Sternkirche

The Sternkirche is a church in the Am Stern district of Potsdam. It grew out of 'Churches for New Cities', a programme pairing the East German state with the Evangelical Church in Germany. Workers laid the foundation stone in April 1987, and the consecration followed on 27 January 1990. You make out an octagonal tent roof from a distance, and under it sit the worship space and the community rooms.

The Berlin architect H. Göbel gave the building the form of a star. The shape carries an idea: people gather from all directions at a place of faith and go out as witnesses and ambassadors. Inside, the Cottbus artist S. Mertens designed the artwork, above all a glass wall of many colours in the day chapel. The glass recalls the shepherds and the wise men of the Christmas story, guided by a star. Behind the altar, a relief shows the risen Christ meeting Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb, a cross barely suggested. Near altar and lectern stands a small organ with seven registers on one manual and pedal. Alexander Schuke of Potsdam built it in 1998.

Wheelchair users reach the church without steps, and neighbours from Am Schlaatz and Am Stern gather here for services and events. Among them is a memorial service for deceased children, one that gives families room to grieve and to hope. The congregation sees God's invitation in it, echoing the wise men who rejoiced at the star and went into the house.