The Protestant parish couple Striebeck leaves Neuhaus. You will miss the people and the area, both say. But the time was ripe for a fresh start.
Neuhaus - Actually Melanie and Matthias Striebeck would have liked to stay in Neuhaus. The pastor couple served the Evangelical Lutheran parish here for 15 years. They have accompanied, supported and strengthened families in good and bad times. They married people who had already confirmed them. "Trust has grown," says Matthias Striebeck. "It's hard to let go." His wife Melanie says: "You can put the files in the closet. But what we have experienced here - the people, the cultural - we always take that with us. "
Despite the love for the region, the Striebecks Neuhaus are left. They celebrate their farewell service on Sunday, March 15th. Then they move to the Swabian town of Frickenhausen-Arlesried near Memmingen. As difficult as it is for them to say goodbye, they consider it the right decision.
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The reasons
There are three reasons for this. The first: Evangelical pastors should change their place every ten years at the latest, says Melanie Striebeck. Because they have already exceeded the deadline by half, the state church advised them to move.
Reason two: The Striebecks have implemented a lot in Neuhaus. Under their aegis, the Christuskirche was extensively renovated, youth work expanded and the places in its remote community tied more closely to the other communities. They set “highlights in the offside”, as Matthias Striebeck says. "But we are the wrong people to push it back now." It needed a breath of fresh air, new accents.
Reason three: The move halves the travel time to both of their parents. "We will have to take more care of that in the next few years," says Matthias Striebeck. His wife can also work in the pastoral clinic again. She misses the task that she had before in Neuhaus.
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What to take with you
The Striebecks will continue to carry their community in their hearts in Swabia. "It must first be as beautiful as it was here," says Matthias Striebeck, self-declared "patriotic Bavarian without dialect". In addition to people, his wife will especially miss the mountains. Here she felt particularly close to God.
They will also take the network experience with them: working with the Network Integration and the Asylum Forum, trusting ecumenical cooperation and thinking beyond the boundaries of the community. "It was incredibly enriching," says Matthias Striebeck.
Thank you goodbye: Pastors Matthias Striebeck (center) and Süleyman Kaynak (2nd from right, second speaker network integration and former chairman Ditib Miesbach) rely on trust and cooperation. For this, they said goodbye to the network integration (from left) spokeswoman Lisa Braun-Schindler, Max Niedermeier (integration officer of the district), and Miesbach's mayor Ingrid Pongratz.
© Thomas Plettenberg
The invitation
The Striebecks also thought of their community in their last official act: They take their leave in March so that their successor can come after a six-month vacancy during the summer vacation. This is ideal to attract young pastors with children. These, in turn, are good for the community's youth work. Anyway, says Matthias Striebeck, Arlesried is not far away. “Everyone can come over. Then they'll get a coffee. "
Farewell Mass
Melanie and Matthias Striebeck say goodbye to their congregation with a service on March 15 from 3 p.m. in the Apostel-Peter Church in Neuhaus. This is followed by a celebration in the parish hall St. Josef.