God's living room to roll through the canton

The Zug trade fair has been cancelled again. Nevertheless, the Catholic Church of the Canton of Zug does not want to do without its planned presence on these days of this year, and has come up with an alternative.

For the second time in a row, the Zuger Messe (Zug trade fair), one of the most important regional platforms where companies, organisations and institutions can present themselves to a thousandfold audience, will again be cancelled due to corona. The Catholic Church of the Canton of Zug has been on site at the Zuger Messe every year since 2009, with a stand and a changing thematic focus, where it seeks contact with visitors. With its appearance at the trade fair, the Catholic Church wants to present itself outside the parish structures, and thereby make itself more "visible". It’s an important part of their public relations work, and an internal project group is specially entrusted with the annual trade fair appearance.

After the second Zuger Messe cancellation in a row, however, the Catholic Church did not want to simply give up its traditional presence once again, and has therefore found a pragmatic alternative solution from its original plan, which was to set up the mobile wooden chapel from the Ägeri Valley at the trade fair: the chapel will now be on the road in the canton of Zug during the originally planned duration of the trade fair, and will stop at a different location every day. "Our trade fair theme this year would have been 'God's living room'," says Franz Lustenberger, head of the project group and president of the pastoral council. He adds:

"And because we want to fulfil the mission of bringing the Church closer to the people despite the cancelled Zuger Messe, we are now going on tour to the people."

The wooden chapel on wheels will be on the road in the canton of Zug from 25 to 31 October.     Photo: Matthias Jurt                       
Bernadette Thalmann                                    Photo: PD

The Travelling Chapel
The heated, mobile wooden chapel is almost seven metres long and was built in 2020 on the initiative of the Allenwinden religion teacher Thomas Betschart in a carpentry in Oberägeri. He founded the die.kapelle association especially for this purpose, to which around 25 young men and women belong. It was intended to be a re-interpretation of the numerous chapels in the Zug mountain region, and to take up the idea of mobile "tiny houses" that was widespread in the USA. As a project of the Zug Mountain pastoral space, the chapel is stationed in different places. For more information, and the respective "place of use" of the mobile church, please refer to www.die-kapelle.ch.

Instead of standing on the exhibition grounds of the Zuger Messe, the mobile church will follow a fixed route from 23 to 31 October, starting at the Frauenthal Kloster (Abbey) in Hagendorn. The path of the chapel will then lead via Rotkreuz, Hünenberg, Zug, Cham, Steinhausen, Baar and Unterägeri, until it finally arrives at the Kloster Gubel. It will be moved every morning, so that it will be available to local people, and for everyone, regardless of their faith or non-belief, at each destination from 11.30 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the latest. "There will always be someone on site, either from our group or from the respective parish," explains Franz Lustenberger. There will be a small dispensing counter, and a table with benches will offer plenty of space to sit outside, "and there will be different small presentations," says Franz Lustenberger. These may be small musical interludes or other cultural actions, a moment of devotion, or simply a conversation between those present. "There is no exact program, it’s based on spontaneity," says Franz Lustenberger. "It's best to just drop by and let yourself be surprised."

"The chapel appeals to all people, especially young people," says Bernadette Thalmann, communications officer of the Catholic Churches of the Canton of Zug. "It is a place of contact outside the church, and our experience so far has shown that the beautiful, unique chapel attracts attention." Interested parties can also follow the tour of the "Living Room of God" on the Internet: small reports and pictures of experiences are posted daily in a blog-like manner on www.katholische-kirche-zug.ch/kapelleunterwegs.

The locations
The travelling chapel is present and open from 11.30 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the following locations:

Saturday, October 23: Hagendorn, Kloster Frauenthal

Sunday, 24 October: Rotkreuz, Dorfmattplatz near the railway station

Monday, October 25: Hünenberg, parking lot at the Zythus railway stop

Tuesday, 26 October: Zug, on the lower Landsgemeindeplatz

Wednesday, October 27: Baar, at the Marktgasse schoolhouse

Thursday, October 28: Steinhausen, at the Feldheim schoolhouse

Friday, October 29: Cham, Hirsgarten

Saturday, October 30: Unterägeri, village square

Sunday, 31 October: Menzingen, Kloster Gubel (stays there until 14 November)