In Untersteinbach, children go in search of traces in Jerusalem

April 04, 2021, 6:42 p.m.

Update: April 4th, 2021, 7:15 p.m.

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Pfedelbach Families experience the Passion and Easter story in a child-friendly way on an outdoor path with nine stations in the Pfedelbach suburb in the Steinbacher Tal. A women’s team from the Protestant parish had the idea as an alternative in Corona times.

It’s a wonderful day for a bike ride. The sun is shining from the sky, the temperatures are ideal for cycling and running. On Good Friday, Deborah and Micha Scheu got on their bikes, with their daughter Madita (three) and son Jaron (eight months) in the child trailer. Her uncle Rafael Zeltner is also part of the party.

The family cycles from Gaisbach to Untersteinbach together. Your goal: the outdoor path with nine stations where the Passion and Easter stories are told in a child-friendly way under the heading “Searching for traces in Jerusalem” and made playful. “Friends of ours walked the path yesterday. They were thrilled,” said Deborah Scheu of the HZ editor, who happened to meet the family at the start of the two and a half kilometer circular route next to the church on the market square. And which she can now accompany for a part of her way at a due Corona distance.

Start and finish at the market square next to the church

First they fetch hand-drawn directions from the drawer of a cupboard. And – very important for the search for clues in Jerusalem – the routing slip. Because the children – if necessary with the help of their parents – have to answer a question and enter a number at each of the nine stations. If answered correctly, they result in a code with which the locks of a treasure chest can be opened at the destination.

After the old parish bridge, the move to Jerusalem follows

Cross the old stone parish bridge to enter Jerusalem. Madita listens attentively as her mom reads the story to her and points to the painted picture. And the first question will be answered immediately: The people cheered Jesus not with Hallelujah or Shalom, but with the calls Hosanna. The first number is entered on the routing slip. Then it goes through the gate of Jerusalem towards the colorful city silhouette, which hangs as a painting on a fence.

Recognize scents at the anointing in Bethany

The path indicated by the orange arrows continues over the Zeilgasse and the Zeiläckerweg. On the way the second station: the anointing in Bethany. Here you have to smell scents such as coffee beans, lavender, peppermint, rose, lemon and cinnamon and assign them to the appropriate tablets. “It smells like cinnamon. We always use it on our semolina pudding,” explains Deborah Scheu to her daughter. Then past the Kneipp pool out into the great outdoors to the third station: the farewell meal of Jesus. Just like the disciples once did, you can sit down at a table with Jesus under an old bony fruit tree.

The second part of the route is cycled

The garden of Gethsemane is also lovingly designed, where Madita is fascinated by the wooden box with Playmobil figures in the sand with cones and greenery. But the three-year-old’s concentration and zeal are slowly waning. After the capture of Jesus at station five, she lays colorful sticks to form a figure at station six: Denial of Peter with the crowing rooster. Then the Scheu family decides to get on their bikes and not walk the rest of the way, but cycle.

Wishes on colored stones

It goes on alone for the HZ editor. From station seven, the condemnation of Jesus, to station eight, the crucifixion of Jesus. Here is the Heinrich family from Eckartsweiler. Daughter Linda (nine) and son Julius (six) are still eager to answer the question. “I like the Easter Path very much,” says Linda and hurries ahead with Julius to the ninth and last station: the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus.

Here they not only enter the last number, but also write on one of the brightly painted stones what they want from God: “That we have enough to eat and drink.” Then they put their stones next to the others who are lined up. The HZ editor doesn’t know whether her numerical code was the right one to open the treasure chest. But she learned that the Easter Trail was an enrichment for the families who were on it.

Alternative for families in Corona times

The idea for the outdoor station run with biblical stories came from a team of six women who are involved in the Protestant parish of Untersteinbach in the Kiki, KidsGo and Jungscharteam. They want to offer an outdoor alternative for families with children in Corona times. Since autumn 2020 Eva Barth, Karin and Tamara Elbl, Marina Pfitzenmaier, Doris Schmauder and Lea-Marie von Tils have designed and supervised eight station paths for children with themes that are appropriate to the season. The Easter path is open until April 18th. This is followed by a station path to Ascension and Pentecost.

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