Evangelical Old Reformed Church (Bunde)

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Southwest side of the Protestant Reformed Church of Bunde

The Evangelical Old Reformed Church in Bunde is the largest church building of the Evangelical Old Reformed Church in East Frisia . It was built in 1965 in the classic modern style.

History and description of the building

Northwest side of the church

As early as 1835, old reformed assemblies took place in private houses, which left the reformed regional church from 1840. The trigger for this secession movement was Hendrik de Cock , who appeared as a preacher in Hoogezand in the Netherlands in 1835 and in Stapelmoorerheide and other places in the Rheiderland in 1837 and called for a return to the old reformed religious principles. Around 1850 Geerd Kramer (* July 15, 1828 in Bunderhee ; † January 23, 1915 in Monster (Netherlands) ), preacher from Veldhausen , held "prayer and lecture hours" in a thatched barn. On May 7, 1858, Kramer founded the Bunder old reformed community with 28 people. On the site of the wooden barn, a first church building was erected in 1859, which was destroyed by a storm the following year. In 1862 the congregation called Frans Michel Penning (born April 23, 1818 in Möhlenwarf , † June 19, 1869 in Bunde) as their first pastor. His son Louwrens Penning emerged as a Dutch writer. In 1863 the congregation had around 100 members, in 1871 almost 200, in 1880 around 220 and in 1907 between 200 and 250. In 1870 a second church was built on Weenerstraße, a simple hall building with arched windows that seated around 300 people. Since the Old Reformed Church was initially not recognized and there was repression by the authorities and the Reformed Church, 65 members emigrated to the USA in the 1860s to 1890s.

From 1955 onwards there were considerations for a new church, which was realized between 1962 and 1965 according to plans by the architect Bochmann from Loga . In order to be able to continue church services during the transition period, the new church was built behind the old one. At the inauguration on October 17, 1965, the church was given the name Eben-Ezer-Kirche based on the sermon text from 1 Sam 7,12  LUT . The cost of the building was DM 524,495.93. The old church was then demolished so that the view of the new church was opened.

Between 1972 and 1976 the community rooms were extensively expanded. A church member donated the two bells. In 1995 the roof and in 2005/06 the church and tower were renovated.

As of December 31, 2017, the congregation had 350 members.

Building description

simply designed interior

The non-east facing church is a hall building in the classic modern style, which is closed off by a gable roof . A tall bell tower has been erected on the western corner, which also serves as an entrance and has a flat gable roof. A small, flat extension, which serves as a vestibule and staircase to the gallery, connects the bell tower with the nave. The bells were cast in 1978 and weigh 873 kg (tuned in F sharp) and 518 kg (tuned in A).

On the street side in the southwest, a pentagonal white field with nine narrow windows in stained glass is attached in the middle area, which extends high into the gable. The windows on the two long sides are colorless. On the north-west side there are simple rectangular windows halfway up, which extend further down towards the north corner and are also integrated into a white field there. While tall windows on the southeast side illuminate the interior, the northeast side, on which the pulpit stands, has no windows.

Interior

Führer organ from 1980

The pointed ceiling is supported by several pentagonal concrete pillars and is paneled with wood. The interior is simply designed in accordance with Reformed tradition and does not have a cross. Wood-transparent colors predominate. A gallery has been drawn in on the south-west side, on which the organ is attached. The wooden pulpit with a trapezoidal sound cover rests on a light, stone base. It is not in the middle, but attached to the northeast wall in accordance with the golden section . The pulpit area is raised by three dark stone steps. To the right of this is a wooden lectern and benches, in front of the pulpit is a baptismal font and a table. The stalls, which leave two passages free, are painted mahogany.

The silver dinnerware was donated in 1894. The old pulpit Bible found its place in the new church.

The organ from the previous building, which was delivered in 1923 by the Paul Faust company with five registers, was expanded to 13 parts by Paul Ott in 1946/1947 as the first post-war building in East Friesland . The instrument was moved to the new building in 1965 and served there for another 14 years until it was completely lost. In 1979/1980 the organ building company Alfred Führer built a new plant under the direction of Fritz Schild. The organ of the old reformed church is of supraregional importance due to its model character for the accompaniment of the parish singing.

literature

  • Gerrit Jan Beuker: Reversal and Renewal. From the history of the Evangelical Old Reformed Church in Lower Saxony 1838–1988 . Synod of the EAK in Lower Saxony (ed.). 2nd Edition. Hellendoorn, Bad Bentheim 1988, ISBN 3-929013-04-5 , pp. 191-209.
  • Church council of the EAK Bunde (ed.): Chronicle of the Evangelical Old Reformed Congregation Bunde 1858–2008 . H. Risius-Verlag, Weener 2008.
  • Harm Wiemann: From days gone by. Chronicle of the combined community of Bunde . Ed .: Samtgemeinde Bunde. Self-published, Bunde 1983, p. 28-33 .

Web links

Commons : Old Reformed Church Bunde  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chronicle of the Evangelical Old Reformed Congregation Bunde 1858–2008 . 2008, p. 30f.
  2. ↑ Paul Weßels (local chronicle of the East Frisian landscape ): Bunde , p. 3 (PDF file; 61 kB), viewed March 16, 2013.
  3. ↑ Chronicle of the Evangelical Old Reformed Congregation Bunde 1858–2008 . 2008, pp. 71-75.
  4. ↑ Paul Weßels (Ostfriesischen Landschaft): Bunde , S. 2 (PDF file; 61 kB), viewed March 16, 2013.
  5. ↑ Chronicle of the Evangelical Old Reformed Congregation Bunde 1858–2008 . 2008, p. 190.
  6. ↑ Chronicle of the Evangelical Old Reformed Congregation Bunde 1858–2008 . 2008, p. 194f.
  7. ^ Numbers according to Der Grenzbote . No. 1, volume 128, January 14, 2018, p. 7 ( online , PDF).
  8. ↑ Chronicle of the Evangelical Old Reformed Congregation Bunde 1858–2008 . 2008, p. 193.
  9. ↑ Chronicle of the Evangelical Old Reformed Congregation Bunde 1858–2008 . 2008, p. 188.
  10. ↑ Harald Vogel : Brief organ studies. Shown on the model of the Führer organ in the old reformed church in Bunde . 2nd Edition. Noetzel, Wilhelmshaven 2008, ISBN 3-7959-0334-3 .

Coordinates: 53 ° 11 ′ 4.8 ″  N , 7 ° 16 ′ 21.5 ″  E