Pastor makes it clear: – “Waiting in church is no longer enough”

What the young Protestant pastor Marcus Hütter organized with colleagues (including those from the Catholic, Old Catholic and New Apostolic churches) on Maundy Thursday is seen by many as pure provocation: public foot washing – also in the Herrengasse in Graz. “Of course we want to attract attention with the campaign, but it is mainly about talking to people about things that affect them – including, if they want, about God and faith.”

These conversations are becoming increasingly rare in society. The number of Styrians who describe themselves as ‘believers’ has been declining for years. Even on high days such as Easter, fewer and fewer people find their way to church: “The time when, as a pastor, you could wait for people in church because they came anyway, is over,” Hütter is also certain.

“Science cannot answer everything”
Society is secularized and people are individually looking for the meaning of life. The many crises and scandals in the churches have contributed to the aversion to the church. This makes it all the more important for Hütter to spread the Christian message: in addition to public foot washings, he and his colleagues also organize pop-up services. “When you come into contact with people and talk, you notice that many are looking for answers that I believe only faith can provide.” It concerns questions such as: Where do I come from? What is the purpose of my life? What happens when it comes to an end? “Science can answer many things, but not everything. And it is precisely here, with the big questions of life, that the appeal of faith begins for me.

He himself was not born with the faith or vocation to work as a priest: “My father is Protestant, my mother is Catholic, but when I was little we didn’t go to church very often,” he remembers. As a child, the Mödlinger resident lived in Brazil for six years, where his parents worked as teachers: “It was an exciting time, but when we came back I was a bit lost,” he says. Just then, his confirmation lesson began: “And it just clicked. I found community and intellectual stimulation, but also support.”

“The affirmation of life gave me strength”
What was and is the appeal of faith for him? “The feeling that I am wanted and loved by God. This life affirmation gave me strength.” And ultimately it gave me the impetus to become a preacher and religious teacher: “Originally I wanted to study medicine and help people that way. But it turned out differently – fortunately.”

His credo as a preacher: be authentic. “I can only preach what I live,” he says. “Anything else would be hypocritical.” The reward of the job: “I have so many intense, honest and enriching encounters with people – especially when it comes to the core of pastoral care or funerals. Being able to be a pillar here is demanding, but it gives me the feeling that I have a meaningful task.”

Birth of this “crazy idea”
And that gets him through stressful times: “In my daily life, Easter is mainly a busy and busy time – but I also do it out of conviction.” For Hütter, Easter and Christmas are “the birth of the Christian faith and these madmen.” The idea that God becomes one of us and says: no matter how far you fall, no matter how bad you feel, I have been there and I am the hope that there is redemption.”