Star Wars Service Held At German Church

This week, the Zion Church in Berlin doubled its normal attendance when a pair of young vicars performed a Star Wars-themed sermon.

Parishioners showed up in costume or carrying lightsabers, while Vicars Lucas Ludewig and Ulrike Garve delivered a talk not about the power of The Force, but about the universal themes that run through Star Wars and Christianity.

It's hardly a unique idea -- I myself performed at least one such sermon at a Christian summer camp where I used to be a counselor -- but for a major church to do it on the weekend Star Wars: The Force Awakens hit theaters, it ballooned into a social and cultural event that attracted about 500 people, according to the AP.

Ludewig drew from Romans 12:21: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." The pair both carried toy lightsabers while delivering the message -- which, between their red blades and black robes, does look a little...Dark Side-ish.

Last month, a Wisconsin church held a service titled "Star Wars: Our Faith and the Force."