Heart instead of hierarchy: Reforms of the Evangelical Church in Speyer!

Heart instead of hierarchy: Reforms of the Evangelical Church in Speyer!

The spring synod of the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate began today in Speyer. In view of falling membership numbers and decreasing income, comprehensive reforms are on the agenda. The church strives to bring pastoral care closer to the people and to find new ways for a sustainable organization. stern.de reports that the focus is on the so-called Priority process. It includes changes in the areas of organization, real estate, social affairs and education.

A central element of these reforms is the restructuring of church districts. A long-term plan calls for reducing 15 districts to four large units by 2029, with each unit containing about 75,000 members. This could lead to less administration, shorter decision-making processes and better use of resources for pastoral care and community work. In addition, real estate management will be reorganized: rectory houses will be managed centrally and used economically. Pastors are no longer obliged to live in the rectory, but are only required to be within easy reach.

Financial savings and social responsibility

The reforms promise annual savings of around one million euros by 2035. Nevertheless, diaconal work remains a central concern of the church. Even in times of financial restrictions, people want to maintain social engagement by organizing it more intelligently. The financing of the church should also be linked to the development of church tax, which could enable a more flexible response to financial challenges.

The reforms are a response to the current situation regarding membership numbers in the Protestant churches. Loud reformiert.de The number of members of the Evangelical Reformed Church fell by 1.9 percent to 159,309 in 2022, which corresponds to a loss of 3,139 members. This is below the national average of 2.9 percent. The increase in people leaving the church is worrying, which represents a dramatic signal for the churches.

future of the church

The loss of members and the high number of people leaving the church in 2022, which amounted to 2,414, as well as the number of deaths, which totaled 2,726, highlight the challenges the church faces. There was also an increase in Protestant baptisms in 2022 to 936, which represents a slight increase over the previous year but is still below the 2019 level. In order to counteract this trend, the Evangelical Reformed Church is planning a baptism campaign to address families who have not been baptized during the Corona period.

The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) has also introduced measures to counteract the decline in membership numbers. Apart from the reforms, the EKD is reinforcing its focus on strengthening church offerings and structures. Ultimately, both within the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate and in other member churches, the focus is on clearer structures and a change in mentality: the church should not become smaller, but clearer. Discussions with other regional churches to examine cooperation or mergers are already planned.