Julian Hensold shows how much he likes it in Unterföhring. The 38-year-old has been the new evangelical pastor in the parish since the beginning of September – and has settled in pretty well in just under eight weeks, “even if I’m still arriving here,” as he says. But what he has already noticed: After his first experiences, there are “a lot of dear people” who have been committed for a long time and want to continue to be strongly involved in the Rafael Church. That is a good thing – to know that as a pastor you can count on the regular support of volunteers.
For the believers in Unterföhring and Ismaning it is a blessing that there are again two evangelical clergy in the affiliated parish and that a successor to the retired deacon Robert Stolz has been found in Hensold. The fact that there is also a pastor who does his service in the Rafael Church is met with great approval in the suburban community.
Julian Hensold is no stranger to the Munich district. In March 2019, the theologian, who was born in Donauwörth, took up the position of vicar in Höhenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn. Hensold spent two and a half years in the parish; there he was active in pastoral care, tried to get into conversation with young people. Hensold “really enjoyed” his time in the vicariate – and he learned a lot. In Unterföhring, where he also lives with his wife, an event manager, he wants to build on in this area. It is primarily the young believers that the 38-year-old wants to focus on in his work. As an ordained pastor, he looks forward to many freedoms. Hensold teaches religion at the Ismaninger grammar school and at the middle school on Situlistraße in Munich-Freimann. In the Rafael Church he wants to help rebuild the family service team over the next few weeks. Preparations for St. Martin and the nativity play at Christmas are already underway. “Somehow I’m also a kind of event manager,” he says and laughs.
But what motivates a young person today to embark on the career path of a pastor? For him, of course, religious socialization at home played a major role. Growing up as the son of two church musicians, religion and belief were always present. After graduating from high school, he did community service in a hospital, a job that challenged him, but also convinced him of the importance of discussions and pastoral care. He has accompanied some people, including those who are dying. And the conversations with them would have shaped him and showed him how important it is to be together. It was almost logical that he studied theology at the Humboldt University in Berlin.
In addition to the in-depth conversations, Julian Hensold also enjoys holding church services and preaching in them. He takes turns with the Ismaning pastor Carsten Klingenberg and also receives support from the former clergyman Werner Blechschmidt. The 38-year-old feels that the fact that church services can be held in attendance is not only beneficial, but also indispensable for the continued existence of the Protestant Church. It was indeed possible to tread the virtual path during the corona-related lockdown and in times of strict contact restrictions, according to Hensold, but the church lives from the encounter. “We go to the people and they come to us”, that is the credo.
Do you have to be called for the office of pastor – or is it a profession? Hensold has to think a little: “It is definitely not a job”, he says and thinks, yes, you have to be called for it – as a companion in an area “where life has the highest highs and the deepest lows” .
Everyone is currently feeling an imminent change in society, and the church must try to give people support. It is not for nothing that religion should also be understood as “the struggle for the meaning of life”, says the 38-year-old. And this is exactly where he wants to make his contribution as a pastor.