From vicar's wife to vicar herself

Although she is 61 Inge Rother has just fulfilled a dream, that of working alongside her husband as a vicar in the Reformed Church in the Aegeri Valley.

Prior to taking on her new responsibilities in the parish in Monday 1 October, Rother said she was looking forward to the job but recognised it would be a challenge, too.

Having already lived in parish accommodation for 30 years, the couple married in1981 and have four adult children and three grandchildren, she knows that it is not easy in her position to separate official duties from private life, the table there being used both for parish meetings and family meals. “Looking back, I do not know how I managed it all, what with young children around all the time.”

She was actually ordained into the church in 2010 following a period of studies in religious literature at a time her children themselves were studying, grateful of the support they gave her. Prior to this she taught religious studies in the Aegeri Valley for as long as 25 years. “I always knew I wanted to work with people,” she said, “regardless of their background.”

As to her new responsibilities, she will be looking to taking care of the 60+ age group in the parish, and, as a 61-year-old herself, she thinks this is rather appropriate. This means that, among many other activities, she will be visiting care centres in the area as well as organising seminars and providing counselling, too. “My job is to be there for people and to listen to them. Not that I will be doing all this totally alone,” she confessed, “We work in a team.”

Naturally her faith is very important to her, not that she intends to proselytise in any way. “I feel it is important to share experiences and life,” she said.

Having lived in the valley for so long, since 1985, naturally she knows many people here already. She mentioned how they never intended to stay so long, “but it turned out the right decision to stay”. She added how difficult it was, having qualified, to maintain a certain distance, so decided initially to work in the canton of Graubünden, but after four years there she gave it up because of all the travelling involved. She then used to work standing in for other vicars in other parishes and mentioned how much she had learned from this.

“Listening to people’s problems can be hard work, so it is important you learn how to be able to switch off, too,” she said. As to how she does this, she said it was getting out walking and cycling in the fresh air, as well as when being with her grandchildren. Although her new role means she will have a busy timetable, she has already earmarked her weekly grandchildren afternoons on her calendar.