In the quarry of the lord

In the quarry of the lord

A total of 1000 cubic meters of rubble will be removed by the volunteers during the renovation of the parish church of st. John the baptist. St. Nicholas in sand move. More than 30 women and men, equipped with pickaxes, shovels and wheelbarrows, came together on saturday to lend a hand in the construction of their new house of worship.

Father michael erhart has exchanged the chasuble for work clothes and is currently holding a jackhammer in his hand. "I am delighted that so many volunteers are pitching in and helping to give our church a new lease of life", says erhart proudly, who has set himself the goal of being able to celebrate the service on saint’s eve in the parish church again.

"We are very much on schedule", says also klaus ullrich, who acts as construction manager. The date for completion of the demolition work was set for the end of march. There is still some work to be done, but in february everything will be ready to install the new floor on time. This became necessary because a new heating system with floor and wall heating is also needed.

During the construction period, services are held in the nearby parish hall, which has been refurbished to a high standard. A total of 70 helpers have participated in the past three rough work assignments.

The rustic pensioners

In addition to the helpers on saturdays, there is also a team of pensioners who work during the week. The volunteers who are no longer involved in their jobs knock the plaster off the walls or do other work that can be done as a small crew.

The original church in sand was built in the years 1728 to 1731. The cemetery was built around it at that time. The church tower was completed in 1733 and is the oldest part of the building that exists today. This was newly erected in 1928. The last reconstruction took place almost 40 years ago. Anyone who expected to find bones or even skeletons during the current excavations will have to be disappointed. Except for a small bottle of liquor found in the rubble of the church, nothing special was discovered.

The total cost of the project is 1.4 million euros, of which 65,000 euros are expected to be paid by the club itself.

And how to imagine the new church then? Pastor erhart explains: "we are turning the entire church upside down, so that it will last for the next 50 years." The whole interior will be at ground level, i.E. Barrier-free. The previous steps disappear. In addition to the floor and floor heating, there will be a new lighting concept that will illuminate the interior of the weibe building in colorful ways. And so on …