Alfred Tönnis

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Alfred Tönnis OMI (born March 14, 1959 in Fulda ) is a Catholic priest , Father of the Order of the Oblates ( Oblati Mariae Immaculatae ) and known for his innovative projects and initiatives.

Life

He grew up in Emsbüren in the Emsland and began training in the textile industry after leaving school, first completing his Abitur in Viersen as a late worker. In 1983 he joined the Oblati Mariae Immaculatae (OMI) . After studying theology in Mainz and Lantershofen (near Bonn) until 1989, he was ordained a priest in 1990 in Borken-Burlo ( Westphalia ) .

Pastoral projects

Father Tönnis became known in the 1990s when he drove through Germany in a mobile home ("monastery on wheels"). He lived for two to three weeks on the market square of a town and accompanied people he happened to meet as a pastor . He also attended high school classes.

Since he became pastor in Mittelbiberach in 1995 , he has been working on the side for a private broadcaster Radio 7 in Ulm for church broadcasts. In 1997 his team built the “Rolling Church”, a church on wheels with which the church can come to people, no matter where they are, e.g. B. Kirchentag, ZDF television garden and fair, even when moving.

In 1999, based on his idea, a house was set up in the birth house of the blessed sister Ulrika Nisch in Mittelbiberach for young mothers who live in a conflict of pregnancy and need support. In 2003 this institution became the independent foundation “Foundation Ulrika Nisch”.

Since 2005 he has lived in the oblate monastery in Schemmerhofen near Biberach an der Riss . Since 2008 he was rector of the monastery. The community consisted of three priests and four other confreres outside the monastery. In Schemmerhofen they looked after the pastoral care unit Schemmerhofen and the pilgrimage site " Aufhofener Käppele ".

Since 2009 he has been chairman of the “Piuspflege” foundation in Oggelsbeuren near Biberach an der Riss.

Father Alfred's bridge masses (special services), which he celebrates with rock bands or fills with extraordinary sermons, are known: B. a dialogue sermon with Thomas D , band member of the Fantastischen Vier . On the Sundays of Lent he organized fasting sermons with celebrities. Since 2009 he has also been working on television. Contributions can be found at kip-radio.de or on youtube. At Easter 2010, Father Tönnis made a name for himself with an action against a poster calling for people to leave the church. Recognizing the signs of the times is important to him. In March 2013 he launched a “Pastoral Care on Facebook” competition. On July 20, 2012, the Bild newspaper named him “probably the coolest pastor in Germany”.

The subject of "accepting refugees" has been an important topic for him for years. So he initiated a new concept of refugee reception. After almost three years of project development, up to 75 Syrian refugees have been living in the buildings of the Heimat Giving Oggelsbeuren Foundation , the former Piuspflege Foundation, since May 13, 2014 . With a large team of volunteers and employees, refugees are not only taken in, they are also given a temporary home in a welcoming culture. His provocative thesis: "Refugees are messengers of God."

Since January 1, 2016, he has lived with a brother, Father Heinrich Mayer (79), in this Oggelsbeuren give home foundation as an Oblate community under one roof with up to 120 refugees from different countries. The monastery in Schemmerhofen was closed in favor of this project at the end of 2015. On December 27, 2016, the prayer shop “Come in” that he initiated was opened in downtown Biberach. Muslims, including an imam, and Christians with a religious priest support this integration project. In this project, which is new throughout Germany, religion is used to connect people: books, prayer and conversation in a special kind of prayer atmosphere.

Film projects

In 2005 he wrote a synopsis for the 2006 fiction film “Different from the plan”, which is about a young pregnant woman who is with a Turk named Hasan. The film approaches - so the self-perception - the topic with tension, constructive, not judgmental and conveying values. At screenings in Biberach, however, the film met with extremely violent rejection. This film received an excellent rating from the Ethics Council of the Rottenburg-Stuttgart diocese, as well as from the SWR .

His documentary “Escape and Homeland”, which he produced with the filmmaker Lukas Hoffmann at the original locations, premiered at the 2014 Biberach Film Festival. This film is about the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Egypt as well as their ways to Germany. It also documents the establishment of the Heimat Giving Oggelsbeuren foundation .

Works

  • Pastoral care - a priceless love. Fromm Verlag, 2011.
  • Survival training programs for the self or relationships. A. Tönnis, 2004.
  • Chance of a crisis. Badenia Verlag, 1998.
  • Theological notebooks with illustrated short stories , annually from 1996.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ rollende-kirche.de
  2. ↑ Junge-mutter-mit-kind.de
  3. ↑ kirche-schemmerhofen.de
  4. ↑ piuspflege.de
  5. ↑ Posters call for people to leave the church . pro-medienmagazin.de
  6. ↑ seelsorgeauffacebook.de
  7. ↑ bild.de
  8. ↑ heimathaben.de
  9. ↑ heimathaben.de
  10. ↑ come-in-bc.de
personal data
SURNAME Tönnis, Alfred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Father Alfred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Father of the Oblates
DATE OF BIRTH March 14, 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH Fulda