Reliably open church

Signet Reliably open church

The signet Reliably Open Church is the identification for Protestant churches that are also accessible to visitors outside of the service times.

background

Prayer candles in a reliably opened church ( Evangelical Church Heven )

The Reformation denominations viewed the church interior only from a functional point of view. The church was a place for worship; at all other times the faithful were commanded to seek God in every place and to pray to him. It was frowned upon and considered "Catholic" to view the church as a sacred space. In contrast, Catholic churches have always been open to worship and devotion. Perception changed at the end of the 20th century. More and more voices were heard asking for churches to be opened outside of worship times. The Evangelical Church in Germany initiated studies such as the study “ Foreign Home Church ” to find out how people can be better reached. At the same time, greater emphasis was placed on the area of "Church and Tourism". The specialist committee for church and monastery tourism in the regional church of Hanover began to develop standards for "reliably open churches" in order to give "anonymous church visitors" the opportunity to visit churches, initially especially in tourist areas. At about the same time, the “ City Church ” project came into being .

signet

In 1999 the regional church announced an ideas competition to design a sign; Today's logo of the graphic designer Petra Hille-Dallmeyer from Oyten was selected from four suggestions by a jury from the Church, Tourism and ADAC .

In May 2000, the first 75 logos were awarded to parishes in the Lüneburg Heath . The then state superintendent Hans-Hermann Jantzen , patron of the project, emphasized in a service in the Lüneburg St. John's Church : “We are not opening our churches as museums. They are places of reflection and encounter, spiritually shaped spaces in which lively communities live. "

After, contrary to fears of vandalism or theft, only positive experiences had been made with the opening of the churches for several years, more and more congregations joined the project and other regional churches also introduced the logo. It is now known in 14 out of 20 German regional churches .

information sign

The square plaque shows the stylized front view of a three-aisled church with a blue border on a black background .

Project

The open churches should be "rest stops for the soul", oases of calm for tired city dwellers, places of reflection and encounter with God and people, intermediate stations for cyclists or hikers.

Standards for a free award of the logo:

The church is usually open from April 1st to September 30th.
The church is regularly open for four hours at least five days a week.
Information about it and the life of the congregation is available in the church.
The church is kept in an inviting, orderly condition.