The Evangelical Dean’s Office in the district and the Catholic Archdiocese of Freiburg provide parishes with guidelines for the Christmas season.
(BZ / fri). The parishes in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald and Freiburg are currently grappling with the question of whether or not church services should take place at Christmas. There have already been the first rejections. But in principle the services should be adhered to. The Protestant Dean’s Office and the Archdiocese of Freiburg have now given guidelines that the local parishes can use for orientation.
Protestant church
The Protestant churches in the church district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald want to offer face-to-face services on Christmas Eve – but only subject to security requirements. If the incidence numbers rise above 200, all regionally planned events will be canceled and only digital alternatives will be created, according to a message.
The aim is to use the 7-day incidence per 100,000 inhabitants as a basis, as Dean Rainer Heimburger tells the BZ. On Wednesday this was 124 in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district. The municipalities received daily figures from the deanery every morning.
So that Christmas can be safely celebrated in the face-to-face services, the parishes have developed extensive hygiene concepts. Services in church buildings are significantly shortened. If there is another service in the same church, there will be a ventilation break. The more stringent hygiene regulations still apply: visit only with a face-to-face mask, distance 2 meters, clear and regulated walking routes, no community singing and only small musical ensembles. In addition, all visitors to the parish offices must register in advance. “This year we will be particularly responsible for the possibility of celebrating church services,” said Heimburger. In addition to the church services on television, radio and the Internet, there are many initiatives by local churches.
Catholic Church
“Due to the current very dynamic situation, the planning for the Christmas days in the individual parishes has mostly not yet been completed,” said the Archdiocese of Freiburg. The Archdiocese recommends that the parishes change the times of services so that the faithful can be home at 8 p.m. There is an exception on Christmas Eve: Then it should be possible to attend Christmas mass at a later time in the evening.
The health of the visitors has top priority. Visitors would have to follow the hygiene regulations and provide their contact details. By registering in advance, queues in front of the churches should be avoided. The possibility of pre-registration regulates each pastoral care unit individually. Singing in church services is prohibited. Small music ensembles should be allowed to play. There are also plans for outdoor church services or nativity plays, but these are also dependent on the then applicable regulations and the weather situation. The services from the Freiburg Minster are broadcast on the Internet over the holidays. It is also recommended to find out about possible last-minute changes on the parish homepages.
Cancellations in the region
Some parishes have already canceled all face-to-face services over the Christmas period. For example, there will be no services in the Protestant church in Kirchzarten or in the parish of Denzlingen, Glottertal and Heuweiler. The Protestant parishes of Bickensohl and Bischoffingen have decided not to offer any more services between the 4th of Advent and the 10th of January. The Protestant parish in Breisach cancels the attendance services, but wants to offer walks and nativity plays outside.
The Ecumenical Castle Christmas in Staufen should also take place exclusively digitally. In the meantime, other parishes are trying, with restrictions and in compliance with hygiene concepts, to maintain church services or to create alternatives outdoors. In many parishes, however, the final decision has not yet been made.
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