Karl-Heinz Schneider was Mesner in Herzogsägmühle for 23 years.
At the end of March he will go into well-earned retirement and can now look back on an eventful time.
Herzogsägmühle - Karl-Heinz Schneider pulls out the cell phone: The Martinskirche from the outside, the Martinskirche from the inside.
Incidentally, he also has all these pictures on his laptop.
He can even hear the ringing of the bells of St. Martin's Church here.
Schneider leaves no doubt: This church, it is everything.
Just like the people he meets here several times a week.
He knows her.
You know him.
Karl-Heinz Schneider has been the sacristan of Martinskirche for 23 years.
At the end of March he is going into well-deserved retirement.
Farewell is difficult for the sacristan
Farewell: It is more than difficult for him.
More than once he wanted to stop.
And then start again right away.
“The Martinskirche is my life,” says the 76-year-old.
He has lived in Herzogsägmühle for 30 years.
Almost two and a half decades of that he is the sacristan of the church in the Diakoniedorf.
"Back then, they persuaded me - and I said yes."
So long that Karl-Heinz Schneider has long had his regular position as a sacristan.
During the service he sits on the chair at the far right, next to the door to the sacristy.
“I have the whole church in my eye.” Karl-Heinz Schneider counts the people.
He looks at the pastor.
What's next?
Does the bell have to be rung?
Sacrifice keeps a half-flared Bible
He got to know everything during his time as a sacristan, explains Karl-Heinz Schneider humorously.
Sad, but also spectacular climax of such a sacred life: at some point Schneider comes to church in the evening.
“Everything was full of smoke.” The altar is on fire.
The candles.
Arson?
Probably yes.
Someone lit the candles on the altar.
It's the turn of the police and forensics.
Unsuccessful.
Carefully, as if presenting the crown jewels of the English royal family, Karl-Heinz Schneider holds the half-flared Bible in his hand.
Since the fire broke out, he has kept them like treasure in the sacristy.
The everyday sacristan life does not seem dull when talking to Schneider.
Schneider brings the flowers to the altar.
And hey presto, they're gone.
Not just once.
An elderly confused gentleman does not just poke the flower arrangements at the gentleman's table once.
The sacristan's office in Martinskirche in Herzogsägmühle: It is a special office that requires a lot of patience.
In addition, independence and manual skills.
“You have to be able to do everything yourself.” No wonder that Mesner Schneider in the Martinskirche knows “every corner of the church inside out” after 23 years.
Weddings, baptisms, funerals: Schneider has seen everything.
“Every day is different.” And because some days come to an end, he visits the cemetery in Herzogsägmühle every day.
"Then I think of my sheep lying there."
He also visits his former boss, Pastor Lutz, there.
"I'll get 18 marks from that," explains Schneider with a grin.
When the pastor started his job, sexton Schneider was there for the first purchase.
As a matter of decency, he never asked for the money he had laid out.
Mesner was supposed to give a long welcome speech for the Federal President - his words surprised
Speaking of decency: it was more of a challenge than ever when Roman Herzog, then Federal President in Germany, paid a visit to the Diakoniedorf.
The then rector of the Diakoniedorf Dürr had written a murder speech for him on a piece of paper.
Mesner Schneider renounced the prefabricated welcome address and was content with the following words: "I welcome you, wish you all the best and a good stay." Schneider can underline the scenario of the meeting with the already different statesman with pictures.
Even today he has to laugh at Herzog's answer.
“He said: You can say a lot with just a few words.” That's true.
Much would be said when Karl-Heinz Schneider says goodbye to his well-deserved retirement at the end of March.
The sacristan who knows all of his flocks.
The sacristan who always has chocolate surprises in store for all children.
There will probably not be a pompous farewell party.
Not just because of Corona.
Karl-Heinz Schneider is not a man of big words.
He works quietly in the background.
He knows how to operate every lever in Martinskirche, how to turn every cog.
In the service he would sit there and think about little things, he says.
And if everything worked out, in the end: "Then I'll pat myself on the shoulder." But only in a quiet minute.
So that nobody notices.
23 years: A long period of service for a silent hero who gave the Herzogsägmühler Martinskirche a soul.
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