Patrick Dehm

Patrick Dehm (2012)

Patrick Dehm (* 1962 ) is a German Roman Catholic theologian and publisher .

Live and act

Education and professional career

From 1981 to 1987 Dehm studied Catholic theology at the University of Würzburg and personnel development in Kaiserslautern . After completing his studies in 1987, he was employed by the diocese of Fulda as a youth officer for church youth work in Freigericht . In 1989 he moved to the diocese of Limburg , where he was a member of the youth department in the episcopal ordinariate for 11 years. From 2001 to 2013 he headed the House of Encounters in Frankfurt am Main . From 1996 to 2013 Dehm was chairman of the working group for church music and youth pastoral care in the Diocese of Limburg . He has published numerous song books with modern hymns and supported both bands and youth choirs. In 2011 he published a song book with 720 chants entitled A Blessing - Young Praise from God . In the House of Encounters, Dehm stood for a concept combining therapy, education and culture. His theology is shaped by the principle of hospitality and openness.

Termination without notice

As a result of a dispute about the Frankfurt educational and cultural center "House of Encounter" (HdB), which Tilmann Staudt, the leading architect and diocesan master builder of the Limburg diocese and real estate agent Martina Lucas-Klein had visited on June 11, 2012, the Limburg vicar general Franz Josef Kaspar whose leader Patrick Dehm on June 29th because of an allegedly "hostile" statement about Limburg bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst : According to Lucas-Klein, he accused the bishop of “selling table silver” want, and threatened to inform the press about the possible sale of the house. Dehm's liberal attitude, who worked with young, non-church and non-denominational people, was suspected to be the actual reason for resignation. Up until this point, he had headed the House of Encounters for 11 years and had worked in the Limburg diocese for 23 years . On August 14, he also terminated this without notice, because of alleged misappropriation of a sum of money intended for internal offers. Both times he was not heard on the allegations.

The labor court in Frankfurt am Main, which he sued, rejected the first reason for termination as unfounded. He turned down offers from the diocese to continue to employ Dehm as a consultant or religious teacher on half pay, and a severance offer. The initiative Church from Below criticized the comparison offers as "a scandalous example of how the leadership of this diocese does not shy away from unclean methods in order to force a trend reversal in the direction of Roman traditionalism, disregarding grown pastoral traditions and structures." The bishop follows one authoritarian pattern in which high-profile and nationwide respected employees with "labor law tricks" for political motives are deported to a lower paid position and then compensated in order to get rid of them. This requires synodal resistance. During the process it became known that Martina Lucas-Klein is married to Theodor Michael Lucas, the managing director of the Josefs-Gesellschaft in Cologne, that Vicar General Kaspar sat on their supervisory board and that Lucas supervised the finances of the Episcopal See in Limburg. The labor court judged both dismissals to be illegal and awarded him severance pay. Dehm remained on leave until the end of the notice period on March 31, 2013. His position remained vacant, although the diocese emphasized the importance of the House of Encounter as a cultural and educational institution for young adults. Written requests to Bishop Tebartz-van Elst to reinstate Dehm went unanswered.

Eugen Dehm Foundation

After the death of his father Eugen Dehm in 2008, Partick Dehm founded the Eugen Dehm Foundation together with his mother and brother. The foundation aims to promote self-help and a holistic approach to health. She is committed to health promotion and patient support. It wants to promote civic engagement for healthy lifestyles, support independent patient information and advice, and address health policy issues from the point of view of citizens and patients. The Eugen Dehm Foundation has been recognized by the Darmstadt Regional Council as a foundation under civil law with legal capacity since November 11, 2008.

Dehm publishing house

Dehm has been the owner of Dehm-Verlag since 2008. Dehm-Verlag mostly publishes compositions and texts from the area of ​​the New Spiritual Song . Some of the songs have also found their way into the main part and diocesan appendices of the Catholic praise of God , as well as in the main part or regional appendices of the Evangelical Hymnal.

