Within the framework of the process "Where Faith Gains Space" of the Archdiocese of Berlin, D:4 is conducting the economic analysis of the individual congregations.
Where faith gains space
For decades the relationship between church and society has been changing. More and more church congregations today are facing financial and charitable problems due to demographic change, loss of members and a shortage of priests, so that new concepts for carrying out church work and community life have to be developed.
Formerly adequate but now oversized churches and community centres restrict the financial room for manoeuvre of the parishes through high and often unnecessary operating and maintenance costs. This problem is aggravated by the fact that the building fabric is in need of renovation and is often listed.
In the pastoral process "Where Faith Wins Space", the architects, real estate consultants and theologians of D:4 are developing approaches to solutions together with the archdiocese and congregations in order to meet the current challenges in the church and faith communities for the future.
The project
In the first, the so-called finding phase of the project, the individual congregations of the diocese are called upon to define their own identity and their spiritual priorities in a self-assurance. The aim is to use these findings to find partners for the new pastoral spaces in which the spiritual and charitable work of the congregations is to take place in the future.
Following the finding phase, in a three-year so-called development phase, the ideas and goals of the collaboration in the emerging pastoral spaces are discussed and defined, so that at the end of this phase the new large parishes can be founded.
Our services
During the identification phase of the project, D:4 visits the individual local communities. In personal discussions, questions regarding the finances and building stock of the congregations are answered, so that D:4 can provide a comprehensive description of the current situation for each congregation.
In a next step we evaluate the results of our analysis and then present them to the communities. With the help of our information, the congregations can then develop ideas and models for cooperation in the new pastoral spaces.
