encourage one another. We started by meeting in Aachen - about halfway between us. Later we organized the singing in Maastricht and then in Cologne. We have not been able to meet since the interruption of the corona years, but we look forward to singing together again next year.
It is always good to not only know about brothers and sisters in the neighborhood, but to be involved with one another as often as possible. We are thankful for our relationship with the church in Cologne.
(Photo: Singing in Maastricht with members from Cologne in 2018)
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