Our team spent Wednesday visiting with church plsnts in these two communities near Dresden. Uli Mann, the pastor of the Golden Lamb church in Dresden, is responsible for these two church plants.
Pirna is a few kilometers north of Dresden on the Elbe River. The church is actually in a neighborhood, called Sonnenstein, that sits on the bluffs above Pirna. Sonnenstein has a dark history–it is where Hitler developed the genocide techniques he used in concentration camps. In Sonnenstein, he had 14000 handicapped people gassed and cremated. Today, on the site of that atrocity there is a facility where handicapped persons work and receive help. In the neighborhood of this site is a centuries old Schloss (palace). A park that is part of the castle grounds has been used by the church for community worship services. This past June, they held a “Service of Life” with many of the Jewish community. Following is a picture of a church in this park where the local church plant holds monthly worship services for the community.
Radeburg is a bedroom community for Dresden, but almost everyone who lives in Radeburg has lived there all their lives, and their families have lived there for generations. Radeburger Beer is famous throughout Europe. The young couple who pastor this church, Tim and Rahel, have been there for two years. The church owns the building a an adjacent building and carport. They are able to rent out parts of the buildings and carport to pay for the facility.
