Touchy Topic or "Buße und Moose"

Hunting around for a Mass time on the webpage on the Stadtdekanat in Mannheim, I stumbled across this notice.

Der Bußgottesdienst anlässlich des Gedenktages zur Reichspogromnacht 1938 findet in diesem Jahr in der Citykirche am Markt St. Sebastian statt. Die Feier beginnt am Freitag, 9. November, um 16 Uhr und trägt den Titel „Das Geschenk der Versöhnung kosten“. Mitwirkende sind unter anderen OB Peter Kurz sowie die Pfarrer Andrea Knauber und Lukas Glocker.

The Penance Service on the occaision of the Day of Remebrance for the Reichspogromnacht 1938 (Kristalnacht) will take place this year in the City Church on the Market, St. Sebastian. The service begins Friday, November 9th at 14 PM and is being called "Taste the Gift of Forgiveness". Participants include, among others, Mayor Peter Kurz, as well as clergy members Andrea Knauber and Lukas Glocker.

Let me start off by saying that I agree that acts of public reparation by institutional leaders (i.e. the Mayor, Bundeskanzler, pope, President, etc.) can be acceptable and serve a purpose. Nor do I have anything against the event as it is being advertised in Karlsruhe (a service in remembrance/ and as a warning to the living). I am just wondering how they are intending to work in the penance service part.

Post-modern Germany has pretty much rejected personal sin (social sin, they still have - we are always being reminded that someone, somewhere else, is doing something wrong).
The prayers at church run something like this . . . "Oh Lord, for the times when we have not opened ourselves fully to your love like the beautiful, delicate flowers we are, and thereby failed to experience total fullfillment and have high self esteem every waking moment, we ask your forgiveness."

I don't think they are actually going to be calling anyone to personal change - or even to acts of personal penance (which would be very Catholic, actually, but is as likely as a cold day in Hell, see last paragraph). Is there really a purpose to this? Part of me thinks I might be using my time more effectively to think about currently occurring injustices?

Am I way off here?