Leer room for new experience: Tübingen collegiate church surprises with creativity

Leer room for new experience: Tübingen collegiate church surprises with creativity

In the Tübingen collegiate church, an exciting experiment is currently being started: all bank rows have been removed from the church over a period of five weeks until November 24th. This is intended to research how the empty space affects the perception of services, concerts and other events. This initiative is borne by the collegiate church community and offers a platform for extraordinary formats, such as pop-up blessings and circles, a women's meal, a club evening with DJ and special services for mourners. In addition, concerts, dance performances, meditation offers and Taizé service are part of the program.

State bishop Ernst-Wilhelm Gohl expresses itself positively about this idea. It compares church buildings with lighthouses of faith that kidnap the visitor into another world. Gohl says: "These empty rooms enable unexpected experiences of God and open the door to new perspectives for the time afterwards." However, these changes are not part of a renovation or restructuring, but serve the purpose of rediscovering the spiritual potential of the room.

The experiment in detail

In the accompanying text for this project, the municipality explains that removing the benches contributes to experiencing the church space as it was during the Reformation: open, empty and wide. The collegiate church thus becomes a "empty room" in which space is created for creative forms of expression. During these five weeks, the community plans to design a large number of events that go beyond traditional services. These include theater performances, film performances, literary readings as well as art and music projects.

A central aspect of the project is to deal with the future possible uses of church rooms. The collegiate church is faced with the challenges that arise from the dwindling influence of the church in society. The "empty space" is intended to encourage itself in detail with the function and importance of churches in a rapidly changing culture. "When church members become a social minority, this will have an impact on the church rooms. How do we deal with this cultural heritage in the future?" asks the community.

The experiment is not only a question of interior design, but also an investigation of new community forms. "The question of how the dynamics between the community and the audience can change, if people are no longer sitting as a closed body in the nave, but are moved in motion," explains the community. The possibilities seem to be limitless, and the response to this innovative concept is eagerly awaited.