Association inTAKT

Dehm is a founding member of the ecumenical association inTAKT e. Founded on April 8, 2013 . V. to promote the New Spiritual Song. Together with Eugen Eckert and Annette Kreuzer he forms the board of the association. The inTakt association was founded to secure work on the New Spiritual Song for the future. The foundation of the association became necessary after the working group for church music and youth pastoral care in the diocese of Limburg could no longer be continued in the form of the past 30 years. The association is ecumenically oriented and, thanks to the breadth of its work, is open to all NGL professionals.

Publications (selection)

• 2003: Let your light shine, choir book with 103 songs, calls and canons for Advent and Christmas.
• 2006: NachKklang, 69 songs, 40 of which were first published, 15 elaborated proposals on how evening prayers can be celebrated in congregations, youth groups, schools and catechesis
• 2007: Dealing with copyright law - what is allowed and what is not allowed?
• 2008: Because you are there - Praise to God, collection with 380 new and well-known songs
• 2009: Because Heaven Needs Us, Choir Book, A Collection of 204 Songs, Calls and Canons
• 2010: Lights on the way, mass with new sacred songs for three to four-part mixed choir, text: Helmut Schlegel , music: Winfried Heurich
• 2011: Irish fair: The seeds are growing, music: Liam Lawton, text: Alexander Bayer
• 2011: Like Fire in the Night A Mass with New Spiritual Songs, Music: Ralph Grössler, Text: Eugen Eckert
• 2011: Ragtime mass. Latin Mass ordinary for solo, mixed choir, strings and Dixieland combo, music: Johann Simon Kreuzpointner
• 2011: Be a blessing - Young praise to God with 720 songs
• 2011: Encounter and Reconciliation, songs for one to four-part mixed choir and piano, music: Winfried Heurich
• 2012: Soul fair, music: Kai Lünnemann
• 2012: Modern sacred literature for male choirs
• 2012: Send us angels - songbook in the book in sign writing and notes
• 2013: By David, Saul & Goliath. Children's musical, text: Eugen Eckert, music: Horst Christill
• 2013: Guarding Your Dreams, Choir Book, A Collection of 169 New Spiritual Songs
• 2014: And then you were there: Cantata for Christmas Day, text: Eugen Eckert, music: Horst Christill
• 2015: Ragtime Mass: For solos, mixed choir, strings and Dixieland combo, music: Johann Simon Kreuzpointner
• 2016: Tongues of Fire: Oratorio for Pentecost; in six pictures; for solos, choir and orchestra, text: Eugen Eckert, music: Peter Reulein
• 2016: Laudato si ': a Franciscan Magnificat: oratorio for choir, solos and orchestra, text: Helmut Schlegel, music: Peter Reulein
• 2016: The sails are set, songs for the wedding and blessing of love
• 2017: And then came the morning, choir book, a collection of 169 new sacred songs

Web links

• Works by Patrick Dehm in the catalog of the German National Library
• Dehm publishing house
• Eugen Dehm Foundation

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Frankfurter Rundschau, September 12, 2012: Dispute in the House of Encounter .
2. ^ Initiative Church from Below, October 15, 2012: IKvu on the comparison between Patrick Dehm and the Diocese of Limburg: A political process with an exemplary character .
3. ^ Peter Hanack, Frankfurter Rundschau, September 12, 2012: Good relationships .
4. ↑ reason for termination for employees in the diocese Limburg - wort-meldungen.de
5. ^ Letter from priests and employees of the Diocese of Limburg to Bishop Tebartz-van Elst (September 20, 2012; PDF; 108 kB)
6. ↑ Jürgen Walburg, Frankfurter Neue Presse, September 21, 2013: Bishop has been silent for a year .
7. ↑ Freigericht: Foundation promotes self-help groups - Hanau - Frankfurter Rundschau
8. ↑ Eugen Dehm's commitment continues in a foundation - genios.de
9. ^ Website of the Dehm Verlag
10. ↑ http://www.fr-online.de/rhein-main/katholische-kirche-exodus-der-saenger,1472796,20829850.html ( Memento from December 14, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )