Wichernkirche (Neumünster)
The Evangelical Lutheran Wichernkirche in Neumünster was built in 1955 and has served as the community center of the Wicherngemeinde Neumünster and as the location for the Wichernkindergarten Neumünster since then.
Geographical location
The Wichernkirche Neumünster is located in the western Faldera district directly on Uker Platz and thus in the center of the district.
Surname
The namesake of the Wichernkirche is Johann Hinrich Wichern (1808–1881), who set himself the task of looking after socially disadvantaged and impoverished people and providing them with work and training.
history
The Wicherngemeinde has existed since April 14, 1946. At that time, church services and other church activities were held in a chapel on the parade ground with 300 seats and an additional parish hall in a wooden barracks under the direction of Pastor Carl Keding.
The foundation stone for the current church building was laid on April 17, 1955. At that time, Pastor Karwinski was leading the church. The topping-out ceremony was celebrated on August 3rd and the installation of the church bells began on November 28th. Bishop Halfmann inaugurated the Wichernkirche on December 18. At the same time the pastorate and the kindergarten were completed.
For the twelve years of existence of the congregation in April 1958, the new altar of Otto Flath was consecrated by Provost Steffen as part of a festival service . Since then, the sanctuary of the Wichernkirche has been headed with the saying “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” ( 1st letter from John 4:16).
On October 18, 1959, a new organ went into operation in the Wichernkirche. Pastor Karwinski was retired on October 3rd, 1976 with a church service and his successor Gerd Fischer took up his post on November 1st of the same year. In 1978 the Wichern congregation took part in a large-scale evangelization in the Holstenhallen . In 1983 the extension to the community center was inaugurated.
In 1985, a building inspection revealed that the concrete parts of the tower and the bearing beam of the bell cage were in such poor condition that the building committee of the parish association ordered a ringing ban. In 1987 he decided against repairing the bell tower, as this would be very costly. Therefore, the tower was removed up to the height of the church roof and was to be replaced by a free-standing tower on the church forecourt.
In the following year construction began on the tower, which was completed in 1990 and cost around 600,000 German marks. On August 2nd, 1992 Fritz Christian Krämer took over Gerd Fischer's duties as pastor. In July 1999 Christian Andersen also took up the ministry as a pastor. This was the first time that the Wichern congregation had two pastors working in the junior-senior model at the same time. Pastor Fritz Krämer has been retired since January 1st, 2001, but continues to volunteer in the community.
In 2007 the roofs of some of the outbuildings of the Wichernkirche and in 2008 the roof of the nave and the kindergarten were re-covered. In addition, the building of the former bear pharmacy in the Faldera district was rented in 2008 so that a café could be set up there. This had to close there at the end of November 2019 because the lease was terminated. The café then moved into the foyer of the Wichernkirche. A 20 square meter extension for the kindergarten was built from the end of 2014 to mid-2015.
From November 2016 to February 2020, the Wichern congregation had two pastors in office at the same time for the second time in its history. In addition to Christian Andersen, Björn Ströh worked as a pastor. This came from the parish of Lunden and moved to Gettorf .
Employee
Today the Wichern congregation has four full-time employees: Pastor Christian Andersen, sexton Klaus Keding and congregation educators Jessica von Seht and Ole Kratzat. A part-time employee is also employed. In addition, about 230 volunteers work in the Wichern community.
membership
The Ev.-Luth. Wicherngemeinde is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany and belongs to the Altholstein parish there. It is also affiliated with the Evangelical Alliance in Neumünster and the Willow Creek Network Germany.
Web links
Coordinates: 54 ° 3 ′ 31.6 ″ N , 9 ° 56 ′ 54.3 ″ E