Christmas Eve/Day near the Meditation Centre, behind passport control

For the ones who are travelling through Schiphol Airport on Christmas Eve, do not miss the opportunity to get a touch of Christmas in a short celebration in Lounge 2. This service can only be attended by passengers in transit or by passengers who are stranded in the transit area due to the international travel restrictions because of Covid-19. A selection of Christmas carols will be played on audio, we will read the Nativity story and a short Christmas message will be given by the chaplains of Schiphol. Due to the corona rules the short service will not be conducted in het Meditation Centre, however, on the internetcourt in front of the centre. Afterwards individually wrapped Christmas stollen will be presented as a takeaway. The event starts at 6.30 pm on the second floor in Lounge 2. Chaplains Joop Albers and Marieke Meiring offer you a warm welcome! On Christmas Day (25th December) the Airport Chaplaincy offers two more short services that are conducted within the mandatory corona restrictions. You are welcome to join us in the Meditation Centre either at 11 or at 12 am. We can receive visitors up to eight max.

The Airport Chaplaincy wishes you happy holidays! (The photo was taken several years ago).
Pastors Marieke Meiring (left) and Joop Albers (right).

Chaplains interviewed by Nederlands Dagblad

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic more often than before travellers eventually strand at international airports. This happens due to different reasons: sometimes the travel documents are not valid or not sufficient; the world has changed so much that a thorough preparation before travelling is highly recommended. Sometimes passengers turn out to test positive during their journey and it is mandatory to isolate or quarantaine immediately on site. This is hard if you are stranded at an unfamiliar airport. At Schiphol fortunately facilities have been installed. The chaplains stay in contact with the passengers who got stranded unexpectedly and with the ones who are staying in quarantaine. What the team experiences and how they coped with an exceptional situation can be read here (in Dutch).

Airport chaplain interviewed in the Dutch radio program "Dit is de Zondag"

"Why would you need a pastor at an airport?", David Boogerd asked Marieke Meiring, pastor at Schiphol. She was interviewed in "Dit is de Zondag" on NPO Radio 1 on August 15, 2021. In the episode, she talks about her profession as an airport chaplain and shares stories about her work. If you are interested to hear more, you can listen to the sound fragment here (in Dutch).

The Dutch journal "Geestelijke Verzorging" writes about the Airport Chaplaincy

In the spring of 2020, the Dutch journal "Geestelijke Verzorging" published an article about the spiritual care at Schiphol. Airport chaplain Marieke Meiring writes about people who search for peace and stability in the hectic pace of traveling. People who are confronted with the fragility of life along the way. Click here to read the article (in Dutch).