Reflections on upcoming neighborhoods
J. Wiegers
30.05.2023
h_wiegers
Article: Download PDF Print
Split
Feedback
Many of you have probably heard of Central Park in New York. Surrounded by houses and especially skyscrapers, it is a real oasis in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the big city. People use the park to just relax, recharge their batteries, do sports, meet up or experience something nice.
There are a few fixed points of contact – kiosks and small snack bars where you can get refreshments, but also toilets and service points where you can find out about the possibilities in the park. Above all, there are many rooms where you can do something yourself – alone or in a group. There are circular routes for joggers, but also baseball fields or roller skating and ice skating rinks. And so I see individual people, but also families and small groups strolling through the park on their way to such places – dressed in sporty clothes or with a baseball under their arm.
There is even a theater in this park that hosts regular performances. But what really appealed to me were the many musicians who set up their own small stages at various locations in the park. When I visited the park, I stopped and listened to one or the other. Small traditions have developed in some corners, so there is a place where only songs by the Beatles are played.
But the drummers fascinated me the most. It’s people who come into the park with their drum and start playing. Someone starts and someone else sets the pace, but I have the impression that this changes over time. The musicians come and go, and yet the drumming doesn’t stop, and it stayed in my head for a long time as I continued to stroll through the park. And then there are the family celebrations that take place in this park – there are special places for that too. Above all, I discovered children’s birthday parties there – I saw a clown and a magician and many families with prams.
enabling space for life
For me, a park like this is an important offer for the people in a city and that’s why people love it. Certainly there are some fixed points with events and full-time employees. But there are many more rooms that people can use themselves and spend their time with. And so, for me, the park is above all a large, lively space that people can use regularly or only occasionally. This is also how I imagine the ideal church, as it should be there for people in the 21st century – with its parks in the neighborhoods.
stay safe
Your Dean Oliver Zobel
On the way to neighborhood rooms in the Dean’s Office Ingelheim-Oppenheim
The formation of neighborhood spaces is a central element of the future church process ekhn2030. In regional teams, full-time and volunteers of the church should support and complement each other. A neighborhood room should be large enough for the ministry team to consist of at least four full-time staff, of which at least three full-time staff are pastors.
Next Steps
- May 31, 2023: Last deadline for submitting proposals for the design of a neighborhood room to the Dean’s Synod Board (DSV)
- June 16, 2023: Presentation of the submitted neighborhood room proposals
- October 6, 2023: Presentation and discussion of the neighborhood space layouts developed by the DSV on the basis of the proposals submitted
- 11/17/2023: Discussion and resolution of the neighborhood area boundaries by the deanery synod
- By the end of 2024: the full-time employees who will be available in 2030 have been distributed to the neighboring areas
- By the end of 2026: Clarification of a building structure plan
- By the end of 2026: establishment of joint community offices
- By the end of 2026: determination of the organizational form of the individual neighborhood areas
2023-05-30 14:38:37
#EKHN #Evangelical #Church #Hesse #Nassau
