Church deaths in Schleswig-Holstein: Catholic communities in transition!

Church deaths in Schleswig-Holstein: Catholic communities in transition!

Lübeck, Deutschland - The Catholic Church in Schleswig-Holstein faces dramatic changes. The number of members has been reduced by over 10,000 since 2021, which has led to a significant decline in church tax revenue. The Archdiocese of Hamburg force these financial difficulties to take further measures in order to maintain the remaining church houses. Marco Chwalek, spokesman for the Archdiocese, explains that "all buildings are on the test bench" and some have to be closed, re -changed or sold. One example is the parish of St. Ansverus, which will be given up most of its church buildings, since the annual maintenance costs for much used worshipers are with an average of 50,000 euros, while listed churches are often even more expensive to receive, as ndr reported.

ecumenical solutions in the need

In the course of these developments, an interesting aspect shows in Lübeck: from necessity, a new form of ecumenism arises. The Catholic Community of Liebfrauen has joined the Evangelical Community of St. Christophorus and is now celebrating services together. The two municipalities have signed a cooperation agreement so that the Catholics carry out their trade fairs in a row with the Protestants. This requires some adjustments, such as setting up certain rituals, but also shows that solidarity and the sense of community are strong. Catholic pastor Peter Andreas Otto surprisingly commented on these changes: "The heart says it hurts to leave his church house, but it also opens up opportunities to create new things together," he said in an interview with NDR © ndr .

Schleswig-Holstein, which is organized as a collection of 1,104, politically independent communities, is not only confronted with the challenges of the church concentration, but also with the question of municipal cooperation, as the of the cities and municipalities in Schleswig-Holstein . The change in religious structures could be interpreted as part of a larger trend in which cooperation and community action put in the foreground, while the financial sustainability of the religious institutions is at stake.