The Protestant community in Assen is having financial difficulties and is therefore forced to sell two of the three churches. Sale of the Resurrection Church and De Bron should yield 2 million euros.
The church activities of the district congregations are fully concentrated in the Joseph Church on Kerkplein in the center of the city. This means that the Jozef Church will remain a church and that the other two almshouses may have other purposes in the future.
Furthermore, the Protestant community is canceling the rental of church spaces at the Ontmoeting in Kloosterveen and the Adventist Church in Assen-Oost. This was decided by the general church council.
‘Graphic choices’
Due to secularisation, the Protestant community of Assen (PGA) is no longer able to maintain all these locations. “We have been running a difficult operation for years. We have to make a number of drastic choices in order to survive,” explains chairman Gerard Schoep of the church council.
“We do have assets, but serious money needs to be added every year. In this way we want to become financially healthy,” says Schoep.
‘This affects people’
The intention is that the boundaries between the district municipalities will disappear and that all Protestant faith movements (broad, middle orthodox and open confessional) will take shape in the Jozef Church. The news about the divestiture of church real estate is fresh and hitting hard, Schoep realizes. “We’ve been talking about it for years. But it’s real now. This affects people. Everyone is attached to their own building and some people are really sad. It is now a mourning period for them.”
According to Kaader Kerkadvies, who helped the Protestant community with the real estate issue, the Jozef Church has the appearance of a church that is ‘not to be missed’ more than De Bron. The national monument from 1848 is a beacon in the center of the Drenthe capital. “In addition, the building is large enough to provide sufficient shelter for the 300 to 500 people who now attend a service every Sunday,” says Schoep.
New name?
However, the building will have to be made more sustainable for a healthy future. According to the church council, adjustments to the building and perhaps the name are also desirable to do justice to all religious colors. “In the new situation, two services may be held on Sunday morning, for example, precisely because of the different religious colors. But that still needs to be further developed,” says Schoep.
The Resurrection Church in Marsdijk and De Bron will eventually be put up for sale. According to Kaader Church Advice, both church buildings yield more than the Jozef Church, approximately one million euros per house of worship compared to six to nine thousand euros for the Jozef Church. According to the church council, two serious candidates have already registered for De Bron, where churchgoers consider themselves part of the middle orthodoxy of the Protestant church.
‘Shoulders underneath’
In addition to sadness, the church council also feels a lot of support for the course taken, says Schoep. “The decisions are firm, but necessary. I also hear people say: let’s put our shoulders to the wheel for the future.” Schoep hopes that the sale of two churches will provide relief. “We cannot look into the future and who knows, more people may find their way to church again. But we hope to be able to move forward for at least ten to fifteen years.”