The Roman Catholic Church in Southeast Drenthe is having a hard time. The number of parishioners is decreasing and aging and fewer and fewer visitors know where to find the churches. On the other hand, the management costs of the buildings, such as maintenance and energy, are increasing. That is why the Immanuel Parish Southeast Drenthe wants to conduct research into the vitality of the churches in the short term.
It concerns the five faith communities in Coevorden, Steenwijksmoer, Schoonebeek, Nieuw-Schoonebeek and Weiteveen. To avoid financial problems, the board wants to examine all possible measures.
The parish council has set up a project group to map out the facts and figures. At the end of this year, the group will publish a report on developments and conceivable scenarios. Special attention is paid to the vitality of the local communities, whether they have enough resilience and creativity to come to new meanings. In this way the churches would be made more sustainable and the communities could work together with other service providers.
The aim is to have the measures implemented by 2030 at the latest.