Christian Weyer remains the full-time superintendent of the Protestant Church District Saar-West. At the synod of the church district in Völklingen, 76 out of 84 synod members voted for another term for Weyer, who has been superintendent since 2009. He will hold the office of superintendent until his retirement in autumn 2026. Weyer was the only candidate.
(Prison chaplaincy) to Skriba (secretary) as well as Helmut Steis (Malstatt), Dr. Dieter Roth (St. Johann) and Rudolf Röchling (Völklingen-Warndt) as non-theological members of the district synodal board. In addition, the committees, delegations, and appointments of the church district were filled. All terms of office for the newly elected are limited until the merger of the Saar-East and Saar-West church districts on January 1, 2026.
The budget for the coming year was also approved. According to current plans, the church congregations of the church district will have up to 224.34 euros available per member, which is 18.15 euros less than for the current year 2024. The reasons for this include rising costs in all areas, such as pastoral salaries and especially pension and benefit security. As a measure, the regional church, the Protestant Church in the Rhineland, will address the question at its next regional synod of whether the civil servant status for pastors should be abandoned in order to save costs in the medium term.
In conclusion, the 86 synod members from the 22 parishes overwhelmingly reaffirmed a resolution from the Bonn church district, calling on the regional church to make greater efforts to promote young talent in the pastoral profession, for example through support for advanced religious studies courses and theology studies. Part of the resolution also includes the demand to expand training opportunities for people who wish to serve as volunteer or part-time preachers, so that all “who have an interest in this service and are suitable for it can be equipped in a timely manner.”
The Protestant Church District Saar-West belongs to the Protestant Church in the Rhineland. It stretches from Rilchingen-Hanweiler in the south along the Saar River to Perl in the west and up to Lebach and Wadern in the north of Saarland. Currently, around 68,000 Protestants live there in 22 congregations. The seat of the superintendency is Saarbrücken. The superintendent is currently Pastor Christian Weyer.
