What happens in the people’s church when the people in Denmark changes? Laura Bjørg Serup Petersen's recently finalised PhD-project asks this question as it explores practices of encounters between individuals of migrant and Danish backgrounds in local people’s churches. Even though only very few individuals of migrant backgrounds become members of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark, local churches nationwide host activities for specific “international” or “intercultural” target groups (etc.), e.g., language cafés, Bible studies, and communal meals.

Based on case study analyses of teaching, praying, and meal dynamics, the presentation will present findings from the study and discuss how such encounters portray the people of the people’s church in relations of power between givers and receivers, between shared and separate spaces, and in interplay and entwinement of church building and local community.