Image: Daniel Einsiedler
60,000 visitors come to the diocesan educational center Schloss Puchberg every year, making it one of the largest educational centers in Austria. Christoph Burgstaller from Offenhausen has been in charge since September 1st, who succeeded Helmut Ausserwöger from Eferding. When he started, the working year began with numerous courses. “Everything is running at full speed there, life is pulsating, it’s something very inspiring”says Burgstaller. For example, at a meeting of the new parish leaders, the house was filled to capacity, groups of apprentices brought youthful enthusiasm to the house, and art lovers got their money’s worth at an opening.
Empower volunteers
In terms of content, the 46-year-old would like to focus on two things that are important for the future. “In the new diocesan structure we rely heavily on volunteers; we must strengthen and enable them to advocate even more strongly for what is important to them in the church landscape”, he emphasizes. At the same time, full-time employees need to be made aware of how to treat volunteers well.
Accents for young visitors
The second thing is to consciously set accents for young visitors. On Friday, for example, a clothing exchange was organized to appeal to the young target group. “We always want to invite them to come to us and would be happy to see them again at our educational programs”says Burgstaller, who has worked for years in the field of child and youth work and is now the father of three adult children. For young people, there are offers in the area of personality development such as self-confidence training for young women. Puchberg is known among young couples who want to get married in church, especially for its marriage preparation courses, which also focus on strengthening relationship skills.
When asked what particularly appealed to him about the job, he said: “The diversity. And that I can further develop a lighthouse in the educational landscape together as a team.” The management team includes Burgstaller Rector Adi Trawöger, Deputy Director Gabriele Hofer-Stelzhammer and the education officers Christine Tröbinger (art and creativity) and Maria Zachhalmel (communication, society, environment and spirituality).
Meeting against racism
The educational center, which celebrated its 70th anniversary this year, is also a place for discourse where various social, often explosive, topics are debated. A meeting with around 200 participants against racism and right-wing extremism will take place on October 14th.
The educational center currently employs around 40 people. The number of visitors is developing very well again after the difficult Corona years. A lot has been invested in the past few years, for example in a new inner courtyard and a roof renovation. The next step is to invest in the guesthouse area.
Burgstaller is particularly looking forward to an appointment in the near future: on October 6th, one of the most famous spiritual teachers in the German-speaking world, Pierre Stutz, author of around 40 books, will be speaking about his moving autobiography “How I became who I like” read. Starts at 7 p.m.
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Source: Nachrichten
