Stern Church in Potsdam: 50 years full of history and anniversary festival!

Stern Church in Potsdam: 50 years full of history and anniversary festival!

The Sternkirchengemeinde in Potsdam is facing a very special event: from June 27th to 29th, 2025, the 50th anniversary of the community is celebrated. A festival weekend that has numerous activities and the moving memories of an eventful time. Particularly prominent: Old Federal President Joachim Gauck gives a lecture on the opening evening, June 27, which is only accessible to invited guests. The speaker will illuminate the historical context of the community, which was founded in 1975, and the challenges that the faithful had to face in the time of the SED dictatorship. href = "https://m.tagesspiegel.de/potsdam/landeshaupstadt/50-jahre-stern-in-potsdam-gemeiert-jubilaum-ga-gauck-1386367.html"> Tagesspiegel reports that the municipality today around 1,300 Evangelical Christians in the districts on the star and Schlaatz comprises.

Pastor Martin Rothe describes the past 50 years as "a time full of challenges and turning points". The foundation of the Sternkirche fell into an era in which the atheistic Marxism of the GDR strongly shaped the religious landscape. Many believers were faced with tensions that burdened the relationship between the churches and the socialist government. From the 1960s, the SED had taken an increasingly critical attitude towards the churches, which led to conflicts on topics such as religious classes and adolescent consecration wikipedia .

festival program in detail

The celebrations begin on June 27 and the community has put an exciting program on its feet. On June 28, at 2 p.m., an exhibition on the history of the parish will open. Immediately afterwards, visitors are invited to the "Café of the Memory", where they can indulge in remembers over coffee and cake. At 7 p.m. Fabian Vogt will provide entertainment The church district of Potsdam emphasizes .

The Sunday, June 29, begins with a festival service that is at 10 a.m. and is led by Potsdam's superintendent Angelika Zädow. There is certainly a great anticipation in the room, because then visitors can expect a community festival from 11.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. with many offers for young and old. The highlights are the Musik-Mitmach Theater "Pampelmuse" and the appearances of the star choir and the Babelsberg trombone choir. The day mirror describes the festival as a diverse offer for the whole family .

a piece of history

The Sternkirchengemeinde was founded in June 1975 as one of the first new communities in the GDR and shows that faith and community can thrive even in difficult times. The construction of the Sternkirche, which took place from 1987 to 1990 with support from the west and through the community's own work, symbolizes the cohesion and determination of the faithful. After a fire badly damaged the church in 1997, the community managed to rebuild it with an octagonal tent roof and thus create a sustainable community center. The municipality has also committed itself beyond the district on the star, for example with the "Church in the Kiez" project, which promotes social cohesion and the common good This is how the church district of Potsdam