Carol singers for many the "bringer of hope"

The pandemic is inventive: the parishes are bringing the carol-singing blessing to the faithful in different ways this year.

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen - In many parishes, this year the faithful can pick up the carol singing blessing "to go" after the services to the Holy Three Kings.

In Eurasburg there were bags of chalk and incense that had been blessed by the pastor even in the supermarket.

However, a few churches also send children from house to house.

Letters with chalk and incense

Most parish associations and parishes have decided this year to provide so-called blessing letters with all the necessary utensils for blessing the houses yourself, especially in order to protect the children from possible infection with Covid-19.

In addition to chalk and incense, a prayer and a flyer are enclosed with the letters with the bank details for a donation to the caroling campaign.

This year the motto is "Get healthy - stay healthy".

The money goes to disadvantaged children in Africa.

They went away like hot cakes.

Heinz Rassbichler from the parish council on the blessing sachets that are available in the supermarket.

In the parish of Königsdorf-Beuerberg, the Dreikönigswasser is also blessed, which visitors can fill into bottles they have brought with them after the service.

Because the churches in Eurasburg and Berg are only open during services, the parish came up with the idea of ​​placing the blessing bags made available by the archdiocese in the Rewe supermarket in Eurasburg.

“They left like hot cakes,” reports Heinz Rassbichler from the parish council.

There are also the parcels in the Ringstrasse 4 in the courtyard entrance of the Kramer family.

Donations in favor of the Sternsinger Aid are welcome and can be transferred directly to the account DE 6370054306055302350 of the parish of Eurasburg, says Rassbichler.

Blessings from the network

In the Catholic town church in Geretsried you will see girls and boys disguised as carol singers, at least in the church services in Maria Hilf und Heilige Familie.

The city church is resorting to unconventional means: It will put the video of a star singing visit on the Internet.

In this way the three wise men from the Orient could “come to your home after all”, writes the church on its homepage to its members.

Consecrated bags for the do-it-yourself blessing are available in Geretsried after the services for a donation.

Five locations in the village are controlled

Instead of home visits, Degerndorf, which belongs to the Münsing parish association, has chosen stations where Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar as well as a star bearer wait for visitors.

At five locations in the village, the children in disguise will recite a poem on the holiday and hand out parcels for a donation to bless the houses themselves.

From 10 a.m. to 11.30 a.m., groups stand in front of the clubhouse, in the cemetery and in the courtyard entrance of the Resenberger family.

From 11.45 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. you can find them in the hamlets of Sonderham and Bolzwang.

"The twelve children in total are really looking forward to their performance after the carol-singing campaign had to be canceled last year," says parish council chairwoman Margit Maier-Marth.

She considers the stations to be a good and safe compromise.

Ten groups on the way

As one of the few churches, the Wolfratshauser Stadtkirche Sankt Andreas and the Waldramer branch Sankt Josef der Arbeiter have decided to send a limited number of children out on Epiphany.

In Wolfratshausen there will be around ten groups, each accompanied by one parent, as coordinators Kira Biberger and Michaela Seebauer report.

Before the pandemic, there were always twice as many.

Anyone wishing to receive high-profile visitors on January 6th had to register in advance at the parish office.

"The demand was great," says Seebauer - but so has the effort in advance.

All girls and boys are tested for Corona while they are being dressed.

Visit of the mayor

After the children have written the blessing "Christ mansionem benedicat" (C * M * B * 2022) on the front door with chalk, they will receive the donations from the residents with a net so that they can keep the minimum distance of one and a half meters.

On Friday morning, the carol singers will honor Mayor Klaus Heilinglechner in the town hall and then walk through Marktstrasse.

“Their sight and their singing simply bring joy to many people,” says Michaela Seebauer.

This is especially true for the elderly, who often lived in isolation in times of pandemics: "The carolers are bringers of hope."

valley

By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Wolfratshausen-Geretsried newsletter.