ZDF broadcasts evangelical service from the 'Crystal Church' in Arenal

ZDF broadcasts evangelical service from the 'Crystal Church' in Arenal

'Treasure Hunt in Mallorca': Live broadcast on April 19, admission by registration

On Sunday, April 19, at 9:30 a.m. a German-language televised worship service by ZDF will be broadcast live from the church La Porciúncula in New Start in El Arenal: The Haudes, Their Boat "The Phoenix" and Life on Deck. The pastoral couple Martje Mechels and Holmfried Braun will stand that morning in front of cameras, microphones and a larger technical crew than in ordinary parish services – and ultimately in front of many television viewers in Germany.

The service is titled 'Treasure Hunt in Mallorca'. The Protestant clergy are allowed to design the sermon themselves; however, the timing is tightly scheduled. The ZDF format has been broadcast regularly since 1979 and reaches numerous viewers each week – according to the broadcaster, audience figures usually range between 700,000 and 900,000.

For the television team, the La Porciúncula church with its large colorful stained-glass windows is a grateful location: the building dates from the 1960s and was designed by the Mallorcan architect Josep Ferragut, while the windows – a total of 39 panes depicting scenes from the life of Christ and Franciscan motifs – were created by the artist Juan Bautista Castro. In sunshine the nave transforms into a mosaic of colors; anyone who has walked along the Arenal promenade and slipped into the monastery courtyard knows how the light works there.

Preparations have been underway for months. In the autumn Mechels and Braun traveled to Berlin for TV training; they spent three days there with editors and with Pastor Christof Enders, who accompanies the ZDF services for the EKD. The training covered language, tempo, posture and how movements in the clerical robe appear on camera. At the beginning of the year a technical team visited the island for a preliminary check: seven technicians and lighting specialists tested sound, power connections and the lighting conditions in the church in January.

Logistically everything is planned so that the ZDF team can park several lorries on the grounds of the Franciscan monastery – a relief for the setup work. The hosts on site, the Franciscans, provide the church space and the monastery courtyard; the responsible padre will be the contact person for visitor questions.

Anyone who wants to experience the service live in the church must register: registration was available from early March via the website of the German-speaking Evangelical Community of the Balearics; due to limited seating admission will only be granted after registration. For parish work this is a great opportunity: such broadcasts bring the local church and the island closer to a wide audience – and remind people that Mallorca is more than beaches and hotels; related coverage includes Critical Bathing Incident at Arenal: Call for Better Protective Measures and Sudden death at Balneario 2: What the incident in Arenal reveals about our emergency preparedness.

For Mechels and Braun the event is a mixture of stage fright and great joy. They say that precise coordination and rehearsals are necessary, but the prospect of reaching many people in the German-speaking area weighs heavily. For the island the broadcast means a brief but visible glimpse of Mallorcan architecture, Christian life and the voluntary commitment in the congregations.

On Sunday morning one can already hear the hum of generators at the Arenal church, the clatter of equipment and the distant screeching of seagulls; at the same time the colorful light from the windows will fill the pews. For the Protestant congregation it is a special day – and for all who like to watch, a piece of Mallorca delivered to the living room.