A city with a surprise effect

Stephan Brenner

The large iron door of St James' Church is wide open. The Gothic nave has been welcoming visitors and parishioners again since 2009; previously, only a small part of the church was accessible. Pastor Stephan Brenner quickly became enthusiastic about this place of worship. But it is just one of many churches where he can be found. As a member of the public relations and community development team, he is involved in numerous church-related projects. In the 25th anniversary year of German reunification, he also has a lot to tell.

What is the aim of your work?
Stephan Brenner: I want to publicise the life of the church. To do this, I liaise with the media, government agencies and companies. My work also deals with questions of church life. For example, I support projects that want to try something new in the church and need support. On a part-time basis, I am the contact person for worldview issues. And of course I also hold church services, as is usual for a pastor, but then mostly as a substitute.

We are meeting today in St James' Church. What is your connection to this church?
St Jacob's Church is my focus because, as a city church, it has a very strong mission to open itself up to others. It has been shining in new splendour again since 2009. As the nave was badly destroyed in the Second World War, it could not be used for a long time. Today we can show off the entire church again. I help organise vespers, church services and prayers for peace here. For example, we organise an ecumenical service for the town festival.

After his training, Stephan Brenner came to Karl-Marx-Stadt in 1981 to take up a pastorate. He held his service in St Michael's Church. His career path also changed with the peaceful revolution. He was appointed pupil pastor of the Saxon regional church. Despite his post in Dresden, he remained resident in Chemnitz. In 1998, he returned to the city as a pastor of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer parish. Since 2009, he has held a pastorate in the Evangelical Lutheran church district of Chemnitz and is responsible for public relations and community development.

Are there any projects that are close to your heart?
Interfaith contact is very close to my heart. I try to forge links between people of different religions in this city. There is a quarterly dialogue group and the interfaith city tour during the Intercultural Weeks. I take care of columns in newspapers and appearances at trade fairs. Of course, I am also involved in the Peace Day and am a member of the working group. There are a few church music projects that I'm involved in. For example, the organ walk and currently the Night of the Churches on 19 June. This time, 20 churches of different denominations are taking part. And I could list even more.

Is it easy to promote the church in Chemnitz?
That varies. I have the impression that we live in a society where people have nothing against the church. But the majority of them have nothing to do with the church either. It's not as defensive as it might have been over 25 years ago. In GDR times, I think there was more of an opinion that we were eternalists with our faith and that science was superior to us anyway. But a saying that didn't come from me is probably still true today: many people have forgotten that they have forgotten God. On the other hand, some people are also open and want to learn about the Christian faith. I realise that the profession of pastor is mysterious to many people in contrast to other professions.

What arguments do you have in favour of the church still being important today?
We realise this on current occasions where we are asked and needed. We are also involved in the debate on asylum. For example, we make it clear that harbouring others has a long tradition and that the issue of asylum also plays a role in the Bible. In society as a whole, I realise that we play an important role for people at certain times. Advent and Christmas are recurring times when people increasingly come to us. But the church also becomes an important place of remembrance and gathering when there are serious events, such as a plane crash or similar. In everyday life, we reach our faithful parishioners, our base, but not the majority.

25 years ago, the church was also in demand. Important personalities who made the peaceful revolution possible came from the ranks of the church. Were you involved yourself?
I was a parish priest at the time and was sensitised to people's concerns and wishes. We opened our churches. The demonstrations were organised by the churches, among others. It was a place where people could gather and where we reported on the latest developments. There was a group of 25 people here in Karl-Marx-Stadt who sat at the table with the mayor at the time. Various important issues were discussed there, such as the economy, industry, trade, environmental protection, education...

Which area were you particularly interested in?
I myself was in the education working group because I was nominated as a student pastor. That was a double turning point for me. Not just a social one, but also a personal one with a new job.

Why was the church the place for political resistance back then?
In the minds of the GDR population, the church was a place that had little or no connection to the state. There were certainly other possibilities, but few. In the years before, groups had already gathered under the umbrella of the church to name and discuss critical issues. Especially in the areas of ecology, justice and peace issues. They were often young, non-conformist people who worked in church youth groups. The Environmental Library in Berlin became very well known. We had the Michaeliskeller, where alternative young people met in rooms in our church. The church offered the opportunity to become critically involved. That wasn't always easy for the church leadership either. It was also a balancing act and a debate within the church as to whether it was our task or not. However, many were in favour of getting involved politically under the themes of integrity of creation, justice and peace. Not least through the prayers for peace in Leipzig, it became clear that we as a church were in demand. After reunification, this role was largely lost again because people were no longer dependent on us.

Was the renaming of Karl-Marx-Stadt back to Chemnitz an issue in the church?
It wasn't really a church issue. There were all kinds of initiatives, independent of the church, that grew out of the ground. Among other things, the question arose: Should we be called Chemnitz again? There was an initiative from the local community that I read about in the newspaper. It was a time of upheaval, when everything changed. From money, forms, the school system and taxes. We were the city where people moved from one street to another, from one city to another and from one state to another without having to pack a suitcase.

What was the mood like in the summer of 1990 when it came to the renaming?
The result of the referendum showed that not everyone was in favour. There were people who had grown fond of the name and the city of Karl-Marx-Stadt. There were also questions like: Don't we have anything else to do? How much does it cost to rename a city? It was clear to me that it had to be called Chemnitz again. It was forced to change its name in 1953 and the reunification was an opportunity to reverse it. The name Chemnitz was quickly back in everyone's consciousness.

Chemnitz again at last - that was the motto 25 years ago. How do you perceive the population's attitude towards the city today? Do you have to encourage the people of Chemnitz today?
You have to encourage people when they are in a personal crisis. Of course you can encourage the people of Chemnitz to say "yes" to their city. I would recommend standing by what is here. There are also corners of the city that are not presentable. You have to work on them. But there are also many beautiful things. And if others look at you funny because you come from Chemnitz, then you should simply invite people round and show them the beautiful sides of this city. You should be generous with criticism. But admittedly, I don't always manage that either.

What do you show visitors to Chemnitz?
When it comes to tourism, we can't compete with Leipzig and Dresden. We should realise that. But that doesn't mean that we don't have any special features. We also have great museums, good events and strong civic involvement. I'm annoyed that we're always comparing ourselves. We should do our own thing. When I invite people to a lecture at DAStietz cultural centre or take guests to the Schlossberg Museum, I often hear: "This place is great. I wouldn't have thought so. We should retain this element of surprise.