Emergency chaplain in the Weilheim-Schongau district: "The experiences don't leave you cold"

Created: 01/26/2022, 16:00

Helping people in exceptional emotional situations: Sandra Gassert and Dirk Wollenweber.

Regular consultation hours to process what has been experienced © SABINE NÄHER

Emergency pastoral care in the Weilheim-Schongau district is also in demand in times of a pandemic.

The pastors Dirk Wollenweber and Sandra Gassert explain in which cases they are called for help and how Corona has affected the work of the emergency pastors.

District – "When I started my pastorate in Peiting in 2006, I became part of the emergency pastoral care," says Dirk Wollenweber. "Here in the district, it was usual for the pastor to get involved." His colleague Sandra Gassert came to the team in a different way: "I used to work as a paramedic," she reports. “Actually, I wanted to study medicine. But then I realized that I was more interested in the pastoral aspect of the emergency operations than the medical one.” Consequently, the Augsburg native studied theology and has been a pastor in Penzberg since 2004.

Emergency pastoral care in the Weilheim-Schongau district is now shared between the Catholic and Protestant churches in exemplary ecumenism;

on board is the crisis intervention team of the Bavarian Red Cross.

Additional training is also required for pastors.

"This includes 100 teaching units of 45 minutes each," explains Wollenweber.

"The training is standardized and now uniform throughout Germany," Gassert continues.

Both work as trainers on behalf of the regional church itself.

In the district they can currently fall back on 33 emergency chaplains who work full-time or on a voluntary basis.

There are also 28 members of the crisis intervention team.

When the emergency pastoral workers come into action

When exactly are these going to be used? "Whenever we are needed because people are in exceptional emotional situations," Sandra Gassert puts it in a nutshell. "Most of the time it's a domestic death." The rescue control center is informed by the medical emergency services on site if there is the impression that the bereaved are overwhelmed by the situation.

In the case of serious traffic accidents with fatalities, catastrophes in the event of extreme weather or when evacuations are pending, the helpers are also called in as a preventative measure.

“Three shifts, each manned by two people, are divided up for every day of the year,” says Wollenweber.

Overall, they would come to about 110 missions a year.

So it could be that you are not called to action for a long time.

But it could also happen that it hits the individual helper several times in a row.

"Even if it sounds rather small: 110 situations in which people are in extreme need are 110 too many," Gassert notes.

Impact of the pandemic on emergency pastoral care

The pandemic only affected this work insofar as the team avoided visiting people's homes during the first lockdown.

"We first switched to telephone service to avoid contact," explains Gassert.

“But we soon gave that up because direct contact is important.

We then met at the window or in the garden or went for a walk with those affected.”

After large parts of the population have been vaccinated or recovered, operations are almost back to the way they were before the pandemic.

Incidentally, the helpers themselves are expected to be vaccinated.

“I keep an eye on it,” emphasizes Wollenweber.

“After all, our job is comparable to the work of medical staff and nursing staff.

There are also special requirements.” If you still shy away from going into someone else's apartment, you don't have to take on the job.

"That's why we're a team.

Then someone else steps in,” says Gassert.

The team of emergency chaplains also presented the pandemic with particular challenges in that regular meetings are very important.

"The exchange between the pastors is essential," explains Wollenweber.

Although the training already conveys that you have to know and observe your personal stress limit, and only people with physical and mental stability are accepted into the team, the regular rounds of talks are indispensable for coming to terms with what has been experienced.

“Anyone who has been involved will receive feedback here.

And less experienced helpers learn what kinds of situations can come their way and how to deal with them," says Gassert.

Emergency chaplain: "The experiences don't leave you cold"

Have they ever reached their limits themselves?

“On the one hand, there are always two of us on duty.

That takes the pressure off the individual.

And anyone who needs further help and support afterwards will of course get it,” says Wollenweber.

"The experiences don't leave you cold, but we have to deal with them professionally," adds Gassert.

“On the one hand, you can generally take a break if you are in a crisis yourself.

On the other hand, certain situations can be excluded from the outset.

For example, when my children were younger, I asked not to be used in cases involving infant death.”

Ultimately, everyone develops their own strategy to end what they have experienced.

"When I'm back home afterwards, I have a dialogue with God," says Wollenweber.

"Then I'll tell him: I've done what's mine.

Now it's your turn.” Sandra Gassert, on the other hand, goes for a long walk with her dog.

"It brings me down - and he's happy!"

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