Grote genade

Due to the growing secularisation, churches are closed and sometimes even demolished to prevent undignified re-allocation. Will this also happen to the beautiful white church of Maria-Gewanden in Hoensbroek? For a year, Lieza Röben follows the small congregation that is thrown into commotion when they hear that their familiar gathering place will probably disappear too. As soon as the volunteers that maintain the church sit down at the coffee table, after blowing away the autumn leaves and polishing the statue of the Virgin Mary, tongues start wagging. How is it possible that the much bigger, so more expensive St. John Church can remain? And wouldn't things be different if the commuting priest had been in Maria-Gewanden more often? The threatened church is more than just a place for worship or the Holy Communion. The building has become a safe haven for many, which is connected with all their personal joys and sorrows. The priest's sympathetic but pragmatic attitude can't change much about this. The idea for this documentary was developed during the 2006 IDFA scenario workshop.