As of: February 20, 2024, 7:15 p.m
By: Nicole Kalenda
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Pastor Markus Zurl (3rd from right) first consulted with his fellow brothers from the community Emmanuel (from right) Franziskus von Boeselager, Gregor Schweizer and Vianney de Cibeins before taking on the additional task.
Also seen in the photo are Deacon Wolfgang Kustermann and altar boys from St. Stefan.
© Dagmar Rutt
A temporary solution has been found for St. Elisabeth and the parish association in Würmtal: Pastor Markus Zurl from Gräfelfing will step in for a year from May.
Würmtal
– Pastor Markus Zurl, head of the Gräfelfing parish association, will also be looking after the parish association in Würmtal for a year from May.
This makes it clear what will happen there in the initial period after Pastor Johannes von Bonhorst's departure.
Zurl visited the parish office of St. Elisabeth in Planegg on Tuesday to discuss future tasks with von Bonhorst and parish secretary Undine Körner.
As reported, von Bonhorst is leaving the parish and the parish association in Würmtal, which St. Elisabeth has formed together with St. Vitus in Stockdorf since 2015, at his own request on April 30th.
“I’m trying to get to know the parish first,” says Zurl.
He is already familiar with the parish church of St. Elisabeth; last March he held a Sunday mass as a substitute for von Bonhorst, who was ill at the time.
He was not surprised when the request came from the human resources department of the Archbishop's Ordinariate as to whether he could temporarily lead the parish association in the Würmtal.
While Pastor Georg Lindl from St. Benedikt in Gauting is alone, “we are relatively well positioned until the summer”.
In the parish association Gräfelfing St. Stefan-St.
Johannes is joined by the parish vicars Gregor Schweizer and Franziskus von Boeselager as well as the deacons Wolfgang Kustermann and Vianney de Cibeins.
Emmanuel Community
Like Zurl, Schweizer, von Boeselager and de Cibeins belong to the Emmanuel Catholic community, which is committed to a living Christian faith.
The four of them form a household in the Gräfelfingen rectory.
De Cibeins returns to France at the end of June after his diaconate year.
Other personnel changes are also possible, but Zurl assumes that at least one more member of the Emmanuel community will live with him in the rectory and work in Gräfelfing in the fall.
Zurl asked for time to think about it and only agreed to Emmanuel and his fellow brothers after consultation with the community.
They agreed to support him.
“It will certainly not be an easy restructuring process that we have to tackle,” says Zurl.
Von Bonhorst, for his part, tries to make Zurl's future task easier.
He will continue to plan and schedule church services for the coming months beyond his term of office.
Zur says he is “very happy and grateful” that the clergy who have already worked in the parish association in the Würmtal have also signaled their willingness to help: parish vicar Guy-Angelo Kangosa-Kapumba and the retired clergy Dieter-Joachim Drossel and Max Schmucker and Werner Eichinger.
The church services in Planegg are mainly held by them.
Zurl speaks of “a lot of insecurity for me too” and says: “It's crazy when I imagine that everything is happening twice now.” But then he also sees it as an opportunity to rethink habits and check what is unnecessary be.
However, if possible, Zurl would like to keep Thursday evenings free, when he regularly meets virtually with a Regensburg house community from the Emmanuel Community.
Meeting in the last week of February
First, he wanted to see how things were going in St. Elisabeth and the parish association in Würmtal and “let things run smoothly.”
He emphasizes: “As a parish administrator for a year, you don’t make any groundbreaking changes.”
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He has already contacted the parishes.
Next week, Zurl will meet with the chairmen of the two parish councils, Christine Hallinger and Elisabeth Berger-Pöschl, as well as the church nurses Esther Schreck and Eva Wosnitzka.
“I think it’s a good solution for the moment,” says Hallinger, who heads the parish council of St. Elisabeth.
The relief is great.
“We now know that things will continue in May and we won’t fall into a hole.” She sees the “double burden” for Zurl.
“Hopefully he will see what powers lie dormant within us.” The two parishes had recently decided to work together more intensively.
“I think that Pastor Zurl wants to go down this path with us.” Shortly after the first meeting with him, a joint meeting of the Stockdorf and Planegg parish councils is scheduled for March 2nd.
What will happen next in May 2025 remains to be seen.
Upon request, the Archbishop's Ordinariate said that it would examine the options for future leadership of the parish association in the Würmtal with those involved over the course of the year.