The Crossing Over Conference was a delight. Nearly 100 people - the team of about 20 from the United States and many German colleagues, many of whom were involved in the Crossing Over project and some who were not - gathered for a day and a half of sharing their parish realities. The conference involved three sets of keynotes, interspersed with workshops.
Each keynote had American and German presenters. The participants were treated to simultaneous translation. Now that was a treat! To be able to sit there and hear, in your own language, the real time presentations of thought leaders from both countries was amazing. I had this odd feeling that I should take off the earphones because, really, I ought to be able to understand the speaker. However, with the exception of an occassional word, I really don't understand German! Most of our German colleagues had a very high level of proficiency in English which was a gift to us. While there were English translators, the need was not as great.
After the keynotes, the speakers took questions. At each stage there was much to learn. Following the keynotes on Saturday we moved into workshops that were carefully planned with an American and a German co-presenting. For my workshop, I was paired with Andreas Fritsch, head of the pastoral planning department of the Diocese of Munster. We were addressing parish vitality in the midst of concerns that we are all experiencing. Andreas' ability to speak English was astounding, although he was concerned that it was not. Our audience - most of whom of course were German - seemed to do fine with the presentations. His ideas, concepts, and approaches would have fit into any American diocese.
What we learned is that the German church is downsizing just as the American church is, in terms of the number of parishes. I heard figures as high as 2/3rds of the parishes will be merged or closed, leading to the probability of mega-parishes. Andreas is in charge of the initiative in his diocese. The planning process he has in place to discern vitality as parishes move towards the decisions ahead of them would have made American planners proud!
In between the workshops, we shared meals. I had lunch with a wonderful young man, a new professor from the southern part of Germany. He was in many ways like the young adults in the states. He expressed passionate care about the church, along with deep, deep frustration over the abuse crisis and attendant cover up.
For Germans, the church is supported by a portion of the country's income tax. Each year you have the option of checking whether or not you will pay taxes (app. $500 I believe I heard) to the church of your choice. For Catholics, if you don't pay this tax then you are considered as declaring yourself apostate and cannot receive the services of the church.
This proves to be a very complicated structure. Due to the economic downturn and the abuse crisis, more and more young people are refusing to pay the tax. This leaves the church in the complicated position of trying to keep money out of the equation for church membership and at the same time honoring canon law which says one cannot be refused a sacrament.
Of course, the other consequence is that funding is disappearing. That, along with political conversations about the future of German system of economics, leaves parishes and dioceses with much to be concerned about in an uncertain future.
The keynotes and conversations were really interesting - I hope I can capture some of the high points for you in the next blogs. See you there.
