October 31, 2008

BERGEN-ROTENSEE, RUEGEN, Germany/GENEVA – A breathtaking view greets visitors arriving on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen in Germany. Some 1,000 square kilometers of varied natural attractions cover coastal cliffs, national parks, fine sandy beaches, inviting dunes and the sometimes thundering sea. A tour of Germany's largest island takes visitors through picturesque sites renovated at great expense, including imposing churches with richly decorated altars and ornate stain glass windows. Ruegen is considered as one of the most popular holiday destinations in Germany, with over one million vacationers annually.

Yet, there are pockets on Ruegen that draw only a small number of tourists, such as Bergen-Rotensee-a community of around 5,000 people, pre-dating the 1989 political changes. Renovation work here is getting under way very slowly. Unemployment is high, affecting 19 percent of the population, while nearly 21 percent live on the poverty line. Nearly all inhabitants are dissatisfied with the housing situation.

This is how Rev Mathias Thieme's working environment looks statistically. Since early 2007, he has been in charge of the church planting project site in Bergen-Rotensee, organized by the Stralsund church district in an effort to bring the church into contact with people in their daily lives. One out of ten Rotensee inhabitants has a church affiliation and of these, only a small number seek any contact with the church. "For me, the greatest challenge is to reach people who are separated from the church or in whose daily lives the church plays no role," Thieme explained to a group of 90 church representatives visiting Ruegen mid-September, in the context of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) European Church Leadership Consultation, held in Greifswald, Germany.

New Approach

Making people interested in religious topics and establishing long-term contacts with the population can be a difficult task, remarked Thieme. "It has become clear to me that, in the case of Rotensee, we must rethink our preaching style. Particularly in a context in which people are hardly interested in academic lectures, the ‘church of the Word' must take a new approach. In order to transmit Christian values, it must address people without using big words," he explained.

There is still no church edifice, but for 19 months there has been a local church interlocutor. "Church is where one encounters people and comes into their lives. The physical place is not the determinant. What matters, is that I have time for people and that they know I am available," asserted Thieme. Consequently, he spends most of his time on the road, meeting people. "I visit them at home. Sometimes we meet in the park or at a neighborhood center," he said, describing a typical working day. When people gradually begin to want to dialogue with him, he realizes that his efforts are beginning to pay off.

The wave of reconstruction sweeping the rest of the island seems to have side-stepped Bergen-Rotensee. "On many days, the lack of future prospects hits one right in the eyes," the pastor admitted.

Social Isolation

High unemployment and poverty "gnaw away at people, sometimes sapping their strength to face the future," explained Thieme, pointing out that even those with diplomas are often unable to find jobs. Every household is short of money – for daily survival, in some cases, mere subsistence. Alcohol abuse has become a major problem in Rotensee, and violent behavior has increased, as is evident in the willful destruction of telephone booths and bus shelters. This could be due to the fact that adolescents in Rotensee have no place to meet. "Out of frustration, some adolescents have already turned to drinking," he said.

Thieme attributed tsocial isolation. "For that reason, I am on the road all day long visiting people who are lonely. I listen to them and sometimes help with administrative formalities," he said.

Giving people an alternative to their seemingly hopeless situation is the overriding objective, according to the Rotensee pastor, who hopes that renewed emphasis on church life would help in realizing this. He pointed to the extremely encouraging example of the collaboration with St Mary's parish in Bergen and the Rotensee neighborhood center where many encounters and services for children and adolescents are held.

"The open air worship which we celebrated last summer was a complete success. A hundred persons took part. This was totally unexpected. The atmosphere was simply excellent," said Thieme. He is enthusiastic about the interest shown in one of the two worship services held in Rotensee so far, and plans to organize regular worship for children and adolescents in the future, and common services with St Mary's congregation in Bergen. And perhaps no longer in the neighborhood center, but rather in a church with its own team of collaborators.

Lutheran World Information
A report by Claudia Schubert of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, Germany, currently doing a special pastoral internship in the LWF Office for Communication Services.