Lockdown, contact restrictions and curfews not only change private and professional life, they also mean rethinking and rescheduling church services for many church parishes. As Christmas approaches, many parishes in the county must also redesign their holiday masses to accommodate the new guidelines.
In the parish community “Kreuz Christi”, consisting of Reichenberg, Kist, Eisingen and Waldbrunn, according to statements from the parish office, a lot had to be taken into account in the planning. Christmas masses are of course no longer possible after 9 p.m. due to the curfew and must be brought forward. While crib celebrations and children’s masses take place twice in the church on Christmas Eve in Reichenberg, these are held in the open air in the village square.
Early registrations were important
Regardless of whether inside or outside, the participants had to register early to participate in almost all church services during the holidays. But there is still space in all masses, explains Pia Heim from the Reichenberg parish office: “Many are unsettled by the current situation and older people in particular prefer to stay at home.” After the registration deadline at the beginning of the week, however, all folders were prepared and all requirements were met, which reassured many visitors.
In Bergtheim and other parishes of the parish community “People of God an Pleichach and Main”, the registration lists for the Christmas services are “slowly full”, according to Auguste Weber from the joint parish office, but there are also smaller churches. Here you could register by telephone for the many trade fairs on offer, which also meant a lot of organizational work. As far as the implementation of the requirements is concerned, the parish council had its own committee, whose resolution met with a great deal of understanding in the parishes.
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“You can tell that people want to celebrate together again and experience community.”
Pastor Helmut Rügamer, Bergtheim–
The Bergtheim holiday masses take place in the church, but there is also an open-air ecumenical service, an offer that is currently aimed at families. Pastor Helmut Rügamer is also pleased: “You can tell that people want to celebrate together again and experience community”. Because of the fear of being infected, people would quickly feel lonely on the holidays this year, which makes the role of the church as a pastor all the more important.
More masses for the believers
In the parish community of Randersacker, Theilheim, Eibelstadt, attempts are being made to compensate for the limited number of participants in church services caused by the contact restrictions by more masses, explains Eibelstadt parish secretary Christiane Dekant. Here, too, the registrations are still quite cautious, many do not seem to trust each other under the current circumstances. However, there are many ways to register, in addition to telephone and e-mail, volunteers are also available at church services on Sundays.
However, the restrictions also offer an opportunity for new paths in terms of the holiday masses. Partly the Christmas story is shown as a video and people are considering broadcasting the Christmas mass on Facebook. The citizens of the communities showed a lot of understanding and are happy for the security that the planning gives. “Even if it is a shame that we are not allowed to sing during services and that it will be a Christmas without Christmas carols,” decant regrets.
“This is definitely a Christmas that will be very different.”
Pastor Gerhard Hanft, Röttingen–
The planning of the Christmas masses also means a lot of effort for the parish community “TauberGau”. Due to the care of seven parishes, the registration via the parish office cannot be handled. “The volunteers on site have a better overview and you can rely on them”, explains the Röttingen secretary Marianne Metzger. Here too, open-air day nursery celebrations are planned to allow many to participate.
“Church services to go” have been displayed here since the beginning of the pandemic: printouts that should enable citizens to feel like a church service from home. That is very popular. Pastor Gerhard Hanft also speaks of the stress caused by “the daily planning situation”. Unfortunately, with the lack of singing, a “carrier of emotions” is also missing this year. “This is definitely a Christmas that will be very different,” he says.
In the parish community “Traveling Together” in Rimpar and Maidbronn, a lot had to be brought forward by the new measures. Nevertheless, there are also outdoor Christmas Eve celebrations and even a Christmas story path for families and children on all three Christmas days. Even if with a lot of effort and planning, the parishes in the district are making every effort to ensure that Christmas will be a happy holiday this year too.
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