Rimschweiler changes: Protestants are calling for a new course in the dean's office!

Rimschweiler changes: Protestants are calling for a new course in the dean's office!

In the Protestant Church in Germany, there are significant changes that will have an impact until 2025. From this year, the Deanery Zweibrücken is to be divided into three teams, which will strongly influence the structure and responsibility of the pastors. This has resulted in an interesting turn in the Evangelical Community of Zweibrücken-Rimschweiler: The municipality plans to join the Zweibrücken team instead of continuing to be looked after by the clergymen of the Zweibrücken City.

"That fits," comments Dean Peter Butz this change. The Protestants in Rimschweiler have "historically grown connections" to the municipalities of Althornbach and Hornbach, which exist to the present day. This connection was strongly influenced by the incorporation of Rimschweiler into the city of Zweibrücken. Before the administrative changes, the Protestant municipality of Rimschweiler had its own pastor for a long time before a merger with the municipalities of Mittelbach and Wattweiler took place. But this cooperation was often problematic because the three communities never really grew together. Ultimately, this resulted in the parish position in recent years after Pastor Reiner Conrad had managed it until a year ago.

reorganization of the parish teams

The planned change from Rimschweiler to the Umland team is part of a more comprehensive restructuring that should result in the new year. However, this development can only take place if the church government agrees. The new teams should enable the communities to maintain targeted and structured support. The municipalities within the dean's office should remain independent, as Dean Butz emphasizes, which ensures that each community can bring in their specific needs in the new structure.

The more this step for the Rimschweiler means, since they no longer want to see themselves under the influence of the municipality, but want to build a stronger relationship with the rural communities. This could be crucial by switching to a team that is better tailored to regional reality. The courageous decision to withdraw from the existing structures shows the Rimschweiler's wish to find their own identity and church homeland.

Another important change in the dean's office is the upcoming retirement of Dean Peter Butz in the summer of 2025. There are currently three applications for his successor, with two other interested parties registered by the beginning of October. The application deadline has now expired and the choice of the new dean is planned for January 18, 2025. The redesign of the parish structures will also take place in the context of the personal changes in the dean's office, which could further influence the dynamics of the parishes. The coming months could be decisive for everyone involved in order to optimally implement the new framework conditions and to strengthen the church connections.

Details on the upcoming restructuring and the further developments are on www.rheinpfalz.de published. The time will show how the changes are taken up by the communities and to what extent they shape the church landscape in the region.