The Catholic city church once again invites you to public services on Sunday. Pastor Andreas Christian Jaster explains in an interview how this is possible.
Germering -
Pastor Jaster, there have been no public services for over six weeks. How did you fare?
Of course, it was and is painful that I could not celebrate church services with my church as usual, especially Easter. In fact, my biggest concern was for the faithful themselves. Sometimes we say "Now only prayer helps." But right now, during the Corona crisis, public services are not available for this. The most immediate and personal encounter with Jesus Christ the Savior is not possible: the celebration of the Eucharist with a personal communion reception. I am sure that this will fill many believers with longing and wistfulness, because people in need and worries, perhaps even despair, are looking for comfort, hope and support in the church. The only spiritual, intellectual encounter with our Lord Jesus is not the same as the personal encounter with him in a Eucharistic celebration.
Services can now take place again. How do you judge that?
I am very happy about that! I am not primarily concerned with the fundamental rights to freedom of religion and freedom of assembly - that would fill a separate interview. I am now concerned with the fact that the faithful can meet Jesus Christ again very directly, entrust their worries and needs to him and seek support from him. After all, this is what believers are looking for in this challenging time, which we all long for so much.
How does the city church deal with it?
We will start again with public services here in Germering on the fifth Sunday of Easter, i.e. May 9th and 10th. We deliberately start with real services on a Sunday, because for us this is our Easter, ie "our resurrection", as every Sunday marks the beginning of something new, usually the beginning of a new week.
What will it look like specifically?
We will have a Eucharistic celebration at the usual time at 5.30 p.m. in the parish of St. Cecilia on Sunday evening, May 9th. In St. Martin we will celebrate the Eucharist on Sunday, May 10th at 9:30 am. In the parish of St. Johannes Bosco there will be a Word-God celebration with communion on Saturday, May 9, at 6 p.m. and a Eucharist on Sunday, May 10, at 11 a.m. Until further notice, no public services are possible in the village church of St. Jakob, as the required minimum distance cannot be guaranteed.
Such public services are only permitted under strict conditions.
Yes. These are also absolutely sensible to protect the health of our believers. On the other hand, these requirements also mean extensive measures on site.
What do these measures look like?
First of all, you have to register for each of these services in advance by telephone in the corresponding parish office.
It's like first communion or company services.
Right. Basically, the purpose of these applications is the same. It is simply that the church is not overcrowded, that people do not step on each other's feet. Step on your feet in the sense of too much closeness, because closeness is not possible during the corona pandemic. In our churches we will ensure that the faithful keep a distance of at least two meters from one another. This naturally leads to the fact that fewer places are necessarily available in the houses of worship than in normal times. Before each service, clerks will allocate the available places accordingly. Of course there will be no accompanying or supporting program for such services, for example the small church for the care of small children during the service or the church café after the service.
What about the hygiene regulations?
The services can only be attended with a mouth-nose mask. Folders will monitor that. People should know that from shops and stores by now. Disposable gloves are also worth considering. At the church doors are dispensers with disinfectants, which are mandatory to use. And, as I said, none of this is about introducing new liturgical elements; it is about nothing less than the health of all of us, right down to protecting human lives. And life - that is a deeply ecclesiastical concern.
What about those who hold the service?
For the time being, we will forego the minisan service, at least as long as there is no regular school. Incidentally, this is something that I personally will miss a lot, because our altar servers are eager to attend at normal times, and I just miss them. The communion donors, and this also includes the respective celebrant of the service, will disinfect their hands before putting on the communion, put on a mouth-nose mask and disposable gloves. Our secretaries will explain the rules of the game for the distribution of communion as soon as they register for each service.
What about the alternative live stream services from the Old Martins Church?
That will be maintained. We will continue to offer livestream services from the Old Martinskirche, so that everyone has the freedom to choose the form in which they celebrate Sunday - especially people of so-called risk groups. From May 9th it will be available every Saturday at 7 p.m. And on May 10 there will also be a virtual children's service, by the way for the blessing fish, which is currently being created on the square in front of the parish church of St. Johannes Bosco. We are happy, in whatever way, to celebrate our faith together.