Those responsible at the Noah parish are looking forward to continuing to work together for the people in the east and west settlements.
The Noah Lutheran parish in Salzgitter-Bad is converting the building erected in 1953 on Martin-Luther-Platz with the parish hall into a "House of Encounter and Movement". The go-ahead was given last year for this individual measure as part of the East and West Settlement urban development project.
Dagmar Janke, pastor of the Noah community, emphasized before the signing of the contract that the founding of the advisory board was not just a formal act, but a celebratory one. "We are creating spaces of movement with this house." Together with many participants, the church is on the right path. Beate Köbrich, 1st chairwoman of the church council of the Noah congregation, pointed out that the house provides guidance so that people can get moving and create something together in the rooms and thus with and for each other. By founding the advisory board, those responsible at the church community are taking a further step towards opening up the "House of Encounter and Movement". The advisory board has an advisory function. The parish remains the owner of the house and will continue to run and operate it. However, it will no longer be a community center in the traditional sense, but a community facility for all residents of the neighborhood.
Katharina Wunderling, Head of the Social Services and Senior Citizens Department of the City of Salzgitter, thanked those responsible at the parish for voluntarily setting up this advisory board on behalf of the City of Salzgitter. "This project at Martin-Luther-Platz is unique: the Noah congregation is opening its house to the neighborhood and therefore to the local people. That's something special and deserves special recognition at this point. Because the church invites everyone who is interested to make themselves at home in its building and to help shape this "house of encounter and movement"." The new advisory board is making suggestions for the development of the building, and the church community is endeavoring to implement these suggestions in line with its guidelines.
The "Haus der Begegnung und Bewegung" will be an open house in the middle of the neighborhood, where different groups can come and go and set their own priorities. In this way, those involved are creating a new contact point in the eastern and western estates, which is to be designed by the local people."
This house, for which a new name is still being sought, also completes the center of the east and west housing estate, which has been modernized in the course of the urban renewal process, and complements the existing uses. The "Haus der Begegnung und Bewegung" will therefore also be an important piece in the mosaic of positive and sustainable change in the eastern and western estates.
The "Haus der Begegnung und Bewegung" also supports the City of Salzgitter's strategic goal of making the east and west estates more child and family-friendly. This will create special unifying perspectives and opportunities for the future of the district for the integration and coexistence of different cultures and the involvement of all generations.
Ralf Ohainski, Provost of the Evangelical Lutheran Provost's Office in Salzgitter-Bad, thanked the Noah parish for its commitment, which feels responsible for the people in the neighborhood.