Why the pastor in Weißenbach likes to have a conversation at the garden fence

The herbs are blooming in the garden. The raised bed has grown well. Niels Hönerlage is happy about the lush greenery right next to the garden fence. He deliberately created the raised bed directly against the garden wall in order to be able to talk to the population and stay in touch even in Corona times. Niels Hönerlage is a Protestant pastor in Weißenbach, with the parishes of Detter and Heiligkreuz.

He has been living with his wife and two cats in the pretty Weißenbach vicarage for three years. It was three years of getting to know each other and arriving. The trial service ended in March of this year and Hönerlage was appointed pastor for life during a festive service. The so-called “installation” was carried out by Dean Till Roth.

Niels Hönerlage deliberately chose the pastorate in Weißenbach. He has known the region since childhood. He was born and grew up in Bad Brueckenau. After graduating from high school, he worked for a year in youth work at the YMCA in Schweinfurt. This time, but also his growing up in Bad Brueckenau, his youth with the Jesus Freaks, but above all the contact with the evangelical pastor Gerd Kirchner have strongly influenced him. “He is a positive example for a pastor.”

After graduating from high school, Hönerlage wasn’t really sure what he wanted to study, medicine or teaching were options, but also theology. “In the end it became theology. It was what was left of the many ideas.”

Niels Hönerlage studied Protestant theology in Erlangen. Those were the years 2008 to 2015. Again and again he focused on his studies. “I found ancient Greek fascinating. I did a lot of that in the New Testament.”

Hönerlage was in Hamburg for a year, dealing with practical theology and pastoral care. He completed a six-month internship in a hospital. This was followed by a liturgical semester with a focus on worship services and again practical theology.

For one semester he dealt almost exclusively with ethics and ethical questions in medicine. “I took my time with my studies because I was interested in a lot of things.” He also attended lectures in history and psychology.

At first, Niels Hönerlage wasn’t so sure that he would become a pastor. “I didn’t just want to accumulate expertise, I wanted to look left and right.” After graduating, he worked for a year in refugee aid in Göttingen, where his wife was studying at the time.

Afterwards we went to Würzburg, where Hönerlage began to work in the Heuchelhof district of the community. “A great community. I had a lot of freedom and a lot of support. I was able to try things out and gained a lot of practical experience.” The vicarage lasted two and a half years. During this time he remembered the 20 or so baptisms in particular. But he also experienced stressful situations, such as funerals after suicide. “The vicarage prepared me for the pastorate.”

On March 1, 2019, the Hönerlage family came to Weißenbach and immediately felt at home in the place and the communities, as Hönerlage says. He is grateful that he was able to get to know the communities at least a year before the pandemic and that he was able to lay the foundations for cooperation together with his colleagues from Bad Brückenau and Zeitlofs.

In his communities, Hönerlage was initially not so much concerned with new impulses as with confirmation and strengthening of the lively community life that already existed. “It inspires me how many volunteers are involved here and how many young people are enthusiastic about it.” Hönerlage has 750 parishioners, around 100 of whom are volunteers in one way or another. That is “sensational” and makes his work as a pastor easy, especially since the people are open-minded and interested.

He named the baptismal commemoration service, a sing-along service at Christmas time, the children’s service in Detter and the children’s communion service as some of the innovations. The children’s communion celebration is particularly important to Hönerlage. It is also important to him to work with colleagues in the Altlandkreis Bad Brückenau in order to make vacant pastoral positions as attractive as possible for future candidates. This year, for example, a general parish letter was published for the parishes of Bad Brückenau, Weißenbach and Zeitlofs, and other parishes could follow. Starting in the fall, they will work together to prepare for Confirmation. A joint website is being planned.

During the Corona period, devotions and impulses were published on YouTube. “I also see myself as a networker. We have to work more closely together in the future.”

Niels Hönerlage is concerned with the topic of leaving the church. It’s a trend of the times. “The classic Sunday service will have no future. It’s more about new forms of service, tailored to the target group.” However, there is no doubt about the message of the gospel. “The message is highly relevant, especially at this time. God welcomes us as we are, with all our faults.” Hönerlage would like to convey this feeling to the people who are entrusted to him as a pastor and who meet him – even if it’s just a conversation at the garden fence.

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