Klaus‑Peter Weinhold: The congregation bids farewell to a driving force of community

Klaus‑Peter Weinhold: The congregation bids farewell to a driving force of community

A pastor who shaped the German-speaking congregation in the Balearic Islands for years

These days conversations in some cafés in Arenal fall silent for a moment as the news spreads through the rows: Pastor Klaus‑Peter Weinhold has died. He was 72 years old and passed away in early May in Germany, surrounded by his family, after a short, serious illness. Anyone who has experienced German services, confirmation retreats or the small rituals of parish life in Mallorca in recent decades knows his name.

Weinhold arrived on the island in 2005, sent by the Evangelical Church in Germany. His wife Brigitte was always at his side and helped make the jointly run parsonage in Arenal a place where people could drop in spontaneously: cake on the wooden table, a cup of coffee and a listening ear for newcomers or long‑time residents. Such everyday images stick in the memory — just like the church bells that still link some Sunday mornings to his laughter.

What set him apart was a mix of directness and care. He did not shy away from driving the kilometers across the island when weddings, baptisms or funerals were due; some years saw more than a hundred pastoral duties. His description of ministry, in which his car virtually became a rolling congregation, often brought a smile. On foot it was tougher on the joints: the knees, leftovers from his sporting days, made themselves felt.

Sport shaped his life. In the 1960s and early 1970s he played several times for the German national volleyball team — a record of around 56 appearances. Later he took on the role of sports pastor and accompanied athletes at international events; he served multiple times as a spiritual companion at the Olympic Games. This closeness to sport helped him build bridges: between generations, between club life and church.

A focus of his work in the Balearics was youth work. Nine classes of confirmands remember weekends, retreats and joint projects that Weinhold organized — partly in cooperation with congregations from mainland Spain. Many parents remained active and carried the congregation forward; this, people say here, made his ministry sustainable.

Under his leadership several social services were established: a visiting service for hospital patients and later also a visiting program for people in custody. These projects were created in cooperation with the German social and cultural association and dedicated volunteers. For some affected people the visits were the only connection to the outside world — a simple but powerful testament to pastoral care.

Weinhold led the German-speaking congregation in the Balearics for nine years. His farewell in 2013 was large: hundreds of people attended the service, and representatives from the church and ecumenical partners expressed their gratitude. Afterwards the couple was drawn to other places again and again: a multi-year posting on Usedom, winter assignments in Gran Canaria and Dénia — periods of rest in their home town alternated with service in various churches.

In 2012 Weinhold was honored by Ciudadanos Europeos as "European of the Year" — recognition for his commitment across national borders. Such awards are only part of the story; more important is how people on the ground remember his work: the confirmands, the families at baptisms, the volunteers in the visiting services and those who found a helping hand at the parsonage.

Those who knew Weinhold describe him as down‑to‑earth, direct and warm. His wife Brigitte, whom he had met in Hamburg during his studies, was the anchor in everyday life — and the two remained a team until the end. The public will farewell him with a memorial service in Hamburg: on May 22 at 1 p.m. at the main church St. Katharinen.

What remains is not grandiose pathos, but the memory of lived community: people who call, volunteers who continue, and young families who still find their way to the congregation. On Mallorca this is visible in the continuing visiting services and in the groups that accompany confirmands. That is a small promise Weinhold leaves behind — and an invitation to everyone who wants to carry some of his commitment forward.

In the end you sit here again on a bench in Arenal, hear the seagulls and can suddenly notice one of the cake smells from the parsonage on the corner. It is a simple, almost everyday comfort: work that takes root continues to live in the people who carry it.