Quel avenir pour quelles églises ? / What Future For Which Churches?

By Luc Noppen, Lucie K. Morisset, Thomas Coomans

Le Colloque international de Montr al. Partout en Occident, de nombreuses glises, de toutes traditions religieuses, ferment leurs portes faute de fid les et de c l brants. Ces hauts lieux de nos villes, de nos villages et de nos m moires sont menac s de dispara tre plus ou moins br ve ch ance. Le patrimoine ne cesse de s'effriter pr s de 2 000 glises ferm es en Angleterre; des milliards d'actifs fonciers inexploit s ou perdus aux tats-Unis; plus de 600 glises d molies aux Pays-Bas. Des dizaines de milliers d' glises de Scandinavie, d'Allemagne, de Belgique et de France r clament aussi notre attention, tout comme celles du Qu bec confront es, depuis quelques ann es, la d saffection constante de leurs paroissiens. Une quarantaine de sp cialistes nord-am ricains et europ ens analysent les exp riences v cues et formulent des propositions concernant l'avenir et la propri t de ces nobles b timents, leur vocation et leur usage. Ils valuent galement les d fis que posent la planification urbaine et la gestion de tels difices et explorent de nouvelles approches qui permettront d'assurer la survie des glises dans la cit , en red finissant leur vocation communautaire et leur statut au sein de la collectivit . Il s'agit, en somme, de saisir comment l' glise peut aujourd'hui redevenir le patrimoine de la collectivit enti re. The Montreal International Conference. Throughout the Western world, many churches of all religious traditions are closing their doors due to a lack of worshippers and officiants. These mainstays of our cities and towns and chroniclers of our memories are in danger of disappearing in the somewhat near future. Heritage continues to crumble, with nearly 2,000 churches closed in England, billions of unused or lost land assets in the United States, and more than 600 churches demolished in the Netherlands. Tens of thousands of churches in Scandinavia, Germany, Belgium, and France are also clamoring for our attention, while their Qu bec counterparts have faced steadily declining parishioners' interest for the past several years. Forty-odd North American and European specialists share their experiences and make suggestions regarding the future and ownership of these noble buildings, as well as their purpose and use. They also describe the challenges of urban planning and managing such buildings, and explore new approaches that will help churches survive by redefining their purpose and status within the community. In the end, the issue is one of understanding how churches can again become the heritage of the entire community.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 2760514315
• ISBN13: 9782760514317
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Presses de L'Universite Du Quebec
• Length: 624 Pages
• Weight: 3.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.8" x 9.7"