Have you always wanted to sleep in a church? That may soon be possible in Stompetoren. It is one of the ideas that was suggested by villagers during a brainstorming evening about the future of the church. The Protestant church attracts fewer believers and has therefore been sold to a heritage developer who wants to breathe new (commercial) life into it. “That’s only good for Stompetoren.”
This is what Sylvester Liefting said, who attended the brainstorming session on behalf of the village council. “Commercial activities are bringing more people to church. This is how we put Stompetoren on the map.”
In August the Protestant Community of Schermer (PGS) took the major decision to sell the church to heritage developer COUP. Over the next 15 years, the house of worship will have a commercial function through activities and events. In this way they want to attract more visitors than just churchgoers.
That is why residents were able to join us on Monday evening for a brainstorming session about the new purpose of the church. “The residents are especially curious about the possibilities,” says Liefting.
‘Holy Nights’
According to Liefting, the villagers had special ideas for the design of the church. “For example, there was a woman who had the idea of organizing ‘holy nights’. During which you could sleep under a dome in the church,” he says, laughing. Heritage developer COUP will take over the church in January, so who knows, this idea may soon be possible.
The villagers are happy that the church will not disappear. It is clear that people have many warm memories of the building. This is also the case on Facebook, where a Stompetoren resident looks back on his memories of the house of worship. “The church where I was baptized 70 years ago by Reverend Nico van der Linden.”
Thanks to the takeover, the church can continue its services and there will be new activities. The village council is very happy with this because it attracts more visitors. “That is only a good thing and an enrichment of Stompetoren,” says Liefting. Moreover, the takeover means that the church is better maintained. “That’s also nice for such a monumental building.”