Easter without worship: do we need flowers in the church? The Bavarian Mesner Ludwig Bleier and his wife Traudi say: definitely!
Bayrischzell - It is the forsythias in the gardens that are encouraging Ludwig Bleier (66) and his wife Traudi (61) these days. The bright yellow of the flowers reminds her of a time when the anticipation for Easter grew every day like the grass on the meadows. A time in which they prepared the parish church of St. Margareth with lavish floral decorations for the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bavarian Mesner and his wife had planned all of this for this year too. But then the corona virus came - and suddenly everything was different.
Because no further services are allowed until further notice, church decorations are also much more spartan, explains Bleier. The annual bulk order from the florist has already been canceled. But the Bleiers do not want to do without the decoration entirely. "The church is open and people keep coming in for prayer," says Ludwig Bleier. So he and his wife collect palm branches from local farmers or directly from nature. The Mesner couple also want to tie a few forsythias into the bushes. "You should be able to see that Easter is coming," says Bleier.
For him and his wife, the restrictions from the risk of viruses are a bad thing. Especially now that he is retired, Easter preparation would have been a nice activity, says the 66-year-old, who has been taking care of the church for 35 years. "It's pretty much going off," Bleier sighs.
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The Mesner has to do without a second beloved tradition. He is also not allowed to build the Holy Sepulcher in the Soul Chapel this year. Too great is the risk that too many people would suddenly push into the small church to marvel at the magnificent wooden backdrops with the colorful glass balls. By the way, the Holy Sepulcher remains mothballed for the second time in a row. Last year, because of the renovation of the soul chapel, it was impossible to fix it, Bleier says. "But hopefully it will work again next year."
By the way, Bleier emphasizes that Easter in Bayrischzell should not be canceled. He advises all Bavarian cellars to come to the church, which is still a bit decorated, for silent prayer. At the sacrificial candles, the Mesner found that the faithful are already happy to come back to this offer and pause alone and recharge their batteries in the church: They are in great demand. And Bleier himself keeps checking that things are going well in St. Margareth. Sometimes to clean, sometimes just to reflect in this very unusual time.