Baptist prayer house in Felde
The Baptist prayer house in Felde was built in 1850 and is the oldest surviving Baptist church in continental Europe . The prayer house is located in Felde at Wittenheimstrasse 22. Today, Felde is part of the Ammerland district town of Westerstede, about 4 km away . The older Baptist churches in Hamburg (built in 1847) and Berlin (built in 1848) were destroyed during the Second World War.
history
After Frerich Bohlken , the eldest of the Christians in Halsbek founded by the Baptists in Jever on September 23, 1849 , repeatedly unsuccessfully asked the Lutheran pastor to use the Protestant church in Westerstede, the young congregation decided to start building in early 1850 to start your own house of worship. Felde was chosen for the construction project because it was conveniently located in view of the places of residence of the former members. Bohlken wrote in his memoirs:
"We were drawn to this building because of the disorder that usually takes place in houses at religious gatherings."
The first building material was brought in as early as January 1850. Johann Gerhard Oncken , the founder of most of the continental European Baptist churches, is supporting this new building as much as he can by organizing roof tiles and providing donations from England and the United States . The other Northwest German Baptists , who still gathered for their services in living rooms and barns, also carried the financial burdens of the new prayer house . By means of an advertisement that Bohlken placed in the Oldenburg advertisements on March 9, 1850, the approx. 30-member congregation tried to win further donors from among its Christian friends in Ammerland. The text of this ad read:
“Halsbek in the Westerstede office. All friends and acquaintances herewith the announcement that the congregation of baptized Christians has started building a chapel here. Since this building is being built from the funds of voluntary money, one asks at the same time all those so God's cause is close to their heart and who therefore also want to participate in the work that has begun through a gift to want to inform the undersigned about it. Frerich Bohlken. "
Description of the prayer house on the occasion of the inauguration
As early as September 1850, the Baptist prayer house was ready for use. Representing Johann Gerhard Oncken, who was on a trip to Scotland , Julius Köbner took over the sermon of the opening service. In his diary, Köbner noted:
“The day before we drove to Felde in the landlord's car to see the chapel. Already from a long way off she looked friendly at us with her new red roof from the green of the trees and the gray of the thatched roofs. It stands out all the more since there is no church or house with a tiled roof in the village ... Now I saw the finished building, which, despite its simplicity, makes a pleasant impression due to its good workmanship. It is very conveniently located on a country road, in the center of several localities in which the members live. One side of the gable with the winged door, which forms the entrance, faces the road. There are four arched windows on each of the two sides that make up the length of the building. The walls, made of dark brown-red bricks with a white lime structure, seem very solid and durable. The material and work should in fact be very good. "
The interior of the prayer house was described by Köbner as follows:
“When you enter, you first come to an anteroom, adjoining two rooms for silence and conversation. The elongated hall opens behind the inner entrance door. The central aisle leads to the communion table, which is very simply covered with a blue blanket, and to the pulpit, which is catheter-like with a door on each side. A small blue velvet cover with white borders hangs over the desk ... "
There was no cross or baptismal font.
The benches in the prayer house had backrests, which was considered a luxury feature for chapel buildings at that time. The “light-filled interior” of the church made a pleasant impression on the visitors - according to Köbner. In view of the 30 members, the available space was oversized: approx. 350 seats.
The house of prayer in Felde today
The congregation of baptized Christians , today the Evangelical Free Church congregation , has shifted its work focus to Westerstede, where it has a modern congregation center. However, the prayer house in Felde is still used for worship services - for special events and funeral ceremonies, as there is a Baptist cemetery on the grounds of the Felder chapel . Inside the prayer house, some renovations were carried out over the decades. Among other things, the furniture was renewed and the gallery removed. The roof of the chapel was renovated in 1975.
The building is a listed building .
See also
literature
- Margarete Jelten: Under God's roof tiles. Beginnings of Baptism in Northwest Germany , Bremerhaven 1984, p. 103ff.
- Hans-Volker Sadlack: Museum of the Baptist Chapels , in: The community. Believe. Together. Gestalten , No. 3/2009 of February 8, 2009, p. 15.
- Gregor Helms: Article Prayer House in: 100 times Lower Saxony. Church and Culture (edited by Hans Otte and Ronald Uden on behalf of the Society for Church History of Lower Saxony), Hanover 2011, ISBN 978-3-7752-6160-9 , pp. 142f.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Complete report by Julius Köbner in: The Evangelical Alliance (ed.): Evangelical Christendom: Its States and Prospects , London 1851, Vol. V, p. 55 (in English).
- ↑ Hans-Volker Sadlack: Museum of Baptist chapels , in: The community. Believe. Together. Gestalten , No. 3/2009 of February 8, 2009, p. 15.
Web links
Coordinates: 53 ° 16 ′ 57.9 " N , 7 ° 55 ′ 29.3" E