"For Pete's Sake, Get Me to the Church on Time!" Earlier comments have made the point that one needs an appointment ahead of time to visit a church office. Many churches do not maintain an 8 to 5 schedule every day. With limited facilities, there may even be someone else coming. If you can, check the location and parking possibilities the evening before.
The parish office is the headquarters of the pastor, who may have more than one church. The parish office may have a secretary (assuming there is one), and all kinds of church records. Most churches have a kindergarten. The parish office may include rooms for youth or senior groups, the church school, and/or welfare services.
Very likely, the first and only person you may encounter is the secretary. Introduce yourself and present any letters which confirm your appointment. Probably the success of the trip hinges on this person more than anyone. Use your best manners and be patient. The secretary has other things to do.
Your initial correspondence has probably established whether the records are maintained in the local office. In many cases, the local church is encouraged to send their records to a central archive, where they are available on microfiche. In some cases, the only location where the sole copy of the records exists is in the church office. They may never have sent them out, and may never have allowed them to be photographed.
Be prepared to specify the exact book that you wish to see. Sometimes you will be allowed only one book at a time. Sometimes the storage cabinet will be unlocked and you are permitted full access to all. Your work space will probably be ad hoc. It could be a kindergarten table or Sunday school room, a council room, even the pastor's office, if he is out, or a small table in the hallway. Accept whatever is offered with gratitude and do not complain. Remember that Germans do not generally heat unused space nor do they maintain temperatures as high as you are used to. If it is unusually cold, you might ask about the possibilities for heat.
ASK if you may plug in the power adaptor for your computer. Finding an outlet may require some assistance or even furniture rearrangement. But do not move the furniture yourself. Ask permission, and probably you will get some assistance.
Quite early in the process, you should establish the office hours and whether there will be an official lunch break, which you may have to honor. Do not expect the pastor or the secretary to help you in your research. Few of them are able to read the old German script. Still, the simple isolated question about once per hour is reasonable. "Is there a town named Dingsdorf in this parish?" or "Is Dickkopf a local name?"
If desperate, you might ask if there is a local expert, perhaps a town historian. If there is one, the secretary may even be so kind as to call him for you.
(25 Jan 02)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.