She likes adventure. So Reverend Anne-Meta Kobes (36) exchanged the large Protestant Community in Heerenveen for the small Federation Gereformeerd-Doopsgezind Ameland and she presents the EO program ‘Bibling with Stars’ on TV. “I take every opportunity to show how beautiful the profession of a pastor is.”
The conversation takes place in the Mennonite church De Vermaning in Nes. Anne-Meta Kobes, born in Burgum and raised in Zwolle, consciously chose this place. “This is where Protestantism started on Ameland. The Mennonites were the first Protestant movement on the island. That’s quite special. Elsewhere in the Netherlands it was mainly the Calvinists.”
It is also special that the Mennonites on the island form a federation with the Reformed. The Together-on-the-Way process between Reformed and Reformed has therefore not led to a Protestant church community on the island. “That has indeed collapsed, but we are now looking ahead again,” says Kobes, who has been a predecessor at the federation since 2021.
Reformed and Mennonite have a lot in common
According to her, it is not surprising that Reformed and Mennonites join forces, although Mennonites, adult and Reformed Mennonites support infant baptism. “Culturally speaking, they have a lot in common. Both attach great importance to local autonomy, while the reformed church was much more nationally controlled.”
It cannot be ruled out that the reformed will still join. Services have been held together since the corona pandemic. “We have not set any goals for ourselves. Where we strengthen each other, we walk together and where we want to preserve our individuality, we give each other space.”
Reformed Mennonite Ameland has approximately two hundred members. Previously, she was a pastor in a team at the 3,000-member PKN congregation in Heerenveen and was pastorally responsible for a neighborhood with about a thousand members. Heerenveen’s choice in 2014 to call on Kobes was special. Never before had Heerenveen worked with a proponent, in other words with a pastor who comes directly from the pastoral training in Kampen.
Youth work in Heerenveen
She was partly responsible for youth work in Heerenveen. “A wonderful experience,” she says. “Young people are so real, I enjoyed their honesty.” Her work was highly appreciated, as evidenced by the overwhelming farewell she received in 2021 despite the corona pandemic. “I don’t think a pastor has ever received such a grand farewell. I was driven around in a Bentley through Heerenveen, serenaded by a group of over-80s at the nursing home and at Thialf by the choir. I received gifts and a photo collage from the children and young people. Everyone contributed. Fantastic. Creativity is something they are very good at in Heerenveen.”
Yet her farewell was a conscious choice. “After seven years it started to get itchy. I love adventure and was ready for a new adventure.” She considered a return to her beloved Amsterdam, where she had studied General Theology at the Vrije Universiteit. But the strict job requirements of many Randstad municipalities appealed less to her. “Because of the multitude of churches, some congregations feel the need to distinguish themselves strongly. I’m not really into that.”
Exploring the added value of faith
On the other hand, the vacancy of Reformed-Mennonite Ameland, which her husband drew her attention to, did touch her. Their question was: ‘Would you like to explore with us what added value faith has, not only for the members but for all Amelanders?’ So in the spring of 2021 she went to Ameland with her husband and their two children. Thanks to the work-from-home options, her husband can easily combine living on the island with his job at the Midwifery Academy in Groningen.
Since she has lived on the island, she has also been active on radio and TV. For example, she writes a weekly column for Omrop Fryslân about her adventures on the island. “I do that out of love for the island. I enjoy so much trust here, if I can give something back to the island I would like to do it.”
TV debut: Passion Talk
She made her TV debut in April 2022. She participated in Passion Talk from KRO-NCRV, after The Passion had taken place in Doetinchem. As a young pastor, she gave her opinion quickly and eloquently about the TV spectacle about the passion story of Jesus, about Good Friday and Easter. And a year later she was present in Harlingen, then The Passion was performed in the Frisian port city.
How did they come from The Passion go to her now? “I’m not sure, but I suspect because the EO once broadcast a church service in Heerenveen. Our flag campaign in Heerenveen during corona (take courage, love!) has also received national attention. Then you are apparently in a file. In any case, I didn’t sign up. On the contrary. I actually felt a bit burdened and timid. I also had trouble with it at first The Passion . You turn the story of the Passion into a spectacle, an evening out. I found that ambivalent. But afterwards it was a lot of fun to do. It is a different way of working on the profession of pastor.”
Bibles with stars
Probably because of those TV appearances, she was asked by the EO for the program Bibles with Stars to present. That program took place in a villa near Hilversum. The program had four episodes and was broadcast in November and December. Anne-Meta Kobes talked with actor and presenter Bas Ragas, painter Ans Markus and singer Desray about Bible stories and Bible texts. She didn’t have to think long about that offer. “I love most of the Bible stories. They are so valuable and meaningful. If I have the opportunity to keep it alive for a wide audience, then I will not hesitate.”
She found the conversation with Ans Markus the most valuable. “I admire her art and it was great to meet her. We talked about Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd. He gives me new strength and leads me along safe paths. The question for her was whether she had also felt that power during her illness. No, she didn’t. However, she had gained strength because her husband continued to support her through thick and thin, even when she lost her hair. I experienced it myself as: this is how God’s closeness can be.”
Burning bush
“What do I think is the most beautiful Bible story? Oh, definitely Moses at the burning bush. God asks Moses to lead the exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt. Moses doesn’t like that. He is not an orator and speaks with difficulty and slowness. God promises Moses that he will never stand alone and that he will have the support of brother Aaron, who is a good speaker.”
There will be two more series of broadcasts this year Bibles with stars . These are scheduled in May, November and December. This time the setting is not a villa near forest and heath, but in The Hague. Anne-Meta Kobes is back again and she gives another reason for her cooperation. “I also want to convey that being a pastor is the best profession there is. It’s hard work, it never ends. But you also have so much freedom and so many valuable contacts. I hope I can convince you because this year, I believe, only three students started the Protestant church training. That is of course far too little. Then you can’t sustain it as a church.”