On Saturday, May 13, 2017, all eyes were turned to the sky - after all, thunderstorms had been predicted. But except for a heavy downpour at noon, Peter had mercy and sent partly bright sunshine to the approximately 400 guests on the Eulenspiegel. They had traveled from all over the diocese and beyond to be present at the blessing of the Chapel of St. George.
Thanks to volunteer help, the chapel's three supporting ashlars have been clad and wired inside and out in recent years. The exterior is slowly blossoming, and the chapel will come to life for visitors in the coming weeks and months. When handing over the keys, the diocesan board - Anna Werner, Patrick Höckelmann and Tobias Hasselmeyer - thanked in particular the three main farmers Hans-Josef Marx, Georg Werner and Jörg Gastel, who supported the numerous volunteers in their work with great commitment. Simon Schwamborn, former diocesan curate, and managing director Ulrich Weber were also honored for their services with the Georg Medal. Already in 2007, when the hurricane Kyrill cleared the forest area, the diocesan assembly had spoken out in favor of the construction of a chapel. The foundation stone was laid in November 2013, and a year later the topping-out ceremony was celebrated.
The highlight of the day was the church service with Archbishop Hans-Josef Becker, Vicar General Alfons Hardt and Diocesan Curate Tobias Hasselmeyer. With united forces the altar plate in the form of a cross was finally inserted and thus the building was completed.
The diocesan association presented itself the whole day long with different Mitmachaktionen: Printing jute bags, creating name tags with branding irons and branding peter, dealing with baptism, bouncy castle "St. Hüpf". Many took the opportunity to sign their tables, chairs and stools previously purchased in the chapel store.
The team of the diocesan center provided the physical well-being, about 80 guests had pitched their tents.
The evening ended in the yurt castle at the concert with Samuel Harfst.
As part of the 11th European Timber Construction Congress in the Gürzenich in Cologne's Altstadt, the 2018 NRW Timber Construction Award was presented. Zimmerei Hüske from Rüthen submitted the construction project of the Chapel of St. George. It was responsible for the majority of the structural execution and supported the scouts in their enormous personal contribution. During the more than ten-year planning and construction phase, over 150 scouts actively helped to build their chapel. In May 2017, the chapel was blessed by Archbishop Hans-Josef Becker and Vicar General Alfons Hardt. Since then, it has been an integral part of the DPSG diocesan center in Rüthen.
The expert jury praised the special architecture of the building as well as the use of construction wood from the Rüthen forest. The chapel consists of three cube-shaped rooms. The entrance cube stands vertically, while the other two cubes lean against it at an angle of 15 degrees. The large multipurpose room can accommodate 100 people and is connected to the chapel cube so that larger services can be celebrated there, but it can also be used independently.
Photos: Sebastian Humbek
Further links: https://www.erzbistum-paderborn.de/870-Religions-unterricht/913-Missio-canonica/1260-Kurznachrichten/23921,25-10--Holzbaupreis-NRW-f%FCr-Kapelle-St.-Georg.html?cookiesaccepted=true
https://www.dpsg-paderborn.de/kapellenbau/
https://youtu.be/opJv919hCFY Film of the consecration of the chapel