As of: February 24, 2024, 6:02 p.m
By: Christiane Mühlbauer
Comments
Press
Split
Is really looking forward to her first pastorate in Kochel: Cristina Burkert-Huber.
© Proehl
Cristina Burkert-Huber will be the new pastor in Kochel from March.
Her inauguration is special - she will be ordained first on Sunday, March 3rd.
She has an unusual resume for a pastor.
Kochel am See – It smells like freshly laid floors and a large refrigerator is still packed in the hallway.
Cristina Burkert-Huber smiles as she unlocks the door to the Kochler rectory.
“It’s still a bit chaotic here,” she says.
She won't be moving in with her husband Johannes Huber until the end of February, and in the meantime a lot of renovations have been done in the house.
“I am very grateful to the church community for taking care of everything here.”
Shortly after the move, things will get down to business: The 42-year-old only completed her vicarship in Gauting a few days ago and will be ordained, i.e., receive the ordination, before she can fully take up the position in Kochel.
This will happen on Sunday, March 3rd, at 3 p.m., due to space constraints in the Catholic Church of St. Michael in Kochel.
“I am very grateful that the Catholics are making their church available to us.”
Ordination is accompanied by seven godparents
The Protestant Christians in the Loisachtal have not celebrated an ordination for a long time.
“The last time was here around 50 years ago,” says Burkert-Huber.
The consecration will be carried out by the new regional bishop Thomas Prieto Peral, who has also only been in office for a short time.
It's a big day for Burkert-Huber.
“It is an event that I have been waiting for for ten years.” Seven godparents, chosen by herself, will witness the event.
They are long-time companions, including the abbot of Schäftlarn Monastery, and the managing director of the Working Group of Christian Churches in Bavaria, an Orthodox priest.
“It’s important to me that all denominations are there.”
Ordination in St. Michael
Regional Bishop Thomas Prieto Peral will ordain Cristina Burkert-Huber as a pastor on Sunday, March 3, at 3 p.m.
Due to space constraints, the celebratory service will be celebrated in the Kochler Catholic Church, followed by a reception in the Catholic parish hall.
All believers are invited.
The fact that Burkert-Huber was not ordained until she was in her early 40s is due to the fact that becoming a pastor was not actually her life plan when she was young.
Born in Bayreuth, she studied biology for a few semesters after graduating from high school, but then decided to train as a pharmaceutical technical assistant (PTA) and worked in Passau and at the University Hospital in Regensburg.
There she decided to study Protestant theology and musicology alongside her work.
In 2009 she received her bachelor's degree.
Worked during the day, studied at night
She then moved to Munich as a PTA at the Großhadern Clinic in the research department and also trained to work on a voluntary basis as a clinic chaplain.
This work gave her great joy, and this gave her the desire to study full theology for the priesthood at the LMU Munich.
“I worked during the day and studied at night,” she says of that time.
Everything up to the 2021 exam was “very stressful” – but Burkert-Huber wanted to see it through.
She then gave up the PTA position and took up her vicariate in Gauting.
My news
Next traffic chaos threatens: Tyrolean dosing traffic light starts the second phase
2 hours ago
“It’s a damn good feeling when you help a firefighter.”
Asylum accommodation: The city of Bad Tölz files a lawsuit against the Landkreislesen
Training to become a supplementary worker: Contribution to combating the shortage of skilled workers in daycare centers
Mountain rescue rescues 22-year-old on Jochberg - helicopter has to turn around read
Tölz live: event tips for weekend reading
Faith was important to Burkert-Huber in her childhood.
Her father died when she was four years old, and her mother was in very poor health.
She has fond memories of the children's services, “which picked me up back then,” she says.
“These rituals gave me security.” In her youth, the church faded into the background, but faith revived as she grew older.
“God is always there,” is how she describes the strength she draws from faith.
“Parents can die, partners or friends can leave you, but God is there.”
Living ecumenism is important to her
When she began studying theology, she also felt skepticism from family and friends.
“It wasn’t all easy,” she says.
“The partner also has to be behind it, after all, as a pastor you can be transferred anywhere.” And then there is the abuse scandal.
“We are now the generation that has to straighten this out,” she says, referring to the Protestant Church’s most recent publications.
“There will now be another big wave of resignations,” Burkert-Huber is certain.
Now it's time to build new trust.
“I want to contribute to that.”
(Our Bad Tölz newsletter regularly informs you about all important stories from your region. Sign up here.)
One point that is very important to Burkert-Huber is ecumenism.
“Not just because my husband is Catholic,” she says with a smile.
During her studies she attended lectures on Orthodox theology and was involved in the Lutheran liturgical conference.
She has been its chairwoman for a year and a half.
“It is a forum in which pastors and church musicians talk about liturgical topics,” she explains the work.
It is very important to her to make church services lively.
The Protestant parish of Kochel stretches between Benediktbeuern, Großweil and Walchensee.
At the end of November 2023, Burkert-Huber found out that she was coming here.
“It’s a jump into the deep end for me,” she says with great respect.
She will do “everything” – from church services to teaching, from pastoral care to confirmation classes.
In recent years, Elke and Matthias Binder shared this task, supported by another part-time position filled by Anna Ammon.
After their departure, this half position was eliminated.
Happy about choosing Kochel
“I’m looking forward to the tasks, but I also ask for your patience as I get to grips with everything,” says Burkert-Huber.
Initially she will also have to take part in mandatory training courses, for example in pastoral management.
“But I always wanted a place that was in beautiful surroundings because I like hiking and enjoying nature,” says Burkert-Huber.
And her husband, who teaches at the high school in Schäftlarn Monastery, could also commute from Kochel.
“That’s why we’re very happy to be able to live here.”
(Müh)
You can find more news in our brand new Merkur.de app, now in an improved design with more personalization functions.
Directly available for download, more information can be found here.
Are you an enthusiastic user of WhatsApp?
Merkur.de will now keep you up to date via a new Whatsapp channel.
Click here to go directly to the channel.