The Evangelical Reformed Church of the canton of Neuchâtel is adopting new directions. The 196th Synod took place this Wednesday at the Montmirail estate, in La Tène. The 2025 budget, with a deficit of more than one million francs, was adopted, an EREN press release indicated this Wednesday. To compensate for this deficit, the Synod validated a resolution for maintaining the principle of sale of real estate, with the agreement of the parishes concerned for buildings belonging to the administrative heritage of EREN.
Faced with a decline in its members and their financial support, the Evangelical Reformed Church of the canton of Neuchâtel has also adapted its finances with reductions in positions and “rigorous management”.
Creation of a personnel department
In order to better supervise employees and improve the attractiveness of the institution, the Synodal Council proposed the creation of a “personnel service”. This service, divided into a strategic center and an administrative center, aims to “simplify changes of positions and attract ministers”. The Research and Development platform, created in 2021, will be closed due to limited resources in particular.
The consecration commission further proposed modifying the procedure for processing pastoral and diaconal requests to better respect data protection and guarantee fairness between applicants. Written reports will be replaced by oral presentations, unless the text has been validated by the candidate. Discussions will systematically be held behind closed doors to ensure confidentiality. /comm-cob
