Disasters - A sign of hope: Christmas tree in flood-damaged church
There can be no talk of a Christmas service yet: Separated by a construction fence, there is an illuminated Christmas tree in the gutted Martin Luther Church in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler this year. "At least it's a sign of hope," says Pastor Friedemann Bach, around two and a half years after the flood disaster in the Ahr valley, which also affected the church.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, seven buildings belonging to the Protestant Church were affected by the deadly flood in summer 2021, including two churches. The Catholic Church destroyed or damaged 55 buildings in the Trier, Eifel and Ahr Valley flood areas, including 26 churches and chapels and 15 parish homes.
"The plaster has been stripped off, the floor, the inventory is out," says Bach about the work in the Martin Luther Church. "We secured the organ so that it wouldn't suffer. The altar and pulpit are gone." But there is still a long way to go before the building is finished. At least solar panels on the church roof have now been approved. "That helps us, because we don't just want to rebuild, we also want to make sure we are fit for the future."
As long as the construction work has not yet begun, the pastor cannot say when the church will be rebuilt. Services are currently being held in the parish hall and another church in the village. "We are glad that we have the Friedenskirche," says Bach. "We were lucky that it was high enough so that there was no water in it." This year, at least the aforementioned Christmas tree - and a small nativity scene - will remain behind the building fence in their own church for the time being.
Read also:
- A clan member is punished here
- Traffic lawyer warns: Don't talk to the police!
- Will he be convicted as Jutta's murderer after 37 years?
- He also wanted to kill his cousin
Source: www.stern.de
