"I was really thrown into it right away", margit bauer, outgoing organist, mesnerin and parish secretary of the protestant church community weitramsdorf remembers. On sunday, 1. December, it will be solemnly rung as part of the "good evening" service at 6 p.M. In the nikolaus church, she will retire from her three offices, of which she alone has been organist for 50 years.
"I played my first service at the age of 13, but that was in tambach", margit bauer is sure of this and also believes that she still remembers that she did not lose her head despite her excitement at the time. The times as an organist were quite different back then, the church musician describes the situation and points out a special feature of the 1970s: "back then, we had certain times when we had electricity during the service, that was fixed with the municipal utilities. The service began at 9 o’clock, and we had to make sure that we finished by 10 o’clock, because at half past ten the electricity in the church was cut off and the organ had to be silenced. The electricity was then needed in the weitramsdorf households so that the women could cook."
Margit bauer can remember countless encounters, especially later, in her role as parish secretary since 2005. She was often the first point of contact for parishioners. She also remembers vividly her encounters with a very special animal, namely the bat. "Once a swarm of bats got lost in the church. They had entered the church through an open window. It was difficult to get them out again. And there was even a bat that crawled into the offering stick at my son’s wedding." when the animal was discovered, it was even still alive.
Margit bauer held the office of sacristan as a part-time job for 35 years. First she always had to get the songs for the service. Then she had to put the songs on the song boards. It was quite a chore in winter because it was bitterly cold in the church. "An hour before the service, the heating had to be turned on", she goes on to describe her tasks, which included lighting the candles at the altar and arranging the flower arrangements. "The altar decoration was always particularly close to my heart", she proudly announces, revealing that she has rarely relied on outside help, but has often used flowers from her own garden and created her own arrangements from them.
Margit bauer is known in the community as a committed and courageous woman, but there was one thing she was wary of: "I was very reluctant to go to church alone at night. But on new year’s eve, the bell always had to be rung at midnight, and I always made sure that someone accompanied me."
Now that christmas is approaching, margit bauer wants to devote herself to a special task: decorating the christmas tree. He would be the 39. His kind to whom she lends her skill in this matter. "It wouldn’t have been possible without a very large extendable ladder. Because the trees have grown bigger and bigger", she tells.
After that, she wants to hand over her mesnerin task to a successor. The successor to the organist is albert batz, the new parish secretary is stephanie weitz-bauer. She worked with six pastors in the weitramsdorf congregation, margit bauer remembers fondly, and is especially pleased with the warm words of farewell that her current and last "boss" gave her, pastor anne braunschweig-gorny, found for you in the parish newsletter. It goes without saying that she will continue to serve her community in an honorary capacity in the future.